Airbnb has a feature which opens up the booking process for guests making the reservation process so much quicker. This is a pro for guest’s making plans plus time saving and hands-off for hosts. Turning on the instant booking feature allows for reservations to be placed without you having to pre-approve them first. In this article we’ll answer and discuss the question, “Should I use Instant Book?”.
This allows guests to make reservations quickly and conveniently as they would when booking a hotel room online.
Good track record
You have the option of allowing everyone to instant book or to only provide this feature to guests who have previously used the platform and have not received a negative review or had a bad experience. Just select the ‘Good Track Record’ option.
Despite how reassuring the ‘Good Track Record’ setting sounds, even with this option selected, it still really is a wild west. You are still essentially allowing anyone to book.
I’ve had guests book with no feedback. This to me isn’t really a good track record as they don’t have a track record. Likewise, guests with two or three bookings completed that never received feedback, could be a sign for concern.
In my opinion, I’d love to see Airbnb implement a more custom IB requirement setting. Such as allowing you to select the minimum rating and minimum number of ratings you’d allow as well as the age and activity of the profile requesting to book so that you can determine it rather than allowing Airbnb to do it.
Again, on the flip side, some of my instant booking guests have been very tidy, have great reviews and history of using the platform regularly. These are solid members of the Airbnb community. These are bookings from profiles where I’ve had no prior contact with them until the booking confirmation pop ups on my phone.
Is it worth it?
One positive of Instant book is that I’ve definitely found an increase in bookings when this setting is switched on. There’s even been occasions when I’ve had two or three bookings placed in one day. Your calendar will quickly fill up for the month.
This is perfect for getting a little more organised with your hosting and planning your life and weekly schedule around your bookings in advance. Depending on how you have set your refund settings, you can on very rare occasions end up taking an increased income without great loss to yourself if guests cancel with a non-refundable booking.
The instant book setting also allows you to send a short pre-written message for guests to read. They will view this before they confirm the booking.
There’s not enough space to go into any real detail with the guest, but with mine I just ask them to read the listing description (as I’ve had guests mark me down for things that clearly weren’t included but they had missed from booking in haste). I also confirm that by booking they confirm that it is they themselves that will be at the property and that they are not booking on someone else’s behalf.
Again, I’ve had issues with 3rd party bookings via instant book. Despite this, the benefits outweigh the risks and it hasn’t put me off using this setting. Whilst risky bookings are an occurrence we as host needs to look out for, they are rare.
Who might it not work for?
I can see why instant book might not be appealing to someone with a spare room to rent. You’ll probably want to vet someone beforehand and ask some questions regarding their visit. At the end of the day, you are allowing a stranger into your home with you.
For me, it comes down to how keen you are to fill your calendar or earn some extra income. If you’re happy with offering your place to Airbnb part time or as a casual host you’ll probably be happy with this setting switched off so you can be more selective.
If you’re a professional host or want to reach capacity every month you may find yourself relying almost solely on instant bookings. This way you can generate the most income out of your place,
Plus, because you can switch it on and off whenever you please, turning it on can help speed this up. This is particularly the case when you need to get some reservations pencilled in.
My Experience
Take it from me, you can guarantee that the difference will be noticeable. I turn mine on and off now and again when I notice quiet periods. Sometimes if I want to fill my calendar, I’ll turn it off when I’ve got a set number of bookings for the month.
My neighbour next door also runs an Airbnb and he keeps his instant book setting on all the time. The property is purely a rental and his calendar is almost fully booked. Even despite the close proximity of our rentals, we’re not competing. There are plenty of people using the platform and searching for accommodation in our area.
For the best success and more earnings on Airbnb, keep Instant book switched on. Your bookings will snowball to a steady stream every week. You’ll also notice within a few weeks from that first and subsequent automatic acceptances that you’re place will be booked up to your requirements.