Customer support says this too, but it keeps happening. I have documented 3 times so far and have tried something new, so we'll see how it works. Keep in mind, I am sure it works differently based on where you are. For example: English is the default language in some countries, but not others.
Advance notice was (and is) "At least 3 days notice". Last minute requests have somehow slipped through, including the last 1 that tried to book 10 hours before check in.
Today when I reviewed my settings, there is a new checkbox that was checked called "For Instant Book hosts: Allow guests to send reservation requests without advance notice." - this checkbox was not here a few weeks ago, and the fact that it was checked tells me to try unchecking it, so again, we'll see if that works.
There is also a preperation time setting, which I have generally ignored while thinking that "At least 3 days notice" covered my concerns for preperation time. For example: preperation time can be set for 1 or 2 days, so setting my listing to 3 days notice (at least to me) covers 1 or 2 days preperation time.
It could be a language thing. Imagine someone designing this system and thinking ZERO days of preperation time should supercede "at least 3 days notice" and then allowing people to make booking requests 10 hours before checkin. I could see that as the issue, and that would represent a language issue and not a bug, but either way, it is an issue.
It could also be a push from the corporate rulers. Imagine this: someone thinks booking at the last minute is more stressful than simply setting "At least 3 days notice" would be much less stressful and that is the way to go, and accepting people at the last minute should cost the guest more, not less. Then look at the corporate policy enforced by the way the system works - it only allows you to give discounts for last minute bookings, as if stressing out hosts is something guests should pay less for. Now that you have imagined it, check it out, because it's not my imagination - this is the way the system works.
Anyway, I am just trying to figure out how to make airBNB work for me, and so far it is on the good side of "it works" and it is getting better.
I should know in a couple months if these new settings work for me, but they weren't mentioned by customer support, which suggests that either this is new functionality, or that customer service needs better training.
Best wishes to everyone as we all learn together. I hope this helps those experiencing the same issue.
