Insta book- does ignore pre approval/ deny hurt me in any way

[Casey450]

Hi, I’m Casey. I’m very new to hosting. I have a new listing with Insta book turned on. Today we got a message from a guest asking for a discount, which we politely responded to stating we could not offer a discount. However, at the bottom of the message is a button for pre-approval or deny and since we are not offering a discount, I would prefer to simply not click that button to pre-approve or deny. 

My question though is, if I don’t pre-approve or deny in 24 hours, will it hurt me or my listing in any way? And if I click pre-approve, am I preappriving at my standard rate or at the discount they are requesting?

[Shelley159]

Hi @Casey450 

You don't have to select pre-approve or decline, but you do have to reply. Type any brief message that you find appropriate and the clock will stop ticking.

This is an enquiy (which just needs some response to stop the clock), not a booking request (which needs to be accepted or declined to stop thr clock).

[Joelle43]

Hello @Casey450 

It's just what @Shelley159 says - with an enquiry you just have to answer as quickly as possible to maintain a good response time as this shows up on your listing and your job is done.  You can ignore the emails from Airbnb that you'll receive to pre-approve this guest if you are not comfortable with pursuing with this guest.

There's a guide on the subject that explains in detail the difference between an enquiry and a request to book and what that means for the host, if you want to have a look:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Community-Guides/GUIDE-Handling-Enquiries-and-Bookings/td-p/1895...

All the best with your hosting
Joëlle

[Rebecca]

Hi @Casey450,

Welcome to the Community, and congratulations on starting your hosting journey! 😊

Our wonderful experienced Hosts shared some great insights on how best to manage enquiries. Did you get a chance to read through them? Do you have any more questions?

Let us know how you get on 🌟

[Zheng49]

For an inquiry, you just need to reply. Don't need to click on 'Pre-approve' or 'Deny'.