They look at Instant book like using Expedia. A Days Inn or Hilton is always instant book. I will never use it no matter how many times AirBnB pushes me to!
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To all those who are ‘Never IB’ers’
THANK YOU
You make my IB airbnb more valued and bookable.
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Only more valued and bookable to guests who want to IB. 
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And more discoverable. Airbnb wants to make it easy for guests to book and therefore favours hosts who use IB.
I agree with @muddy though that no system is right for every host, depending on the various factors she mentioned in her post above.
I’ve always used it and I’ve never had nightmare guests. I’ve never had to cancel guests and only once (in many, many years) have I had to ask a guest to leave the premises. (They did. I’m scary 
)
Believe it or not, all guests don’t want to IB. Single female guests have told me they never IB- they want to get a feel for the host first.
Also guests who have IBed before and had bad experiences with unethical hosts who were unresponsive, pulled a bait and switch,etc. They may want to send a Request just to see if the host answers in a timely manner, or at all, and answers any questions they may have, or just sends some generic cut and paste response.
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Isn’t that what inquirys are for?
I agree. It’s the same as hosts - one is right for some and the other right for others.
For instance, I always use IB. That’s probably because once I’ve decided on a place, I want to book it there and then rather than wait to be approved.
Should be, yes. But whether an Inquiry or Request, my point was that not every guest prefers the no fuss no muss option of IB.
That’s the answer. I’ve never used it, and never will.
I agree… as a guest, I love hosts who provide responses to all my stupid questions that I can figure out on my own. A host needs to be available at all times to respond to me… they signed up for this job. How dare the host have a life not to answer my refund questions on Christmas eve. Nevermind that I could book a hotel at twice the price if I wanted a concierge service. But why would I do that if I can get an Airbnb host to be my concierge for free?
[/sarcasm]
That certainly isn’t what I was referring to re hosts being responsive. I’ve read many posts from guests who IBed a place, never got even a cut and paste msg. thanking them for booking, but assumed all would be fine.
Then, when it was only a couple days before check-in, and the host hadn’t sent any check-in info, door codes, etc, and the guest msged asking for that, they got dead air. Some called Airbnb and even they didn’t get through to the host.
So if a guest has had an experience like that, they may be inclined to make sure the host responds before doing an IB booking.
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I know… I was just pointing out an extreme case similar to the extreme case you pointed out. Not all hosts who offer IB offer experience like you described and not all guests who send inquiries are the type I described.
People who are wary of bad airbnb experiences should not book with hosts with limited or poor reviews. They can IB with hosts like me with over 400 reviews. If 400 reviews doesn’t give them confidence, then I don’t think anything else will. These are the glass half full people always suspicious about everything in the world… I really don’t want anything to do with such people.
Do you have any proof of this. Or just hearsay?
I did IB for years and switched and didn’t notice a difference. I think the IB talking points are bunk.
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If guests prefer instant book, and my competition does not have it, then I get more bookings. If there are 10 folks with instant book, and one drops out, I have a better chance of being booked with nine others in competition rather than 10
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Did someone say they needed a bot? Well, look no further because I’m at your service! Feel free to share your inquiry, and I’ll put forth my utmost effort to provide assistance. Additionally, if you find yourself in need of aid down the road, rest assured that I’m readily available for summoning. However, it’s worth mentioning that I’m currently in the process of refining my code, so I kindly request your patience if my responses aren’t lightning-fast.
No, AirhostChatbot, no one said they needed a chatbot. Maybe you should tweak your code to comprehend “nuance,” better understand “context,” and learn to “read the room.”
As well as “nuisance”.
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I was reviewing my IB settings and noticed that for both listings where I offer IB it no longer required positive reviews from other hosts. The switch had been turned off and I KNOW that setting was required before. If I recall, it used to offer two selections: a “verified profile” setting and a “positive reviews” setting (or some such wording).
Now it just has a “Good track record” switch.
That change happened at least 6 months ago, maybe a year.
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Sheesh! I guess I’ve been lucky, then.