Understanding calendar and booking settings

Your calendar and booking settings give you full control over when you share your space, from a few weekends to 365 days a year. Mastering these settings can help you run your hosting business more smoothly—and meet your guests’ needs, too. 

For example, keeping your calendar availability up to date can help you avoid having to cancel a booking, an action that can lead to penalties for you and an unpleasant experience for your guest. Here’s how to set up calendar and booking settings that work for you and your listing.
I use my calendar and booking settings to create the type of listing I look for as a traveler—one that I can book quickly and check into early.
— Superhost Kevino, 
Mexico City

Setting your availability

Keeping your calendar up to date is important: The more dates you have available, up to 2 years in advance, the more options guests have to choose from.

You can use your calendar and booking settings to strike a balance between providing plenty of availability for guests and setting a schedule that works for you. Superhost Kevino uses these settings to:
  • Update pricing based on demand in the area. “I tend to charge more in October and November, which is considered the busy season in Mexico City because of the many festivals that take place. Everyone wants to be here for Day of the Dead!”
  • Set specific times for check-in and checkout. “Guests can check in starting at 2:00 p.m. and check out any time before 12:00 p.m—I want my guests to feel like they have time to relax and eat breakfast before they leave. I also provide a locked area where guests who want to stay in the city past checkout can safely store their luggage.”
  • Block dates that he’s reserved for family, friends, or frequent guests. “I also have some guests who like to come back year after year at the same time, so I often go ahead and block those dates.”

You can also use your reservation preferences to:

  • Choose the amount of time you need to prepare for guests. For instance, some Hosts don’t allow same-day or next-day bookings because they want more time to follow the enhanced cleaning process.
  • Set a minimum and maximum length of a stay. Some Hosts require stays of at least 2 nights, while others require stays of a week or longer during their area’s high season.
  • Sync your Airbnb calendar with your other online calendars to make sure you’re always aware of upcoming bookings.

It’s helpful to remember that your calendar tracks your guest bookings, too. You can use your custom and enhanced views to check on long-term availability, review past nightly rates, adjust future pricing and promotions, and plan ahead with confidence.

Set your availability

Choosing how guests can book your space

Guests can book your space one of two ways: either through Instant Book or a manual booking request.

Instant Book allows guests who meet all of your requirements and agree to your house rules to instantly book your home for any available dates. This tool speeds up the reservation process for guests, eliminating the need for you to review and accept each booking request.

I did a test where I posted my listing first with manual requests and then with Instant Book. With Instant Book, I got significantly more bookings.
— Superhost Kevino, 
Mexico City

Manual booking requests tend to be favored by Hosts who:

  • Have unpredictable availability due to their personal needs and schedule
  • Provide a space with unique features, like extremely rustic conditions, they want to communicate with guests about to set expectations before booking
  • Offer longer stays of 28 nights or more
With these and other settings, you have control over when and how your space is booked—and develop a hosting calendar that works for you.
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