Instant book - even the media says be wary!

[Andrea9]

Dear Airbnb,

Making IB mandatory works against everything that initially made you great and different from other booking sites.

It takes away the personal touch of letting guests into your home. And it doesn't fit the story of how Airbnb was conceived, and even tends to make a mockery of it. 

It's also flawed in that a host can either open themselves up to a lot of risk and invite shady or terrible guests by reducing requirements; Ir by increasing safety and requirements and thereby leaving first-time Airbnb users out in the cold.

Most of MY guests BTW  are first-timers.

In this interesting article 

inews.co.uk/essentials/lifestyle/travel/use-airbnb-like-expert/

it says:

"... Be wary of instant booking

If your host offers and accepts instant booking requests, it’s possible that the accommodation is a professionally run B&B or small hotel. Although perfectly pleasant, these kind of locations might not offer the unique local home you were looking for.

... "

So please don't force it down hosts' throats. And don't punish them either by favoring IB in searches.

What has happened to fair choice in this world...

[Birgit0]

Andrea,

I have not heard of anything like this being planned by Airbnb. Can you tell us more?

[Deborah1]

Many new hosts are being forced to do it. I think some hosts are concerned that it could become mandatory for everyone.

[Cathy65]

A media profile in Airbnb reported that the head honchos are planning to force us all to adopt IB. We all need to make it clear to them that this is UNACCEPTABLE.

[David-and-Fiona0]

I can't disclose my source (which is VERY connected) but they are aiming for 80% instant booke before the end of 2017. I of course made my thoughts known about that idea!

[Andrea9]

Instabook has been seriously touted by Airbnb for quite a while, in fact the CC as well as other forums have so many posts about it from unhappy (new) hosts at least since the beginning of 2016. In their little video on the site Airbnb makes it sound so wonderful and how it is great for guests and less work for hosts. That's just not the way it's working in real life, at least not for those usually sharing part of their homes. Look at the home robbery cases recently in the US that were possible due to Instabooking without pre-communication before booking. After guests received the necessary entry codes they cancelled at around check-in time. Thus they didn't have to pay the booking but were able to enter and then clean out the home. Even the police confirmed that Instabook opens up such dangers and hosts should be more careful. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-airbnb-hosts-robbed-1.3723898 http://www.sfist.com/2016/08/23/man_accused_of_using_airbnb_to_burg.php I unfortunately can't find the article that topped them all with head shots of 4 or 5 wanted robbers using this MO. Take all the cases on this forum of (new) hosts with a meltdown because they are either part of an experiment with mandatory IB and can't turn it off. Or the situation that if you rent out a room in your private home that is not suited to every kind of guest, you would certainly not want Instabook. On the contrary, you would want to talk to people beforehand to make sure they know what they are getting and you know they will be okay as well as not smash you with a bad review because they didn't read the listing/house rules. I love my vetted first-timer guests, while most of the first-time inquirers contacting me are not suited to what I offer. If I checked the boxes necessary to get a certain amount of Instabook 'security' I could close down my listing! Around 85 or even 90% of my guests don't even have ANY reviews yet! And if I am 'penalized' by consistently rating lower in search results (as I think I already might be), it would be almost impossible in a city with as many hosts as here in Amsterdam to get sufficient bookings. Let guests choose if Instabook works for them. There are enough quasi-professional listings that are not in the least private homes and hosts couldn't care less who books them. But not for shared homes! This policy is so flawed in more ways than one. Where do such dictatorial ideas come from?? @David-and-Fiona0, I do hope your influence will help, and I hope there are many more experienced hosts all over the world that have some influence in keeping this ship on good course and not let it run into pirate waters.

[Cathy65]

Beautifully articulated, Andrea. I am among the many hosts who are terrified by this awful IB initiative. It would basically ruin my hosting life. I hope this will be very forcefully shot down at the upcoming gathering.

[Mary-Ann0]

Well they will loose a lot of single women hosts - who are, I am sure, some of their most kind, generous, accommodating and popular hosts too.  How smart is that Airbnb?

It will be fast though - business like, in and out, cut and dry - just like hotels.

[Amy--Sully-0]

As a host, I am against mandatory IB. I hope Airbnb will look into the needs and wishes of it's hosts before continuing down this road. 

[Silvana5]

Although my listing is not a shared place, I live 2 hours away in good traffic.  I also travel a lot for business so more times than not I'm not there at the time guests check out. I need to be able to screen guests to potentially minimize risk of damage/loss.  IB may work for some people but it shouldn't be one size fits all. 

[Julie10]

I am very much opposed to requiring all hosts to use instant book.  My business is extended stays, so I want to be particularly careful to who I get as a guest.  Because I host off-site I also want to make sure a prospective guest knows they will not get a typical on-site host experience and also want to make sure they have carefully read my hosting description and list of amenities. 

Yes, IB *can* save a bit of time.  But it saves no one time if a guest is a poor fit for the property and style of hosting.  If a guest is unhappy, no one comes out as the winner.  It causes stress on the part of both the guest and host alike.

Yes, I do airbnb for the money, it is a full time enterprise for me.  But no host, whether it be a casual host or a full-time one, wants to see a guest be unhappy.  I implore airbnb to continue to let the experts, each host, decide what's best for his or her particular situation, whether or not to use IB.

[Shannon0]

Forcing Instant Book on hosts increases liability to ABB. If a host is physically harmed, because they did not know what sort of person has book their shared space. IT WILL hit the fan. Forcing IB under the guise of non discrimination is fool hardy at best. The whole point of ABB is to match up guests with hosts of like mind, shared interests and shared comfort levels. That said, I am Instant Book and I am shared, but I also have several secruity measures in place,  live very close to the police station and know all of my neighbors.

[Shannon0]

P.S. I also did not have IB thrust upon me when I was new. I would have had a heart attack. It is very stressful being a host and it is stressful having unknown people in my home. Sometimes, I don't sleep so well. I had a gent check in once who was 6 ft 7 inches tall and about as wide and deep as a cinderblock wall.  I was scared when I opened the door. I did not sleep well that night, but he turned out to be a very fine guest. I also have experienced IB guests that were first timers and they are sometimes unprepared for what they Instant Booked because they don't read the listing.

[Monta0]

 I don't use Instant Book. I don't because new people get excited and don't read my House Rules. When guests request to stay with me, the process usually inspires them to write a little blurb. This little blurb is often extremely revealing- whether it's a third party booking, someone who's bringing extra guests I can't accomodate, etc. It also allows me to be a better host because I learn who my guests are. I can tailor my responses to them and give them extra directions if needed.

[Alicia26]

I liked the idea of Airbnb, whereby I can see a photo, know that Airbnb have verifications, and I can communicate with guests before they book and pay.  

I have been very happy with this service.  I could not and would not work without this system in place.  

It's my home, I couldn't sleep in the next room without knowing who's in my home.  

That's the point, it's my home, not a hotel with reception staff, security etc.  

I might just as well put a sign up outside my home - B&B - then anyone could come in....