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marking a night as "available, but no possible check-in"

marking a night as "available, but no possible check-in"

Status: New Submitted by on ‎21-01-2018 05:27 PM
6 Comments (6 New)

An urgently needed improvement to the calendar would be an easy tool to mark some nights as "available, but no possible check in". If I mark such a night "unavailable", I might miss a week-long booking that includes it; But if I leave it "available", I might disapoint a would-be guest by declining a request when he has seen it "available" on the calendar, or worse, by canceling a direct booking (now that I have been compelled to accept direct booking).

 

Also: an easy way to adjust "minimal stay" for a specific period, without changing the booking rules for the whole year...

 

From Brussels, Bernard H.

Comment
6 Comments
Donna240
Level 10
‎22-01-2018 04:21 AM
‎22-01-2018 04:21 AM

Bernard, I find the thought of a day described as "Available, but no check-in possible" confusing. What is your reason for such a designation? As it would appear to me, just by reading that, I would think that you are requesting payment for a night the guest could not stay in your place. No one would book under those circumstances.

 

If you don't want to lose a weekly booking because you have an ongoing committment that takes you out of your area, it might be best to leave it as available, then send a message to the guests stating your reasons they cannot check-in that day and asking if they would consider booking the remaining days or moving their check-in date. When I really like a property, I am more flexible if there is a need. You live in a wonderful city.

Donna240
Level 10
‎22-01-2018 04:40 AM
‎22-01-2018 04:40 AM

I just looked at your rental and you should have no trouble finding guests who would be flexible for an opportunity to rent from you. Your reviews were excellent.

Bernard108
Level 2
‎22-01-2018 07:57 AM
‎22-01-2018 07:57 AM

Thanks for the comment, Donna, and for saying that the wording "available but no check-in" looked confusing to you. Actually, this was just a description of the suggested function, not the wording that should appear (this would have to be cleverly thought over by developers). 

It should indeed be clear that the guests can stay in my place on that day, but not arrive.

In the past, I used to do as you suggested, when answering requests for days where I couldn't be there to welcome guests in person (though I can't imagine travelers to move their arrival days ahead), but now, with direct booking, it happened that a guest booked and I had to cancel the booking immediately, which I do not like to do...

Best regards, B.H.

Silversand-Villa0
Level 2
‎22-01-2018 08:40 AM
‎22-01-2018 08:40 AM

"Available but no check-in" is a crucial function for hosts like us from Bali. We have a silent day every March in Bali and on that day everything is closed including the International Airport. Guests can stay at our villa during this day if they are already checked-in but they can't arrive / check-in on that day.
Would be a great feature to have!

Donna240
Level 10
‎23-01-2018 08:07 PM
‎23-01-2018 08:07 PM

@Bernard0 Now I understand, and see the difficulty this presents for you. I refuse to do instant booking because I want full control of them, and your situation convinces me to resist.

Bekah2
Level 2
‎23-01-2018 11:13 PM
‎23-01-2018 11:13 PM

This is currently *somewhat* available....with a few pretty big flaws.

 

On PC, "edit listing," then go to the "Availablity" tab.

Scroll down to the "Trip Length" and click edit.

Under "Season Requirements," choose "specific dates, minimum stay, and check in day" from the drop down boxes.

 

I say this is *somewhat* helpful for a few reasons:

 

1)  You can choose to require they check in on a certain day.   For Example: You have plans on Saturday but would like to host someone.  You request a required Friday check in with a 2 night minimum stay for your exact dates.  This sounds great!  BUT THE SATURDAY SHOWS BLOCKED ON THE AIRBNB CALENDAR (gray and lined out).  With a cursory look at the calendar, it would seem safe to assume that Saturday is not available...but it actually is.  Only if the guest has the foresight to click on the Friday before, will a discreet little pop up say, "Soandso requires a minimum stay of 2 nights."  (Oh, also you won't be able to see this on your hosting calendar.  You have to preview your listing to see how the calendar looks to guests.) 

So, this feature is a decent workaround if someone searches by exact dates.  That is not personally how I search...for a variety of reasons.  Often times, I have a range of different days that may work for my stay.  So I search for location first, find my favorite listing, then look to see if dates are available.  (I like to plan in advance.  If I'm looking to travel to NYC sometime in October, but haven't scheduled any exact dates yet, and I put down specific dates for a stay that is 3 month or longer in the future, all calendars for hosts who have only 3 or 6 months open at a time will not show for my stay.  So I wouldn't get a true list of available listings if I do a date search.  If it looks like everything is "blocked" or "booked" after a specific date, it's pretty safe to say that they haven't opened their calendar that far out and it's best to wait and check back.)

 

2)  If you choose specific days for your "seasonal requirement" and choose a minimum night stay but do not choose a specific day for check in, it leaves all days open in the calendar.  A guest can then choose to stay for your required two night minimum stay for Friday and Saturday.  HOWEVER, THEY CAN CHECK IN ON SATURDAY!  AND FRIDAY WILL REMAIN BLOCKED BECAUSE THERE IS NO AVAILABILITY FOR A TWO NIGHT STAY AT THAT POINT.  In my opinion, this is NOT a decent workaround for keeping a day available but not having to "turn around" your space.  It would give the opportunity for guests to book a check in on the exact day you need that to NOT happen, and it would block the day that you had no issues with!

 

3)  If you choose specific days for your "seasonal requirement" and choose a specific check in date, but do not choose a minimum stay, then GUEST CAN CHOOSE TO CHECK IN FOR YOUR TYPICAL MINIMUM NIGHT REQUIREMENT.  For example, I have a one night minimum stay.  In this Friday/Saturday scenario, the guest could check in on Friday for one night and your Saturday would remain blocked, negating the entire reason for the seasonal requirement.

 

Anyway, the system currently available is a small step up from nothing at all, but definitely needs some tweaking!