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Category: Listing Optimization
By: Anika Sharma
Reply by Lauren Fischer:
**Short answer: enable Instant Book.** Here's why: **The data is clear:** - Instant Book listings get **20-40% more bookings** than Request to Book - Airbnb's search algorithm strongly favors Instant Book listings - Mobile users (60%+ of bookings) are more likely to book instantly — the friction of waiting for approval causes many to book a competitor **How to screen guests WITH Instant Book:** 1. **Require government ID verification** — this is a setting within Instant Book 2. **Require positive reviews** — you can require that guests have at least one positive review to Instant Book (new guests can still send a booking request) 3. **Use Instant Book's cancellation grace period** — if someone sketchy books, you can cancel penalty-free within 24 hours using "My guest makes me uncomfortable" 4. **Pre-booking message** — set up an automated message that sends immediately after an Instant Book: "Thanks for booking! Just to confirm — this is a quiet residential property suitable for [max occupancy] guests. Is this correct for your trip?" **When Request to Book makes sense:** - Ultra-luxury properties ($500+/night) where guest vetting is critical - Properties with HOA restrictions on guest types - If you get frequent problem bookings that ID verification alone doesn't prevent I switched from Request to Instant Book two years ago. My booking volume jumped 30% in the first month and I've had zero additional quality issues.
Reply by David Okafor:
One thing to add: Airbnb gives Instant Book hosts a special "penalty-free cancellation" specifically for this purpose. If a guest Instant Books and their profile is empty, they have no reviews, or something feels off, you can cancel without any penalty to your account. I've used this maybe 5 times in 2 years. The other 200+ Instant Book guests were totally fine. The risk is much lower than people think.