I usually do get IB notifications. I had a two or three instances last month where I found out I had a booking after checking my email, but usually I get the ding on my phone (android).
Hi Susan,
My husband (who is the sole smart phone owner in the household) says that he gets an email and a text when someone instant books.
One of my many pet peeves about Airbnbās website is that the tab on top of the screen doesnāt show when there is new activity like how Airhostforumās tab shows how many new posts have occurred.
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@faheem As you may recall, I was one of the āchosenā who was not allowed to turn it off. When they fixed that, AirBNB had just made it clear that those with IB would be more likely to filter to the top of the list. So, I chickened out and didnāt turn it off. Now, please remember, I have only done this AirBNB thing for about 6 months, so my experiences arenāt based on a long lifespan. So far, my IB guests have not been any different than the others.
Last month, as I was totally reservation less, I changed my setting to allow people who were verified but had no reviews to book IB, and the rate of bookings has increased. It is rather a pleasant surprise to wake to a reservation having been made while I sleep but folks in Australia are wide awake.
I am getting more of the type of reservations I prefer for this summer. Longer stays, fewer people in the group [i.e. only one bed to make]ā¦ and my rate per night is higher. I have enough stellar reviews now that I feel that my new price point is justifiable, and it appears that others agree. Thank goodness I wasnāt sucked in by AirBNB earlier this month to reduce my price to their suggested price.
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Yes. I want notifications! My relationship with a guest begins the moment they reserve or inquire.
Iāve had IB on for a couple of months and havenāt had one res from it. Itās been the regular requests even though some have had reviews from other hosts as I request from an IBer.
I feel the same. I always thank the guest for booking with us immediately. I think it signals to them that they will be well taken care of.
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Hi @smtucker,
Yes, I remember you told us that you were being forced to use it, and that you would never use it voluntarily. 
Iām still not using it, and still feel itās unlikely that Iāll ever do so. Though to make this work long term itās clear Iām going to have to diversify one way or the other.
Thatās a little surprising. You mean you get regular reservation requests? Why donāt they just book instantly?
It is surprising. Our guests like the convenience of Instant Book. The only ones who send reservation requests are the ones who have questions.
Even though I use IB, I find that many guests contact me first. Sometimes people who are using the Airbnb system for the first time really donāt understand what IB is all about so they enquire to find out if the dates are available.
They might have other questions such as whether a late check in will be okay, how close we are to the beach or some other landmark, whether weāll accept them because they are teenagers - there are lots of questions they might ask.
And yes, most of the information is in the listing.
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Yes, come to think of it, if I was to ever do an Airbnb booking myself - I probably would not do an IB booking directly. It just feels tooā¦ abrupt. Iād probably ask first. But I might not be typical. People are often in a hurry.
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If I had to guess, Iād say about half of my guests enquire first. Itās a good sales opportunity!
Would you prefer they did IB? Or do you not have a preference?
Itās true that Americans tend to rush through social interactions. However, I like Instant Book. Itās nice to not have to respond to booking inquiries in the middle of the night. Also, anecdotally Iāve found Instant Book guests to be better guests. The fact that they donāt need ask questions before they book translates to being less picky and more self sufficient.
To be honest, I donāt have a preference. I tend to respond quickly to enquiries and mostly guests book as soon as their questions are answered. I always assume that Iām not the only person to have heard from them so I like to answer them as soon as possible and do a bit of subtle selling at the same time.
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I have no idea except I require they have positive reviews and ID. Many of my guests havenāt had previous reviews.
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This happened to me a while back, text notifications just stopped for no reason. I got it working again by re-setting the push notifications options (under Account) on a pc. That is, I switched the options off and then switched on again. You could try it?
I will try that. Thank you for the idea. The odd thing is, I do get notifications and the big ding when itās an inquiry.