MISUNDERSTANDING is dangerous particularly for hosts.

[Shaun69]

Hi fellow hosts hope you are all well, yesterday night at 2200 I received a booking for a guest arriving at 1500 today, I am on instant book but thought i had set 1 days notice required before arrival. I was wrong big style!!!!!!!!!! If you go into AVAILABILITY-RESERVATION PREFERENCES-ADVANCE NOTICE you will find a check box that says for instant book hosts: allow guests to send reservation requests without advance notice. I am not sure how this got ticked for my BNBs but it is very misleading. Forget reservation requests if that box is ticked a guest can get a confirmed booking with zero or little notice it seems. Maybe this was my fault and I did tick that box by accident, but you can be sure I have unticked it now and got confirmation that 1 days notice is required for my establishment. May I suggest that you all check that tick box to ensure it is set to your requirements.

Best Regards Shaun.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

It is indeed a tricky set of circumstances that can get a host caught. 

Here's a tutorial I wrote on this in 2017 for anyone else needing clarification

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Clarification-Tutorial-Calendar-Rules-Using-Advanced-Notice...

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

The tutorial as written is no longer correct.  After recent testing, when the box is checked, an instant book qualifying guest is able to send "requests to book" only during the advanced-notice timeline, they cannot instant book as the tutorial suggests. Not sure when this change took place but if you want IB guests to be able to "request to book" during your advanced notice timeline, please check this box.  

[Suzanne302]

@Shaun69 

If the box is checked it means you can still receives "requests" to book without a one day notice, but a guest cannot instant book without one day notice.

[Emilia42]

@Shaun69, "one day advanced notice" means that a guest cannot book the day of check-in. Your calendar will appear blocked after midnight. So a guest can book at 2200 the night before. This has happened to me. If a guest "requests" on the day of check-in because you are using instant booking and you have checked that box, it means that you can decline the reservation and it will not be confirmed.

[Shaun69]

@Suzanne302 @Emilia42 @Alice-and-Jeff0  Thank you for your replys they were very helpful. Alice and Jeff i wish i had read your tutorial last year because it would have resolved a number of issues. Thank You Shaun.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Emilia42  and @Suzanne302 - you are misunderstanding that override which is @Shaun69 's point and the reason I created the tutorial. 

This is the first important point.  If you choose this Override, you are giving permission to guests who meet your Guest Requirements to book using the Instant Book process, which might be within the Advanced Notice timeframe.  

A guest who does not meet your Instant Book requirements will be held to the Traditional process and will be held to the Advanced Notice rule.  

Here is the second important point.  By checking the box to override the Advanced Notice condition, you are giving an Instant Book qualifying guest the ability to book up to 11:59pm on the SAME DAY (even past your official check in start!)  This is because you cannot have both Same Day cut off hours and allow for Instant Book Guests to book within the Advanced Notice timeframe.  

[Suzanne302]

@Alice-and-Jeff0 

No, I'm not misunderstanding anything unless you've encountered some glitch or perhaps you're referring to "Same Day (with customizable cutoff hour)."

With the "At least one day's notice" box checked even guests who meet all IB requirements still must send a "request to book." No one can instant book. 

Perhaps when you wrote your tutorial in 2017 that was the case, but as of at least last June, that is not how it works anymore. And yes, I've encountered same day bookings like these multiple times.

Again, I'm referring only to the setting of "At least one day's notice."

[Ann72]

@Suzanne302 @Alice-and-Jeff0 I'm not sure I understand this back-and-forth entirely.  I have Instant Book on, requiring at least 1 day's advance notice.  I got an Instant Booking yesterday (for June).  So even when the advance notice is on, it appears guests can book instantly.  Just not for the same day?

[Suzanne302]

@Ann72 

Yes, guests can still book instantly, just not on for a same day reservation. We're specifically referring to the "same day" setting. Those should override all Instant Book settings.

Hope that doesn't confuse you even more!

[Ann72]

@Suzanne302 Gotcha.

[Helen3]

You are correct @Suzanne302 

If you have the box ticked for 'at least one day's notice', then a guest can still request to book for the same day.

This happened to me recently. I was suprised as I thought that no-one could try to make a same day booking, if I had ticked the box.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Would be happy to test this with you to make sure the tutorial is still correct.  What are your booking thresholds? 

[Suzanne302]

@Alice-and-Jeff0 

I just saw this since I wasn't tagged. That would be perfect! Maybe my experience has been a fluke. My first available day this week is Thursday. I require government ID and one positive review for IB. And, as I mentioned, just one day advance notice so I assume that means anytime after check-in on the previous day. ie, my check-in time is 4pm, so anyone booking for the following day after 4pm needs to request. All my "same day" requests so far, however, have actually been the morning of the night they were requesting.

I also require a profile photo, but as I was checking my listing a few days ago, the box was magically "unchecked." It seems we have to monitor our listing constantly to make sure all our parameters remain in place.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Suzanne302  - if you change the setting for advance notice briefly to be for more than 5 days, I can test it right now.  Make sure you have that box checked.  I have all the other criteria.