Hello @Jake549
There are two ways for hosts to accept reservations - one is Instant book and you receive an immediate confirmation of your reservation and the other one is a request to book where the host has 24 hours to accept or decline the reservation. This allows hosts to reach out to guests to make sure that their place is a good fit and to get to know the person they will be hosting, especially if they have never used Airbnb before.
You are new to Airbnb I see and as such you do not have any reviews so it might be a good idea to fill in some of the information on your profile to reassure potential hosts.
I'm sure you'll hear back soon and welcome to Airbnb!
All the best
Joëlle