insta book or insta nighmare?

[Rebecca2501]

It is to late to do anything I am sure but I still do not understand and maybe someone will have some insight. I have 2 rooms currently listed and rented. One of the rooms has a nurse ,who did not know if she was going to extend as she was waiting to hear from her place of employment. I had told her I needed to know asap so I could block my calender before someone books. Out of the blue, bang, I get a notice that someone else booked the nurses room for 2 months. That same night the nurse tells me she is extending....I was in a PANIC to say the least and didnt know what to do. I saw if I cancelled that I get penalized and my calendar blocked.

I did have insta book on, but just with in the week prior I had recieved 2 inquiries. When I looked back at the profiles, the girl who inquired had 5 years on Airbb and the one who ended up  insta booked had 5 years with 1 review as well. Why did one have to inquire and one could just insta book? Also, I was under the impression that to instant book you needed a long history with the platform and a good standing. I do not consider 1 review in 5 years a good standing especially with both profiles being almost blank.

I had wanted to flip my own personal bedroom in the future, as in next year maybe, and move back to my third floor suite, but not until I went back to my thrid floor was I prepared to do this. It seems I had no choice as my thrid floor is rented, I had to move my own self into a unfinished bedroom, that is used as  storage space so I can,  before the end of the month have a third bedroom ready to rent so I can move the current guest into it for her extension, which she was fine, as she knows she was to get an answer to me about her extension almost 2 weeks prior and didnt, and have time to have the bedroom cleaned and ready for the girl that instabooked, as she didnt want a brand new remoldeled bedroom with all brandnew furniture, etc, she wanted the room she saw the picture of and booked...URGH!!!! I thought this would make life more easy by hosting people in my very large home, but so far it has honestly been closer to a nightmare, not to mention what I deal with, with the current guests. Before the nurses extension is done I will also need to get a new listing up, pictures taken etc etc.

I have now put into my house rules on the platform and in a seperate document when they check in that if they plan to extend that I will need 30 days advance notice or they take the risk of someone else renting the space and they will need to fins other arrangements for their extension. 

I cannot reason why this happened, why does evrything fall on the hosts shoulders, even when they have no control over most things that end up happeneing and Airbb does not seem to care about that.

If anyone has any advise or insights I would love to hear from you.

[Jennifer1897]

@Rebecca2501 

Unfortunately, the inability to book would fall on the RN, and not yourself. As a host as well, I tell guest that tentatively want to reserve dates but are unsure on their schedule that it' a first come first serve basis. It's nice that you are sympathetic to the situation, but as you said there is not much you can do. Cancelling another guest is unfair to that guest and can also result in a penalization towards you. 

That being said, instant book is not reserved for well-established guests. Almost anyone can instant book (name, email. phone number and payment are required by Airbnb itself) As hosts, we can set additional parameters (often called "those with a good track record") under instant book settings. This will allow only guests with no previous issues to book. 

I think you are going above and beyond to please both guests. Moving yourself into an unfurnished room to accommodate is a nice thought in theory, but definitely not necessary, and a major inconvenience to you. Moving forward if this type of situation occurs again, I would send a nice note to the guest stating something along the lines of " Hi XYZ, it was a pleasure hosting you thus far. Unfortunately, reservations are honored on a first come first serve basis, and the room was booked by another guest last evening. If anything happens to become available, I would be happy to have you extend." 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Rebecca2501 

Some hosts who take bookings for long periods prefer to use Request to Book instead of Instant Book, so they can communicate with the guest before accepting.

If you do use Instant Book, you have the option to slide the switch that requires a "Good track record":

This is in the Listings Tab under Booking Settings:

As @Jennifer1897 has said, the bar for "Good track record" is not as high as you had hoped, and it's quite vague:

Good track record: completed a reservation without incident or bad reviews

Here's the detailed article:

Customize booking settings - Airbnb Help Center

About the two guests who both tried to book: if you have Instant Book on, it doesn't mean that all of your bookings will be instant. Only bookings inside your availability window, and inside your advance notice period, and from guests with a good track record (if this option is turned on) will be instantly confirmed. In addition, one of the guests may have used the "Message Host" button to contact you first. It prompts them to enter their dates, so it's a way for a guest to make an enquiry without booking the dates right away.