Isn’t there a setting that can allow you a day between bookings if desired?
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Yes you can block the day before and after a guests stay. And you can require at least one days notice which will block all same day requests.
Correct, and I do have that turned on since I work full time and need time to clean the room between guests. I also have no-same-day bookings turned on. But…with instant book on, someone could instant book for the next day, and Air doesn’t care it’s it’s 11 pm in California, the computer will all the guest to book for the following day, and if I wasn’t expecting the guest and work needs to be done to prepare the room, I have less than 24-hours notice to get everything ready. And, that is exactly what happened this week.
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IB is often used by last-minute bookers. Air actually filters the search automatically with a message like ‘As your dates are so close we are only showing you listings with Instant Book’. You have to manually turn off the IB filter as a guest if you want to see other places. Last-minute guests are generally more problematic in my experience. So yes, you’re probably right to switch it off! On the other hand, you can always set your availability preferences to ‘at least two days notice’.
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If it weren’t for same day and day before bookings I’d have hardly any business at all. In addition almost all of what I consider my competitors have IB on. I’ve had no problems.
I have IB too (for recommended guests) and not had any major problems. I hardly every get last-minute bookings so my experience on that is limited, it’s true! It’s probably due to where I am, a high tourist destination so people tend to book well in advance. Some of the late bookings I’ve had tended to be rather disorganised people who hadn’t read anything about the listing and weren’t very respectful. But there are so many variables in this game, it’s hard to predict anything.
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@KKC and @Magwitch - are we the only hosts who love Instant Book??? I am completely rubbish at evaluating guests from their messages and profiles and IB saves me so much time and hassle 
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I am also a fan of Instant Book. In addition to not having to answer the phone at all hours; I believe that Instant Book guests are the ones who aren’t so particular.
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Some of you sound so sold, I am tempted to try it but don’t want guests breaking up my peak holiday weeks. I’m in a location that also takes considerable planning so I wonder how much it would even get used.
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@jaquo do you have any other requirements set for IB? You may have mentioned this before - sorry! I recently switched to the bare bones for IB (from requiring govt ID) because bookings have really slowed down. Feeling a little exposed especially after what @Magwitch is saying about the last minute ones.
Ha ha! I like to think I’m pretty good at evaluating guests but I’ve learned that nothing is foolproof. The only reason I do IB, frankly, is because it ranks me higher in the search and it’s hugely competitive in my area. I’m a live-in host though and run a tight ship, not sure I’d do it with an entire property. At least not one I cared about!
You can set a minimum night requirement for those weeks!
I understand why many people can’t use it but yes, I love just having a reservation without all the extra work. And there are a lot of people who like to believe in “gut feelings,” intutition, etc. My sixth sense doesn’t work at all and I have spent many wasted hours worrying and overanalyzing guests before they got here.
Can they still enquire and ask questions? The only difference is they get to book right away without you answering or approving?
Yes they can still enquire. I found when my setting where on “requires a govt ID” everyone enquired before booking. You can also set it to “recommended by other hosts”.
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Yes. I’ve found that guests who could have IB’d still make an enquiry so they are sure it’s what they want.
Nope. I just leave it as the default. It’s been working fine for me - maybe because I an such a bad judge of guests from their profiles 
But we are in a tourist destination and our price ranges from $120 to $300 (the latter being for special events). Maybe that’s a factor?
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I like to think so too but I am truly hopeless!
My IB settings are “Guests who have been recommended by other hosts”. Also, on the availability settings I have “At least one day’s notice” and the box “For Instant Book hosts: Allow guests to send reservation requests without advance notice.” is unchecked. I don’t really understand what that last one means, presumably someone could book and turn up an hour later? No thanks!
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