One of the most active discussion topics here in the Community Center is on Instant Book. During our conversations, many of you have raised important questions regarding this hosting tool. So we brought your most-asked questions to the Instant Book team and have gathered the answers for you.
I really hope you find the responses helpful. To make it easier to read all the information here, please click on the 'Read more' sections to view the replies! 🙂
Why should I use Instant Book? What are the real advantages?
There are lots of reasons you might consider using Instant Book.
1. For many of you, hosting is your business. You put a lot of effort and time into creating a welcoming experience, and you also rely on the income you generate. Hosts who use Instant Book often get up to two times as many bookings than hosts who require reservation requests. Here’s why: 2. Guests usually prefer to book instantly, if they have that option. It saves them time and allows them to get on with planning the rest of their trip. 3. We have a filter on our search page that allows guests to filter for Instant Book listings, and nearly 2 out of 3 bookings on Airbnb are made using Instant Book. Instant Book saves you time because you don’t have to respond manually to every reservation request from travelers.
Besides your investment in your own business, as a host you’re on the front lines of creating a world where everyone belongs. Instant Book is a powerful tool you can use to help foster that sense of belonging:
1. Instant Book is one of the best ways to ensure that every guest can receive equal treatment on Airbnb. 2. Our data tells us that a guest who tries to book on Airbnb and gets rejected (or doesn't hear back from a host) is less likely to ever use Airbnb again -- even less likely than a guest who has a 1-star trip on Airbnb! 3. We consistently find that the quality of guests and types of trips booked using Instant Book are nearly identical to request to book trips. Instant Book guests receive the same average ratings from their hosts as any other guest.
Yes, you’re more likely to get more bookings if you turn on Instant Book. Here are some reasons why:
Guests prefer Instant Book. More than 60% of bookings on Airbnb are now booked instantly.
Instant Book listings get a boost in search results.
Turning on Instant Book means your listing will show in search results when the Instant Book filter is applied.
More views often translates to more reservations. And, our data shows that Instant Book hosts often get up to 2x more reservations than request to book listings.
I'm a new host. I wasn't aware of Instant Book and got a booking without accepting and haven't updated my calendar yet. I have cancelled the booking and now have been fined. Why is Instant Book a default?
We’re careful to make it clear to new hosts that they can be booked instantly when they set up their listing, but we know there’s room for improvement. Since new hosts are still getting used to Airbnb, we waive the cancellation fee for one host cancellation every six months (learn more).
The reason we want new hosts to use Instant Book when they join Airbnb is that Instant Book is aligned with Airbnb’s mission of creating a world where people can belong anywhere. Guests also prefer to book instantly, and hosts have the potential to earn more if they let guests book instantly. Finally, we’re slowly moving toward Instant Book being the prefered booking method on Airbnb, so this starts new hosts off in the future of booking on Airbnb.
Can I prevent a bad guest that I've had in the past from booking my listing in the future via Instant Book?
Yes! We recently made a change on Airbnb that automatically blocks guests you’ve negatively reviewed or rated lower than 3 stars from booking with you again.
This is my home and I want to have more control around who stays here. How can I trust that the person arriving at my home is the same person that booked?
In order to book a home on Airbnb, all guests must meet certain requirements, which include verified phone number, email address, and payment information. We also encourage hosts and guests to add verifications through their social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn.
Hosts can also require that guests submit their government-issued ID to Airbnb for comparison with another form of ID. Usually this process includes the host submitting a selfie photo which Airbnb will check to make sure the selfie matches the photo on their ID. These different layers of verification can help you ensure your guests are who they say they are.
Why is Airbnb giving a search boost to hosts who have Instant Book turned on? I feel like I am at a disadvantage by not turning it on.
Like you, we want to make sure that travelers choose Airbnb when they book a place. This is why we promote listings that travelers can book instantly. Guests are much more likely to use Airbnb when they’re able to book the place they want instantly, and that means more future business for hosts! We want to encourage hosts to turn on Instant Book because they have the potential to earn more and give their guests the best possible booking experience.
We understand that Instant Book may not work for every single host. You can turn off Instant Book at any time in your Booking Settings. However, before you turn off Instant Book, we encourage you to explore the different guest, calendar, and reservation settings we have available to help you get reservations that fit your listing. For example, if you feel like your reservations are back-to-back and you don’t have any time between them, you can actually set your calendar to automatically block days between reservations.
How often can I cancel an Instant Book penalty free? For what reasons?
Hosts who use Instant Book have unlimited penalty-free cancellations if a guest breaks a house rule, if they intend to break a house rule, or if the host is uncomfortable with a reservation. These types of cancellations are 100% penalty-free, which means no fees, no automated review, no permanently blocked dates, and no impact on Superhost eligibility.
However, you can’t cancel penalty-free if your reason violates Airbnb’s Non-Discrimination policy. If a guest claims there’s been discrimination, the cancellation will need to be reviewed by Airbnb and may not be penalty-free.
Why are you pushing instant book when it takes away the personal touch that makes Airbnb special?
Our goal with Instant Book isn’t to take the personal touch away, but to help the host focus less time on the logistics of booking (emailing back and forth, managing expectations, confirming house rules, etc.) and more on the part of hosting that is the magic of Airbnb.
Moreover, Instant Book as an experience helps make guests feel more welcome when they use Airbnb. With reservation requests, guests can often get multiple rejections, even if they meet all the requirements to book. And it’s hard for guests to plan their trip when they’re waiting on hosts who are unresponsive. When guests get rejected or find it hard to book a listing, they’ll often choose to avoid Airbnb when booking their next trip. Knowing they can go on Airbnb, find a place they love, and book it right then, makes guests more confident and more likely to use Airbnb every time they travel.
I have been hosting for a while, and some of my guests who have booked via Instant Book have broken my house rules. Why would I trust Instant Book?
While there are always exceptions to any rule, it’s important to know that on average, guests who use Instant Book are rated by hosts just as highly as those who request to book. We consistently find that the quality of guests and types of trips booked using Instant Book are nearly identical to request to book trips.
We provide the ability for you to set clear expectations about your listing in your House Rules and listing description so that both you and your guests share the same understanding about the home.
We want Instant Book hosts to feel as confident that they’re getting the right reservations as hosts who require a reservation request. That’s why if you’re ever uncomfortable with a reservation or if a guest breaks your house rules, you can cancel 100% penalty-free online, anytime. You can learn more about canceling reservations in the Help Center.
Why do only Instant Book guests have to verify their ID and other guests do not?
Before they can make any reservation, all Airbnb guests are required to submit and confirm their full name, email address, phone number, and payment information. Since Instant Book hosts don’t have the opportunity to review every request, travelers who wish to use Instant Book are required to verify their ID with Airbnb. This way, Instant Book hosts can have more confidence that their guests are who they say they are. In addition, since Instant Book hosts don’t get to see a traveler’s reviews until they receive a booking, we allow them to limit Instant Book reservations to experienced guests with only positive reviews.
This is a suggestion: Can you create a setting where certain dates in our calendars can be booked by Instant Book and other dates must be booked normally?
This a great idea! We’re exploring ways to do this and will provide updates if we decide to move forward with it.
Does turning OFF Instant Book make your listing disappear from searches?
No, turning off Instant Book doesn’t make your listing disappear from search results. However, guests have the ability to filter for Instant Book listings, and in some cases, that filter may be turned on by default. When the filter is on, listings that have Instant Book turned off will not show up unless the traveller turns the filter off.
Thank you,
Lizzie
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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.
Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.
@Annette33 Sadly I think you're right though I hope you're wrong.
I understand the appeal of IB for guests but the 2 experiences I had were far from pleasant. One insisted on paying cash. Another booked and within 10 minutes was outside the door (no notice, communication, etc) and was pissed when I said I had just left for dinner and she would have to wait an hour or 2.
I'm willing to try IB again (3rd time's the charm?) if airbnb can work out those issues, screen guests and require communication re timing prior to arrival but until then, i'll pass. And if they don't inprove the feature and move in the direction you suggest, I'm happy to have empty rooms.
Lizzie, abb should take note. I just looked at Karen & Brian's listing. Their guests do not seem the least bit put out that they communicated prior to booking. Rather, they all seem to feel known, appreciated & thoroughly pleased with their experience. Not all guests should be allowed IB. Not all hosts desire IB. ABB should allow the special listings to stay special and let the mass market run of the mill investor properties be what they are. One size fits all does not fit our personal homes.
Also, btw Karen I think you could manage to utilize IB if you weren't afraid to cancel any and all reservations that you were uncomfortable with.
@Kelly149 If I had to cancel all the ones I'm not comfortable with, I think I would soon exceed the allowed number of free cancellations & dates would be blocked. And I'd be fined. We use our place a lot ourselves so there aren't a lot of open days as it is.
I really just want to be able to communicate with & choose who stays at our place. I don't think it should be too much to ask, but looks like it's headed that way. I feel like they're changing the rules after the game is underway. If IB had been the only option when we started, we wouldn't have listed with Airbnb.
@Lizzie I just had a CS rep inform in writing that the "unlimited host cancellation" is not operational but rather hosts must call CS to have them cancel reservations after 3 within a year. So, this info & the associated help center articles are inaccurate in regard to cancellation on IB reservations
The truth is that you are not really able to cancel any IB. I tried that once when I really faced serious problems with unrespectful guests and the only option I had was to call a number which would never answer! It was a very dissapointing experience and I totally agree with all the previous aspects of view which say that the hosts and their homes are actually unprotected and the only goal seems to be the commercialization!
I host at my own HOME as I thought was a main feature of the Airbnb model. I have the SH badge and all 5* reviews so I'm doing something right, I guess.
I choose to have guests stay when I go away on a 1-2 week holiday or a weekend. I don't use IB as I need to see a request in order to figure out if I will be at home myself or if I can accept the booking because maybe I can manage to go away for a weekend break. And as it is my home I like to have some conversation with the guests before accepting the booking. Of course, requests can enable me to tdecide to take a weekend away and this is the beauty for me.
I don't want to block out days in advance as I don't know if I will into the future be in a position to get away or not.
I find more and more that Airbnb are pushing the IB method which is turning the whole process into a business first and formost to the detriment of the part time host letting out thier own home!
I really think that the IB feature has lost me many requests that I could have considered and has disadvantaged my listing.
In fact every time I search myself for homes for my own trips away; I don't notice until some time later that the IB filter is on!
I really disagree with the constant push for me to use IB and I think preety soon in this counrty the whole thing is going to blow. I'd guess that soon enough the government will step in to inforce restrictions as other countries have, and I think this is because it is becoming more and more about hosting as a full time business, which I think is a shame.
@Karen-and-Brian0 I feel the same way as you. I would not consider using IB. I'm hosting in my own home and I'm a single woman. Although I have a male housemate moving in next week, in the year that I've been hosting here, I've only had a female housemate. My new male housemate works, has a social life and also travels a lot so I can't rely on him being around to 'protect' me.
So, there is no way I would feel comfortable accepting a booking without prior communication. Even without IB, I almost always have to go back to the guests with questions as they rarely give enough information about themselves or their plans when they send a booking request. The vast majority have no description on their profile.
I make it a rule to message ALL guests asking them to confirm they've read the full listing and agree to the house rules before I will accept the booking. When I've broken my own rule and accepted because time is running out and they haven't gotten back to me, I've almost always regretted it, so I don't do that anymore! Careful as I am in screening guests before booking, I still make mistakes and sometimes end up with someone I really don't want in my home. Luckily, none of them has turned out to be dangerous, but I have had guests hit on me and send me inappropriate messages.
For me, using IB wouldn't be opening a can of worms, it would be opening a barrel of them!
I have a similar problem, and I really resent that AirBnB forces you to turn on Instant Book, or punishes you in the search results. Of course I don't want partyiers in my place, and I should have the right to screen that without being disadvantaged.
Absolutely agree with you. I am so disappointed that Airbnb is basically just turning this originally wonderful idea into a hotel type impersonal booking service. I very much like to talk to my potential guests before they come. After all they are sharing our apartment with us and we have neighbours we respect. This communication process has worked brilliantly so far with us as both guests and hosts and has been enjoyable. So it looks like we will be punished and down the bottom of the list now - even though we have only had 5 star reviews. That's just too bad and an incredible pity.
I totally agree with you. Up to this point I had not bothered to list our apartment with any other booking agency as I thought Airbnb was the best and the safest for my needs, but now I am considering doing so.
I have 100% 5 stars reviews and I work hard to ensure my guests have a great experience staying with, as they pay a lot of money to do so. I do not think that a lot of luxury lstings choose to use the IB mode.
Has Airbnb ever considered that if quests don't realise that the IB filter is activated and as a consequence cann't find suitable quality listings on Airbnb, that they will move onto other sites to search?
I think Airbnb is very short sighted in using this IB default mode in effectively de-listing accommodation such as mine.
Yes - I'm with you all. I have switched to IB to try it but also not lose business. So far so good but only 3 hits. But guests want to search on a variety of factors and need to know what their choices are vs. having them pre-determined. Those of us who work so hard to be Super Hosts and 5-star hosts should ALWAYs be the top choices in any search. I am going to list on VRBO. We are traveling this summer and needed places in London and Edinboro. Two things I found out - the airbnb London booking was impossible to change from one room to both rooms in the same apartment even when the host desperately tried to contact airbnb. (We didn't know there was a second room available to rent from the listing.) Airbnb, as we know, has no host support (unless you are a Super Host) as apparently $27 billion in revenue a year makes it unaffordable. Our only option that doesn't hurt any of us financially or in ratings is to do a private deal, which the host is uncomfortable with. For Scotland we booked through VRBO and had terrific communications with the host and company. Too, note as a traveler, airbnb collects 100% of the payment up front and profits off it for the next 6 months whereas VRBO collects only 50%. Anyway - that's where I am. I saw a lot of airbnb-type rentals on VRBO -- not just whole houses. So that's what I'm doing. When Uber got a little too arrogant along came Lyft. There will be even more home rental listing options in the future. Well done airbnb!
Great discussion topic and very helpful Q & A. I have a suggestion for you (Airbnb) to consider -- if implemented, I think many of us concerend non-IB holdouts would seriously consider trying IB.
Under the IB setting on my site it states the following, 'You set the rules...
You can choose to host only experienced guests who are recommended by other hosts.' Also, 'These guests have traveled at least once on Airbnb and have never been negatively reviewed.'
I'm uncomfortable with a guest with one positive review considered as 'experienced guests', as I'm sure many other hosts may be. If Airbnb would allow hosts to set their own required minimum number of positive reviews (i.e. 5 or 10) and a their own minimum age requirement (i.e. 25 or 30) for IB guests, I would absolutely try it. I've been hosting for one year and a super-host for the last four quarters (also a 21 year multi-unit property owner). I mention this just to say I'm very experienced with tenants and guests but like to interact with potential guests before booking to make sure my property is a perfect fit for them and likewise for me.
But Airbnb discriminates because they force people to accept children for free. the whole discrimination thing is a play for them to get more bookings.
