instant book

[Carol85]

I have looked everywhere on the site and the help pages, but I can't find where to toggle Instant Book off. It apparently came on without me doing anything. My first few guests had to contact me for approval. My third guest got instantly booked without me changing anything on my listing. The help page says there is an Instant Book toggle on the left of the calendar, but it doesn't say Instant Book anwhere on that list, nor is it under Booking. Help please. If it is somewhere to be found, I would love a screen shot. Thanks.

[Pearse1]

In your listing profile there should be a box that says Activate Instant Book , tap this to de' activate

[Hannah220]

Has anyone else noticed that when booking an AirBnb the Instant Book filter is now instantly on? As a result, hosts who choose not to use Instant Book do not appear in initial searches.

I have noticed that this has lead to a dramatic decrease in bookings for my property and the only way for me to change this appears to be using Instant Book and therefore not having the same control over who can stay in my home.

AirBnb states that they have taken steps in giving hosts more control over the Instant Book requirements, however I have just had someone Instant Book while saying in the comments section "I'm going to trash your house".

Does anyone else think this is a completely unfair way to treat hosts? Making them choose between getting bookings or protecting their home?

[Jude7]

Your experience concerns me, @Carol85. There have been many posts on this forum about new hosts being forced to use Instant Book, a condition I find disturbing, as it's important to me to be able to control who comes onto my property.  

But this is the first time I'm reading about someone whose hosting preference was changed to Instant Book,after previously having the option to do otherwise. Has anyone else encountered this, and is this something we need to be on the lookout for?

Jude

[Reno0]

Hi, @Carol85,

Airbnb does make dealing with Instant booking a bit covert, and it's really doesn't feel in keeping with their off-stated "transparancy" ethos.  

However, go to your calendar page. In the far left margin, click the four or five (hard to tell) horizontal lines. A side bar should appear > click "booking", > under "who can book instantly", click the third choice: "No one..."

There is also a "toggle" switch next to each of your listings.  Go to "Dashboard" > "Your listings" > Top margin right "Instant Book" -

Hope it's the same in your browser.  

Cheers!

Reno 

[Ivy-and-Clay0]

I had turned off INstant Book when I was setting up our listing, but after I published it and viewed it logged out to see what it would look like, there was a big red Instant Book button front and center! I've looked in the places with screenshots that Reno posted in both Safari and Firefox, but none of those options are there for me.... So, just chiming in that I'm another new user who has either been forced to use INstant Book or is so naive that I can't find how to turn it off!

[Lisa514]

I am a Superhost and just had an unexplained Instant Booking. I always need to see reviews, chat, pre-approve and confirm, so to see that someone I had not chatted with could suddenly be confirmed while I was on vacation with no cell service was quite a shock. I contacted Airbnb and was told that Instant Book was 'accidentally' turned on. Don't know how that happened as I don't go into those settings. Now I see that Govt Ids, and Recommendations from Other Hosts will only be visible if you have Instant Book. Does that mean we can not see reviews before we confirm a booking? I rely on reviews to be safe and keep my community safe. Isn't that the whole point of what makes Airbnb different from a hotel???  This is very disturbing. I do not see any reason for providing LESS safety measures except to make more money. We have all had those crazy people want to book our homes - from the Russian guy who says he lives in my neighborhood but wants to pay me more cash per month under the table than it would cost just renting, to the "anchor baby" luxury guests who will spend lots to have their babies here but want you to lower your rate because  "they are coming here to have a baby"  to the creepy vibe people, to the ultra luxury people who may not be as happy in a clean but homey vibe. We screen to maintain satisfaction and safety. How is is better to take that away and give us less safety - and more problems?