This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
All -
I’m a little unclear on the instant book window vs the dates I’ll accept bookings.
I see the option for choosing the booking window. (Btw, what does “Dates Unavailable by default” mean???)
But what if I want to allow Instant Book for anytime in the next three months, but further out than that and I want a request instead? Can I do that? I don’t want to block off the dates past three months in advance, but I’d like to review their request that far out and have a chance to consider how their request fits into the future schedule.
Dates unavailable by default is what it says on the tin. Your whole calendar will default to unavailable and it will be up to you to open dates on your calendar.
The rest of your post is unclear. I assume you’re asking other questions about the calendar but your terminology is confused as instant book isn’t managed through the calendar; it’s either on or off.
I did not mean to be unclear. Let me ask it this way, then.
I want to have Instant Book on. But I only want to accept instant bookings in the next three months.
I want to let people inquire or request a booking more than three months out. I do not want to show as unavailable.
No. This kind of granularity is not an option, which is really too bad. I would love to have a cleaning fee dates x through y, but not from y to z. Or, or, or, or. AirBNB’s platform is just not built for this type of nuance. [One of my great frustrations.]
@smtucker - Thank you. Agreed, we all would like to have various configurations. But sometimes we can have it, but we just don’t realize the trick to get it until someone helps us.
I really hate the phrase so much but ‘it is what it is’.
However it might be of interest for you to know that in my experience - and my experience only - the majority of guests send an enquiry first even though we use Instant Book. Checking back in my messages, I see that this is particularly the case with guests who are booking way into the future. Just a thought…
Open 2 listings.
One that is IB within 3 months.
The second is set so that you must review the request before accepting. Open it for 6mo, 12mo, or howver long you want it. You just have to be diligent to check your actual availability before accepting guests on the regular listing, and make sure to close dates on the IB listing.
A little extra work on your part, but would accomplish what you are requesting.
Airbnb doesn’t offer those kinds of options, no. And additionally, their platform is quite buggy wrt the options they do provide. So if they did provide more options, it would mean more bugs. More features -> more bugs in general. I actually tend not to use some of the features they do provide because they are just too buggy. E.g. dynamic pricing.
In this context, the two listings would have to be perfectly synced, as any overlap would cause confusion. And I’m not aware of a way to do this automatically.
I guess I will leave it as IB for now and not worry about the future. I, too, get mostly inquiries instead of Instant Book so far. Our price is high and I have the strict cancellation policy, so we usually get people asking a few questions before they risk their money. Thanks, all!
Most of my bookings are instant bookings these days. They all include a message giving me at least some information. I always send a message back within an hour. Most respond. A few don’t. The quality of the guests have nothing to do with that metric. It is kind of fun to wake in the morning to a booking on my phone. In fact, I am starting to think that my instant book guests are a bit less controlling and laid-back.
Yeah honestly my IB guests are the easiest. They know they want to stay with you, they’re usually very comfortable with the ABB style, and they’re usually the most laid back. It’s the people that ask a ton of questions and want to make all kinds of arrangements are the ones that are a pain.
