Awaiting Payment/ Confused

[Kelly617]

In my inbox I have an "awaiting payment". First time experiencing this. How is it that Airbnb blocked those dates without a payment? I had another guest inquirying about those dates as well but it is saying sorry but that guest cannot book because of the awaiting payment. Shouldn't the host have a say if they want to wait 24 hours for a payment/booking?

[Emiel1]

@Kelly617,

A guest has a 24 hours time limit to make the payment. During that time the calender dates for the booking are blocked (assuming booking will result in a comfirmed reservation after payment). If guest needs more time for making payment because of choosen payment method, it is normally allready mentioned in the request. So you have to wait for payment (or the expiration of payment time limit and then the other guest can book)

best regards,

Emiel

[Kristi36]

You're absolutely, right, Kelly. Hosts are being penalized. This is a problem that hosts have been expressing frustration about for several years on this community board.

[Josiah0]

We just got our first "awaiting payment" booking out of nealy 350 bookings.  We've neither accepted nor denied it, it's just blocked on our calendar.  Perhaps since we have instant booking, the potential guest was able to make the booking and can pay later.

Luckily for us, this reservation is 8 days away.  We get a lot of last-minute bookings, so I'm not too concerned.  If his check-in was within the 24-hour timeframe in which he needs to make the payment, I would be a bit more frustrated, as he would in fact most likely be preventing others from booking who really need a place to stay (there are very few STR hosts where I live). 

We get a few conflicting reservation requests, and sometimes guests get out-booked by someone who is able to instant book.  At times, competition can be a bit fierce.  But, tieing up hosts' accommodations with unpaid reservations, regardless of the 24-hour hold, seems a bit unfair.  We don't even hold nights for inquiries, so why would Airbnb block our calendar for essentially unpaid inquiries?

Accotding to Airbnb:

What does awaiting payment mean?

Awaiting payment means that a host has accepted a guest's reservation request, but the guest's payment hasn’t gone through yet. In most cases, this means the guest needs to update information related to their payment method.

When a reservation is awaiting payment:

• The guest who made the reservation request will have 24 hours to successfully update their payment info before the reservation can be confirmed.
• If the guest doesn’t update their payment method within 24 hours, the request to book will be canceled without penalty to the host or guest. Hosts replying on web will have the option to give guests a 24-hour window or not. If the host would prefer not to allow a 24-hour window, the request will be canceled penalty-free for both host and guest.
• While the guest is updating their payment info after sending a request to book, dates will be blocked on the host’s calendar for up to 24 hours. This helps us prevent glitches such as a hosts getting multiple payments for requests from multiple guests for the same dates.
• If the current guest doesn’t confirm their payment info, the request will be cancelled penalty-free and other guests will be able to send inquiries or requests for those dates.

[Graham34]

I'm particularly intrigued by the sentence "Hosts replying on web will have the option to give guests a 24-hour window or not".  I replied on the web but don't see anywhere to decline to give the 24 hour window.  Anyone know where to find this option?

[Erica1290]

Hi Graham, I am looking for the same option. I am replying on web but don't see the option to decline 24 hour window.