New Feature Desired --> Future Dates Added to Calendar as "Unavailable" in Rolling Calendar Window

[Paul359]

AirBnb Hosting Community:

Just added this new feature request (see below) to the Feedback section -- and I'd love to find out what other hosts think about it.

We cannot use the Availability Settings because we have a rolling release policy at our B&B where, in certain listings, we only allow 4 months to be booked in advance -- and in other listings -- only up to 9 months in advance.   These requirements are set by others (not me).  As a result, we have to keep every date past that date blocked on the calendar -- but there's a catch:  AirBnb, when appending new dates to the 3-year rolling calendar window,  ADDS THEM AS AVAILABLE AUTOMATICALLY, which is a pain. 

Anyway, my feature request serves to address this issue, all while maintaining the current functionality for other hosts that like it the way it is.

Thanks in advance for any constructive comments you can add to this thread/conversation!  Much appreciated!

        -- Paul

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AirBnb Staffers:

Please create a ticket for a new feature to the "Availability Settings" section of each listing that will allow new dates that come onto the calendar to be set to either "Available" or "Blocked" depending on the user's preference.

The UI can look like this:

New Future Dates that are appended to the rolling Calendar window will be added to the calendar as:

       ( * ) Available (   ) Unavailable.

Note that Available can be the default setting for this (as that is the current functionality).

This is an important setting for certain hosts such as me that have a high level of involvement of when we release certain dates in the future -- and these requirements may be different on a listing-by-listing basis.

In the case of dates even 3 years out -- we cannot have those dates showing up as available. This is not only because it's just a bad business practice, and it is also requires additional host time to go block off those dates at the end of the calendar, but believe it or not there are certain peak season dates that people WILL book that far out for high-demand weekends (such as the Natchez Hot Air Festival).

Thank you for considering and implementing this much-needed feature.

        -- Paul

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

1. This is not how you add a suggestion for a change.  Go to Host Voice under the Discuss tab and add it there.  

2. Based on what you are saying, or what I think you are saying, there is already a calendar setting that allows you to take property reservations for only so many months in advance.  It's in the "Availability Settings" under the category "Booking Window". It sounds like you have it set to "All Future Dates" when you should have a listing calendar set to "6 months in the future"  and then blocking the dates manually.  This is also a "rolling on" process which means you do have to actively be aware of dates 3 or 6 months in advance that may need to be blocked.  

[DanandLee0]

We would like a feature similar to what the original poster suggested. Here's what happened to us:

We set availability to three months in advance. Months ago, we had scheduled our own vacation for the first two weeks of April. At the time, we couldn't block those dates because they were outside the availability window. Fast forward to January 1, and those dates started becoming available, but we had forgotten that we needed to block them. Someone made an instant booking, and we had to cancel (big bad consequences).

We are unclear what we were supposed to do under the current system. Do we need to block each and every day as they become available? So on January 1, we would need to hop into the calendar and block April 1, then on January 2, block April 2, and on and on for the 14-day trip? That seems incredibly time-consuming and awkward. In addition, what if a potential guest booked in the hours before we woke up and had a chance to block that day? Am I supposed to be awake at exactly midnight on each day and block that day three months in advance? There must be a better solution.

[Maddie5]

Yes please Airbnb, I am having exactly the same problem! Do I need to log on daily and block each date as and when it comes up outside of my booking window? I can't use instant book because of this and am often having to decline people because they are booking when the flat is busy. I only rent out my flat a few times a year so I am not an active user as it is.