Early mistake and confusion.

[Sharon37]

I just signed on to Airbnb. Ihad such a hard time understanding the calendar and how to block out days. Because of the blocking issues, 2 reservations were made when Idid not even have the facility to rent out. I did not realize that the auto book feature was in existance and so the reservations were made. I had to cancel 2 reservations immediately and have recieved bad reviews at this point. Is there anyway to have these reviews removed from my profile? I have recieved people expresing that they are nervous to book with me. I have tried to reach someone at Airbnb to try to get some help and some Grace but cannot get through to a human.

[Peter0]

Persevere with Customer Service please.  It sounds like you have become confused as a new host and they may be able to be forgiving on this occasion as you get used to the software.  But please be very careful and I advise any new hosts not to use Instant Book for their first month.  If you need to approve all requests then you can check with your own calendar to make sure you don't get it wrong.  Nearly all mistakes happen when people are using Instant Book and getting it wrong.  

[Clare0]

Hey @Peter0! Nice to see you hear!  Great advice!

[Dede0]

Not to say that Instant Book can't work for some, but we'll never use it. We prefer to individually approve every guest.

[Sid-and-Lynne0]

To the people who are nervous about booking with you, reply with something like "As a new host, I made some mistakes early on until I figured out the system.  My apologies to the first couple of guests, and although I understand why they gave me bad reviews, that situation won't happen again."  As you get a few good reviews under your belt, the older bad reviews will fade away.

AirBnB customer service can be hard to reach.  Try a Google search for "AirBnB customer service phone number", you'll get a couple of different numbers to try.

[James69]

I have a similar problem. A returning guest booked the dates after we discussed a special long term rate. I cancelled the guests initial booking and asked them to send a booking enquiery to which I responded with the offer that we discussed. Wel now I am being penalised for that. What upsets me most is that their is no clear way to solve this problem.

[Nikki35]

I am new as well. My issue is,I was in the middle of booking a weekend for a guest, and someone used the instant book and booked the date while I was in it. I had blocked the dates while I was working in there. So I cancelled and now the dates are completely blocked, and i have already received a bad review. I have been trying to locate a number for assistance and nothing to be found. Both of my parties were very understanding and appreciated the fact that I reached out to both of them letting them know the situation immediately. what do I do from here? I just started this, and it has already started on a bad note.

[Helen3]

@Nikki35

1. Always start a new thread rather than jumping on someone else's - avoids confusion and increases chances of you getting a response

2. As a new host it's really important to understand how BNB works before letting your listing go live. If you had done so, you would have realised if you turn on Instant Book you lose control over who books your property - Turn it off now

3. You got penalised in line with BNB rules because you cancelled a booking (look at information on their site for hosts about cancelling a booking and penalties you will receive)  which they see as a major no no. Call them up explain you are a new host and ask them to unblock. If you don't have the number use the search function here.

4. Unfortunately it got off on a bad note because you didn't fully understand how BNB worked before you let your listing go live. Might be worth putting it on snooze and reading info for hosts.

[Michael6191]

Hi! I'm glad I found this thread! On my very first attempt at being an Airbnb host this week, I made a serious blunder. To make a long story short, I published two listings with both smart pricing turned off...and instant book on. The listings were immediately snatched up at the low base price during a high demand period in our area. The two monthly rentals went for half of what I could have got...amounting to about a $4000 difference. It was a very expensive rookie mistake. I cam to this forum looking for options...thanks!