Sorry for what I’m sure is a silly question, but when I view my listing as it appears publicly, Instant Booking is an option. I do not want to use Instant Booking but can’t find where to turn it off! I’ve googled it of course but I can’t find any toggle button to disable it. Thank you in advance for you help!
Best,
Adam
App - listings - click listing - instant book off
Website - listings
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Are you a new host? Airbnb is making ‘select’ (and you can’t choose to be one of those ‘select’) new hosts automatically have instant booking, and not allowing them to disable it. I personally think it’s a short sighted bad reaction to the recent press about #airbnwhileblack, but maybe there’s another agenda at play.
If the info that Paul gave you doesn’t work, I’d say that you have to contact customer support to disble instant booking.
Good luck.
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Hi guys,
Thanks for your answers. I think you’re correct super host, I am a brand new host and there’s almost certainly no way to toggle it off. It totally defeats the purpose of trusting people with your home and turns Air BnB into a hotel with which you have little control over who comes.
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@fluorescent you could call ABB and say turn it off or I’m deleting my listing. If they won’t then I guess you have a choice to make. I have instant book for the last 3 months and dozens of guest with no problem, but it’s a room in my home, with a separate entrance and a digital keypad lock. Also I get travellers, not tourists.
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Yes, select new hosts are forced to use instant booking. I just called them regarding a new listing I am adding to my account. I am not a new host, and below is the reply I received. Air just cut out a huge chunk of whole homes where the owners will not use instant booking for very good reasons. I do not believe this has anything to do with the discrimination in the media. Homeaway and all the other listings sites are trying to move everyone to instant book like a hotel. The problem is you cannot be on instant book listed everywhere or else you will get double bookings. And Booking.com and Air have clearly proven that guests do not read descriptions or house rules before clicking that instant book button.
"It’s a pleasure speaking with you.
When you sign up for Airbnb and activate your listing, guests will be able to book your space without needing to request approval. This feature can’t be turned off, but you have the option to require all guests to meet additional requirements before they’re able to instantly book your space. This gives you more control over who can stay in your listing.
Here are a few ways to control who gets to book instantly:
1. Set your reservation preferences
You can use reservation preferences to control when and for how long guests can book your space. You can also block days before and between reservations to give you time to prepare. Read more about how to set your reservation preferences here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1210/
2. Set guest requirements.
All guests will have to provide Airbnb with certain information to book. You can also decide whether you’d like all your guests to meet additional requirements. Read more about guest requirements here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1170/
3. Set House Rules.
In addition to meeting guest requirements, you can set House Rules that guests must agree to before booking. You’ll be able to cancel penalty-free if a guest breaks your House Rules. Read more about setting House Rules here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/472/
I hope this helps! Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with."
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This is a terrible idea on Airbnb’s part.
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Seriously. That is nuts
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Just spoke with a very polite but ultimately ineffective person at Air. She told be that it “looks like it’s a new policy” but her floor manager was “shocked that they couldn’t turn it off”. I respectfully told them that after my first 2 guests depart I will be cancelling my account. They will call me back later in the day to see if anything can be done. I would advise anyone who is in a similar situation and is unhappy with automatic instant booking to do the same.
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What @KKC said. You do have the option to ONLY let folks book with a good review but I don’t think that is good enough. Please call Airbnb and voice your unhappiness. I think IB should only be available to experienced hosts! To foist it on newbies is wrong.
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As someone who has instant book I have to say, very selfishly, this policy doesn’t upset me. I hope it reduces competition. However, I am completely sympathetic to those of you who simply CANNOT offer it and if I were in your shoes I would be SO upset. I completely understand since before my remodel I could not offer it. There are quite a few listings in my town that have instant book so I don’t know how much advantage I actually have. Here is a new host who offers a private room and bathroom and breakfast for 2 people for $24 a night, with no cleaning fee. Good lord! I hope this is just their low intro price and that they have a bad guest soon. LOL. I haven’t had a booking in a week, they are probably why.
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Same here fluroescent. The rep. I spoke to last night kept saying I could turn it off. It is exhausting for me to have to train reps. on mulitiple sites every time I call. I kept asking “are you sure because the airbnb community forum is blowing up with the people who are absolutely pissed”?
Then he finally put me on hold and said it was just some hosts. Of course they will be testing this and then will likely eventually try to push everyone if they think they can, and don’t lose too many hosts.
Maggieroni - yes in so many ways this is a terrible idea. For some properties instant book is great, but for others it is a horrible idea.
Right now when I get an inquiry or booking request through other sites or my own website, and I am corresponding with the guest, or maybe I am sending an invoice for payment, I have to go to the booking.com website and block those dates just to prevent an instant book from coming through. So now hosts will also be going to Air’s site to do the same thing. It’s ridiculous. I may be almost finalizing a week long booking - have received signed contract, vetted the guests, and am just awaiting payment - and then if you forget to close off those dates, then a 2 night booking could come through, and now you have to tell other guest sorry. It’s so messy. And I hate closing off dates on any calendar until I have received final payment. But with instant book there is no other option.
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We air two bedrooms in our apartment. IB HS been working great for me (hosting for 3 months now with many groups checked in). I was actually thinking of turning off the IB option just based on some upset stories I read online. But personally so far so good.
Do you vet one night stays guests? Sometime I feel kind of intrusive to ask much details of their trip etc if I know they will be arriving maybe at night and leave in the morning, so I don’t know how to really phrase my vetting.
This must be the beginners low price strategy. That’s basically what the new hosts in my area are doing. They can’t make money out of it, they are basically buying the reviews. So I wouldn’t worry too much as they will increase the price as soon as they have a handful of reviews. They only have 3 reviews now. I didn’t check the calendar but they must be booked up. Pretty soon you might see the difference.
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I charge £21 per night on Airbnb, gradually rising as my reviews go up and I get bookings filled. Started at £20. Long term rental I could only get about £13 per day. Even that low I’m profitable. I have no mortgage though.
@Maggieroni they must be using price tips or smart pricing. I put August dates to search. At that price it’s not even worth my time for cleaning the room and bathroom. I’ll be interested to see if they raise their price after someone eats all their food and drains their snack basket. LOL.
@Vera I don’t vet one night stays since they are mostly IB but I instantly accept all requests anyway. Well, unless they ask to pay cash or something odd like that. After they are booked though I check their reviews and also if they left any reviews for other hosts. Occasionally I will look them up on facebook, as much as anything to make conversation rather than checking them out for safety reasons. They aren’t totally booked up but they do have more dates blocked over the next two months than I do. Thing is you can’t tell if they are unvailable or booked.
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I raised my price after I got some undesirable behaviour too.
We have instant booking for posivite reviewed guests only. I think I will too not do the vetting for one night stay.
Could someone start a petition for hosts to sign to voice displeasure at the IB option being made mandatory for ‘some’ hosts and probably more hosts in the future? I have no idea how to create an editable document like that? And to whom would we address it? Or maybe a hashtag on twitter?
I’m a single woman with one full time job, and a couple of part time/freelancing gigs, renting out my spare room. I would never feel comfortable with IB and would definitely remove my listing and find some other, probably easier way of making the extra income.
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I just tweeted B Chomsky or whatever his name is and Airbnb about this issue. I’m sure it will all stop now lol.
Seriously, guests do NOT read rules! Have it in my listing 3x and in House Rules, NO PETS. Just today I got a request for a couple that wanted to bring their 50 pound PUPPY, although they assured PUPPY is housebroken. I’m like ‘not my house!’. IB would have allowed these clowns to show up with said PUPPY. What if I"m allergic? Oh, I’ll just go get a hotel room???
I’m really angry about this issue.
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