REGULAR BOOKING vs INSTANT BOOKING

[Susan837]

I have had a problem with some guests I did not want to accept but I could not cancel them from Instant Booking. I am not sure it's ok to do that without repurcussions. For instance someone brought two very large pit bull dogs. I would have to make sure they didn't leave them in the space without supervision, but I did not really want them here...

Then there are the ones that ask very persnickity questions that I would tell they didn't want to book here. But you can't get a phone number until you accept them. Can anyone help? How does regular booking work?

[Linda108 · Accepted solution]

 I am afraid I do not understand what you mean that you don't know how to cancel an IB guest, @Susan837.  Did you go to the reservation and select cancel and it didn't work or do you not understand the current rules for cancelling IB reservations?

If you are unsure about cancelling any reservation and the possible host penalties, take advantage of being a Super Host and call the Air BNB staff for guidance.

Have all your reservations been IB?  If you go to Booking and select that a guest must contact you to obtain approval of the reservation request, IB will turn off.  Then guests that are searching for listings that do not have IB will send a reservation request.

[Susan837]

Yes, I was wondering why Airbnb says there are no penalties for declining a IB guest. Then there are all the community posts saying yes, there are. You are only allowed three. And they ask you to call them. for instance, there was one of a guy wearing a really awful Halloween mask. I accepted him, but it was with trepidation. He turned out to be fine, just quite young. I told him that the mask picture will get him declined.

[Victoria789]

Hello, I have my first booking arriving tomorrow. He initially instantly booked for May 1-16, but stated he really needed to have the 30th of April. He's starting to work in the area soon. I didn't like the fact that he was able to book instantly. I live alone and I am very careful as to who comes into my home unannounced. I am going to change my status from instant to pre-confirmation. Can anyone out there relate? 

[Linda108]

You are new, @Victoria789  and thus should change the Instant Booking option from on to off.  I have IB on but I am more experienced than you are.  It is evident you are new because you do not have a good description of the space and your pictures do not accurately show what is shared space.  You need more time to get comfortable with the business and this platform.  Allow yourself the time you need.  Become more educated about what makes a good host and how to vet a good guest.  On this site a great way to read the discussions is to use the search field for topics you are interested in.  Be sure to reach out to this forum for how to manage this 2 week guest!  Good luck and Welcome!

[Victoria789]

Hi Linda! Thank you sooooo very much for the constructive critique! I am new and yes I do want to succeed in this line of business. I feel that my hospitality skills are ok thanks to the lessons learned from my mother, bless her soul.  In the meantime, I did change my booking option to "off" so now I have a better control over my calendar, arrival of guests and a little time to educate myself.

I also went into more detail into my description. I created this account last year, however decided to deactivate it since I had other things going on at the time. I was also informed that I could reopen at anytime and ALL would be saved. Oh well, that was not the case. So instead I had to not only reactivate, but also, reopen and recreate my account all over again. 

Ok, so enough of all that. Anyway, I took the time to really look into my description carefully and being totally honest, I tried to explain to guests what living here would be like. I recently had my very first guest to leave as he felt (or perhaps his friend) the reception wasn't to his standards. And yes, I do have WiFi, but I cannot be responsible if a guest has, what I call, a carrier that "only caters to the city."  

So, Linda, would you mind looking over my listing again and please like before, give me your honest opinion.  I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.  

[Susan837]

When I was new, for some reason Airbnb would not let me switch to Regular Booking. I tried several times and it just didn't work. So, I went with Instant and so far it's been fine. No guests with any problems for me.

I do find the website difficult to navigate even after a year.

[Jim554]

https://youtu.be/EV56hZyWuKU