Want to double your bookings? We’re betting you’re not opposed to the idea. If you’re interested in getting more guests and pocketing more profit, there’s a very simple way to draw travelers to your rental’s door. And the best part? It requires less effort on your part, not more. What we’re talking about is making your properties instantly bookable, a step that nearly two million Airbnb hosts have taken, and for good reason.
The Benefits of Instant Book
1. Get More Bookings
Airbnb claims that enabling ‘Instant Book’ can increase your bookings by 20%!
Today’s travelers appreciate the ability to move forward with their travel plans without waiting up to 24 hours for a response. This explains why more than 60% of Airbnb reservations on Airbnb are made on-the-spot.
Further, giving guests the option to book immediately removes the concern that they may look elsewhere while awaiting your reply and find something that appeals to them more than your listing does.
It’s also a great way to capture last minute bookings which account for 40% of reservations. Last-minute bookers, want swift confirmations of their reservations so they can organize everything else in time for their trip.
2. Do Less Work
With vacationers confirming their bookings all on their own, there’s no need for all that time-draining back and forth. Of course, you can still communicate with guests as you see fit or even set up a customized message to be delivered upon their booking. You can encourage guests to respond with any important details and ensure that a lighter workload doesn’t lead to a lesser experience for your visitors.
3. Increase Your Exposure
Sites like Airbnb allow for perusers to filter their searches so that only ‘Instant Book’ enabled rentals show up. Instant Book is among the top three most commonly used Airbnb filters, proving just how much guests prefer to book this way.
Moreover, OTA algorithms reward responsiveness. With Airbnb Instant Book, your response rate has nowhere to go but up. Plus, if you achieve a response rate of 90% or more, you can qualify for Superhost status, which comes with no shortage of perks!
4. Protect Your Rentals
Airbnb requires guests to meet certain criteria in order to utilize ‘Instant Book.’ In addition, you can set requirements of your own, such as a government-issued ID or recommendations from other hosts. If guests do not qualify, their booking request will not be automatically confirmed, but sent to you to accept or reject.
Second, travelers can only book with you if they accept the house rules that you have detailed in your listing description. When they book your listing, they are effectively entering into a contract that says they must comply with all of your terms. If they don’t, you can cancel the booking at any time without repercussions.
5. Protect Your Business
Worried about lost revenue due to guest cancellations? You can set clear cancellation rules as part of your terms, specifying when refunds will be applied and when they won’t.
As you know, nothing harms your business reputation quite like double bookings. With an effective multi-calendar that consolidates all your bookings across all your channels, you have no need to fear that two guests will be booked in the same rental at the same time, even if they’re reserving on-the-spot without your approval.
Instant Bookings – Instant Gratification
More than half of Airbnb’s five million listings are instantly bookable, and it’s easy to see why.
We reached out to Charles Bloem, a Guesty user and CEO of Home from Home, who enabled Instant Book on his Airbnb listings. Here’s what he had to say:
1. Did Instant-book help you grow your business, and how?
Instant Book certainly helped to increase our Airbnb bookings. We only started on Airbnb in late 2017, and it was really slow. Since we put our properties on Instant Book, we have seen tremendous growth. As a result, we are changing our business model to have all listings on Instant Book, and control our calendars through exceptional software such as Guesty’s, without which it would be challenging, if not impossible.
2. Did you see a rise in conversion rates?
Yes. We did notice that we have improved our conversion rates significantly. Guests are able to choose their dates, and view properties that they know are available. Once they make their decision, they book. Guests prefer this convenience.
3. How do you deal with unwanted guests?
We set certain requirements on Airbnb. Guests have to have a verified ID or passport uploaded, and they generally introduce themselves and give us a short itinerary.
4. Does it help you save time?
With Instant Book, we receive bookings throughout the day on Airbnb, without having to answer each and every enquiry. We combined this with automated messaging on Guesty, and it really works well. It saves us to we can work on getting more listings and focus on other important daily tasks.
5. Can you share some Instant-Book best practices with us?
Ensure you load your listing with as many details as possible. The more info you provide, the easier it is for guests to make a decision, and proceed to book.
It is critical that your calendars are up to date. Remember, you will be penalised if you cancel without good reason.
Instant Bookings – Instant Gratification
More than half of Airbnb’s five million listings are instantly bookable, and it’s easy to see why.
Enabling Airbnb Instant Book sets you up to collect far more bookings and spend less time doing it. With measures in place to ensure you only get the kinds of guests you’re comfortable with, “Instant Book” is a worry-free way to move your business forward, instantly.
Want to learn more about Instant Book and everything it can do for your business? Watch our free webinar, ‘Instant Growth with Instant Book’, presented by the pros at Airbnb themselves:
Guesty’s talented marketing team is comprised of passionate professionals who share insightful industry knowledge and shape brand narratives. By bringing a diverse blend of expertise to the table, we are the visionary architects behind the Guesty brand and innovative campaigns that help people understand our product.
