3 Powerful Airbnb Calendar Settings No One Uses

Airbnb recently released some long overdue calendar enhancements that very few hosts are taking advantage of. Did you know you can set different minimum night stays for peak seasons, or only receive reservation requests for days in the next 6 months?

While providing consulting to some large Airbnb hosts over the past month I’ve been shocked that very few people are properly utilizing some of these new calendar options. Wouldn’t it be nice to only receive reservation requests for a week or longer for the summertime while still being able to fill your calendar with shorter-term reservations in the current month?

Under 10% of hosts with multiple properties are utilizing the instant book option. In order to increase the adoption of the instant booking option from large-scale hosts, Airbnb has introduced the following calendar enhancements.

Different Minimum Night Stay Requirements

There is nothing more irritating than someone booking a one-night stay over a long holiday weekend. Airbnb has heard our demands and implemented a solution. You can now set a minimum night requirement for any data range. This is hugely useful for filling up your peak season with longer stays. Currently, I’m only accepting 5 night stays over the summer. This will save me countless hours managing my place during the peak season and maximize my per booking value.

Same-Day Requests

Nothing is more troublesome than someone booking your place at the last minute and expecting the place to be fully prepared. How long does it take you to get your place ready after a reservation is received? The best hosts have a place that is always prepared by having cleanings completed as soon as guests check out. But, for the rest of us, this option is a godsend.

Under your Instant Book tab, select how many days, or hours, that you need to prepare your place for last-minute guests.

Distant Requests

How many of you have received reservation requests for dates that are for over a year in the future? I know I have, and for me, it’s impossible to guarantee that my places will still be available that far in the future. Worse is when someone uses Instant Book to book your place for the summer of 2016 and you have to cancel the reservation and incur a cancellation fee. Those problems have been solved by the “distant requests” options that allow you to only accept reservations 3, 6, or 12 months into the future.