@Quincy I have used instant booking from the beginning of hosting only 6 months, with advice from my daughter who hosts in NZ. As she knew that I didn't always carry my phone with me all of the time. Instant bookings allows the guest to booking at anytime, they make their decisions after seeing dates available. All I do is send them a message, answer any questions or accept/decline. If they cancel the dates become available straight away.
The disadvantage for me is if their is no photo of the guest booking or their address is not up to date. For example with our current Covid lockdowns they have the address of NSW or Sydney. When asked, they haven't lived there for 7 years. Another guest made a booking for the new year address is Hull Uk but they have been living in Melbourne for 2 years. Something Airbnb need to fix, profile updates annually.
@Mike-And-Jane0 I don't use instant pricing I manually price for my nights because in my area we have sporting activites and functions throughout the year. The price that they recommend is sometimes lower for these activities, weekends, public holidays and school holidays. I feel the matrix is based on the number of bookings that they have made in the location.
My research has shown me that market for my local area varies and I have priced my cottage to what I think it is worth compared to other properties. I do check the dates of the yearly advents calendar, public holidays and shool holidays and price my nights for the season. My bookings are only open 6 months in advance so it makes it easy to do and just takes a little time.