A reservation is a reservation

[Rosemary18]

For the most part I thoroughly enjoy being a host. I love it. This past week has been stressful because I was extending courtesies to a guest prior to booking. There is such a thing as being too nice. In this case a guest wanted me to give her "time" to make a reservation because she was in the process of buying a home. Big mistake. From now on my calendar will not be blocked while waiting for someone to book. Any Inn, B+B,hotel etc would not do that. 

[Allison2]

Bummer - sorry you had a frustrating interaction. Sounds like you dodged a potential headache with that guest, so maybe it all worked out for the best in the end!

I've had decent luck blocking my calendar for some people, but I won't do so for more than 24 hrs.

[Ira4]

@Rosemary18

I have also blocked some dates twice, but I have ended up to the same conclusion as you, I won't do it again. Not because the guests did something wrong, but because I add an extra difficulty to my work, because I exclude other people that are maybe ready to book and because I there is always the fear of letting my dates empty in the last minute. Also, the most difficult part when you have instant booking is to synchronize your time with the guest, so that you open the dates and he/she makes the booking immediately. 

There many listings and many guests for everyone. So, let's keep it simple! (my opinion, of course)

[David126]

I do not block dates, can of course work both ways, I had a 3 day enquiry that was blocked because of a one day instant booking.