NO to mandatory Instant Book

NO to mandatory Instant Book

I just read an informative profile of the Airbnb honchos, saying edsentially that they plan to force us all to accept Instant Book. They have so lost touch with who we are, what we do, and that they owe their billions to us "little people" toiling away. This is MY HOME. Over the 4 years I have hosted, I have seen and learned a lot. I have had some seriously unpleasant weirdos turn up as guests. I have learned how to filter out people who are inappropriate for my household. I cannot and will not be forced to accept just anyone with no discretion. I would never discriminate based on race, sexual orientation, etc. but GET A GRIP, Airbnb 1% ers! WE are your lifeblood! Don't f*** this up for everybody, including yourselves!
33 Comments
Cathy65
Level 10

This is the single most urgent concern that hosts have expressed on this forum, and we are being IGNORED!

Amen to Amy's comments. 

I'm an absentee host with a wonderful local woman who takes care of turnovers, but we rely on the ability to turn down a last-minute request if she's unavailable. A turn-down is way different from a cancellation. Not to mention the need to feel out -- sometimes with a couple of back-and-forth exchanges -- whether a guest really read the description and isn't going to give a bad rating for being a half-mile walk from the beach, for instance. 

If instant book is required, we're done with Airbnb.

 

Dodie0
Level 3

 I am echoing the sentiment NO on instant book. I know I am being penalized for not having it, and I know I am penalized for declining reservations. I have been doing this for more than five years, and this new control is terrible. Clearly the idiots making these rules are not working "hosts".  This is the first time in five years that I do not have a December or Jan reservation. I opted in for smart pricing for a month, and its all very dissapointing. But what can we do other than complaing on this thread? (I have been a super host since it began and have never had a bad guest - BECAUSE I SCREEN MY GUESTS - BECAUSE I DON'T USE INTANT BOOK!) 

Rachel194
Level 2

My house is a home, not a hotel.  I travel frequently for work and need to have some measure of when and how I will accept bookings and to ensure that it's a good fit.  I am going to deactivate my listing if AirBnb persists in devaluing their brand which used to be something. 

Hilary-And-Ed0
Level 10

Agreed.  I host in my own home, and it is totally reasonabe for me to know who will be here, sharing my space.

Larry57
Level 2

If people want to instant book, they should be finding a hotel room.  These are my dream homes and I love to share but take it very personally when rude or abusive guests want to show up and trash the place and be obnoxious to my neighbors.  So I screen each and every person who wants to book, and even then an inconsiderate guest or two slips through.  I can live with that on occasion, but if I were forced to add "Instant Booking" at either property I'd likely stop renting or try to find another platform to utilize.

 

And that would be  a shame, as otherwise Airbnb has been the perfect tool for me to be able to own two properties in Lake Tahoe and to enjoy them ourselves while covering costs as a VHR too.

FORCING owners to use Instant Book (IB) or not be seen by 90% of all potential renters who are searching the Airbnb site should be unlawful.  It seems to purposely discriminate against any owner who wants to have a choice or say in who gets to stay in their home.  It totally removes our right and ability to screen the potential renter by looking at their past feedback or reaching out to them via Airbnb messages to inquire about things that help us get a sense of who they are....how old are they, what do they do for a living, what are they coming into the city to do. etc.  As SO many owners have already stated, after being a rental owner for a while you kind of get a sense of who will be a good, responsible renter and who won't, and we DESERVE the right to get a say in who we book to stay and who we turn down. 

 

By having the site now default to show only IB listings it makes 80-90% of the listings invisible to potential renters.  Ever since Airbnb has made this their default I have not gotten even ONE inquiry on my property, but on the other rental sites that I am also listed on, I continue to get people reaching out to me almost daily.  A potential renter would have to know about the Instant Booking option and also know how to go in and re-set this default to show ALL listings, including those that were not using IB.  How many renters do you think have this knowledge, or actually have the know-how and take the time to do that?  According to having ZERO inquiries since this change happened, I'd say that almost NO ONE knows to go and reset the IB default when searching.  Does Airbnb think this is good for business for us, or even for them???  I just don't get it, especially since such a tiny percentage of owners have opted for turning on the IB feature.  Doesn't that tell Airbnb something???  Like maybe that it's a bad idea and owners don't like it or want it.

 

I don't even understand why Airbnb would WANT to do this.  If WE don't rent and make money then THEY don't make money.  If a potential renter sees only one-tenth of the properties that are really available, (and therefore perhaps they don't see anything that is still available for the dates they need, or find nothing that appeals to them), then they will just go onto another rental site and book something there.  So Airbnb is driving their own customers to go search other sites, taking money out of their own hands and encouraging it to go into the hands of their competitors.  I just dont get the business logic in that.  It is fine to offer an IB option, but that should be a CHOICE and should not be the default setting of the site when people go and hunt for potential properties to rent. Why penalize and punnish owners for wanting to have some control over who they choose to rent to and who they don't?  Shouldn't that be our right as the owner of these properties?  THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE Airbnb OR YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE ME AND A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER RENTAL OWNERS!!  Wake up and listen to what people are saying!  There are endless comments saying this exact same thing to you.  Everyone seems to be feeling angry, unheard and ignored over this.

 

You're just the source that shows the properties - But it is all of us that OWN and have these props to rent. Without us you'd have NOTHING!  So shouldn't it be the owner's needs that you strive to serve and not your own???  Yet you don't listen to what everyone is saying and complaing about.  RIDICULOUS!!

Cathy65
Level 10

They have no intention of listening to us, because they are now perfectly willing to cast us aside. They have plenty of absentee owners who are doing commercial short-term rentals. That's their future cash cow. Despite the fact that it destroys affordable housing 

Micah8
Level 2

Have you actually tried instant book?

 

We had similar hesitations because of bad experiences, etc, but when we actually turned on instant book, we found that the instant book customers are some of our best guests.

 

We use the setting that only allows people to instant book if they are  100% recommended by every host they stay with.

 

Bad people tend to be bad to everyone. Good people tend to be good to everyone. So, instant book = good guests.

 

Try it. Don't hate on instant book.

Cathy65
Level 10

From the tenor and superficiality of your comment, I suspect this is a corporate plant.

IB does not allow filtering by 100% recommended” guests.

and the fact remains, IB leaves us with o discretion over who is coming into our HOMES.