Do you accept same-day bookings?

[Alexandra316]

Hello all,  I've had a few requests for same-day bookings lately that haven't been good, and I was considering no longer accepting requests.   I have also accepted same-day requests that I've ended up regretting. We have Instant Booking enabled, but if they want to book for the same day they have to send us a request to do so. I was wondering what everyone else is doing: do you accept same-day bookings, and if so, how have they worked for you?

Here are my examples from this year so far:

Situation 1, New Year's Day. A group of 4 Americans blew a tire on the highway and couldn't get it fixed due to the holiday. We allowed them to book same-day. They booked for fewer people than arrived and they left the flat a mess. Not worth the trouble.

Situation 2, about 3 weeks ago. A couple travelling across Canada needed a place to stay last-minute. We accomodated them, and they were very nice and left the flat in good shape.

Situation 3, two weeks ago. Last-minute booking request from a local who had terrible reviews from other local hosts: more guests than booked, partying, leaving places a mess, not observing the rules. I declined their booking request.

Situation 4, Friday night. I was on my way out of town at about 7 pm, and another local tried to book with us. Logisitics wouldn't have worked anyways, but I was uncomfortable due to them being locals and their stated reason for staying. I declned.

I just feel like it's not worth wasting declines on these guests, especially when I've had some that don't work out well. One out of four successful bookings isn't a great result.

[Shaun69]

@Alexandra316  Hi, a very wise man who has been in this game for years and will know more about it than I will ever know, once told me three golden rules and rule number one was never accept same day bookings!!!!!! His reasoning was based on experience and an understanding of what bad guests do when they are asked to leave an establishment. I have been operating on this site for just one year now and have never accepted a same day booking, that policy has served me well.

Many Regards  Shaun.

[Alexandra316]

@Shaun69 Thanks for that Shawn, but I need to know what the other two rules are as well! 🙂

[Shaun69]

@Alexandra316 They are personal!!!!!

Regards Shaun

[Alexandra316]

@Shaun69 LOL! Darn it... was hoping for some hot tips!

[Paul154]

@Alexandra316 

In the low season, I do accept same-day bookings. I hate them, but I need the $$.

They also keep me on my feet. It makes me turnover a room immediately, so I don't procrastinate.

[Alexandra316]

@Paul154 That's it... I don't like giving up the money in low season. I don't have many free days in high season, but at this time of the year, guests are thinner on the ground. March is pretty sparse. It wasn't good last year, and it's not looking so good this year either. I'm surprised because January and February were crazy.

[Paul154]

I cannot say that guests who book same-day are poorer quality. It's just more stress for me and my scheduling.

[Valerie192]

Hi @Alexandra316 - I accept same day bookings up until 5pm. I also am like Paul in that it keeps me on a very disciplined schedule to keep the room clean and ready, even if I don't get bookings and it sits like that for a few days I am glad that it is done.

But I have a local dynamic of being right near Los Angeles International Airport so a lot of my same day bookings have to do with travelers having a layover or other unexpected travel things come up.

I did get one last week that ended up being a young lady who was new to LA, had been sharing a place with a colleague, who she then found out was being evicted! I only had 2 days free, but she booked in for those to get out of that uncomfortable spot. And she turned out to be fine, although brand new to the platform.

Offhand I can't think of any same day bookings that I ended up regretting, except for one gal whose bag/passport was stolen and needed to stay in town to file a police report. She had body odor issues, but I think that was totally separate from the fact she booked same day.

[Alon1]

@Alexandra316 

I don't do IB and set booking option for same day. 

I've had quite a few, and only recall one ending up as a problem, so overall potentially no different to any other type of booking.

Because of the setting, Airbnb also contact on behalf of Guests in cases of last minute cancellations by other Hosts. But I rarely oblige as they are effectively 3rd party inquiries, and I always prefer to be contacted directly by the Inquirer.

Lastly, I must confess I find it quite futile your attempting to gauge how others deal with it or seek a consenus, because of so many variables in listings, location, circumstances, etc. 

[Alexandra316]

@Alon1 I think that you misunderstand my intention: I'm not trying to create a consensus. As you say, with a large community, that's not possible. I'm trying to find out what others' experiences have been, and what the pros and cons are that others have found. I enjoy broader discussions and seeing other perspectives on hosting: it makes me consider things that I hadn't previously. There's always something to learn. There is nothing futile about it as far as I'm concerned.

[Alon1]

@Alexandra316 

Thank you for your considered reply, and I fully appreciate the benefits of comparing notes on a global forum.

Still, on a specific subject like this, I find it hard to comprehend how someone else's experience can influence you to decide if to accept same-day bookings?

Indeed, for example, when one contributor informs what a 'Wise Man' once advised him; it doesn't remotely relate to my personal experience. 

Similarly, I've read on other posts, strongly contra same-day bookings, because it attracts the wrong type of guest. Many examples given. Yet, none relate to my experiences for a variety of different reasons.

Best Wishes. 

[Ralf5]

@Alexandra316 ,

I already had about 15  day bookings and did not have bad experience so far. At the beginning I did set the booking time at 8 pm for the same day, then I moved it forward to 5 pm and now I ended up with 2 pm.

As soon as a guest is checking out I am arlready preparing everything for the next guest. But still I do need a bit of time to ensure that everything is ok for the next guest and also I may need some time to organise that I eventually need to leave work earlier as usual etc. Also I did set a minimum stay of 2 nights and in summer season where I usually do get a lot of tourists the minimum stay is 4 nights-

When I started with Airbnb I also allowed 1 night bookings but learned that there is too much work and stress with these bookings so I did set 2 nights. May be your bad experiences are not due to the same day booking but more likely to the one night stay?

[Alexandra316]

@Ralf5 Yes, I've thought a lot about not offering one night bookings also, but they are my bread and butter in the off season. A lot of my competition won't take one nighters so I have a significant leg up. I haven't found issues specifically with one night bookings, but I understand why other people don't like them.

In the spring, summer and fall, I don't take one nighters, but winter in wine country is pretty barren without them.

[Ralf5]

@Alexandra316 I understand your situation and so why shouldn't you continue to take one nighters in winter time. Eventually it will change the type of guest if you set the an earlier time for the same day bookers (i.g. 2 or 3 pm). My same day bookers have been the following cases:

a) business person who needed to travel to a conference with very short notice

b) engineers on customer site couldn't fix the technical problem due to missing spare parts, so they needed two more days in town

c) last minute stay to attend a concert in the area (they got the tickets the same day)

d) they wanted to move out of their current Airbnb accomodation because of missing cleanliness and horrible host

In all cases the people were happy to find a nice location and neither their behaviour was bad nor they left a mess after they moved out. Further all these people were not totally in a rush to find a place, they had already have day time to look around and to organize their trip or their move. Eventually it could be a difference if people start looking around after their busines or vacation day and then as @Inna22 mentioned they are already in a bad mood and this may end up with problems...

[Inna22]

@Alexandra316 

At first I was taking and all bookings (as most “green” hosts do). I then noticed that EVERY same day booking was a problem. Let’s think about it: what kind of person will suddenly realize that need an accommodation in the next 24 hours. Even those who had a legitimate reason (like your tire situation) where just not happy travelers, were trying to get a discount during stay, everything was wrong to them because they were generally not happy and so they left bad reviews. I then decided to block the next 24 hours but allow inquiries to be sent. But inquires came from those same types of guests and I just struggled internally for hours between knowing it is a mistake to take them and seeing those dollars in my bank account. So now I have officially moved to 1 day advanced notice. Since then, due to some system glitch, I got two last minute bookings that I had Airbnb cancel, both clearly would have been trouble (young locals) which further confirmed my decision was the correct ones.

I do have my place “guest ready” shortly after previous guest’s departure so this was not an operational decision