The best way to manage your bookings and avoid cancellations is to keep your calendar up to date. You can mark dates as available or blocked, so it’s very clear to guests who are interested in your place.
To mark dates as available or blocked:
- Go to Calendar and select a listing
- Select a date or multiple dates
- Under Availability, select Available or Blocked
- Click Save
You’ll notice that available dates on the calendar are white. Unavailable dates are gray when automatically blocked, or have a slash if you've manually blocked them.
Note: As a Host, you can unblock any dates on your calendar—except for reservations you canceled, or dates booked through linked or synced calendars. You'll find more info on linked and synced calendars below.
Why calendar dates may be blocked
There are various reasons why dates on your calendar may be blocked:
- Your listing settings: You can decide how much advance notice or preparation time between bookings you need. Your calendar will automatically block dates to fit your settings (ex: if you want a 48-hour window between bookings for enhanced cleaning). Find out how to set preparation time between reservations.
- Other calendars: You might have linked your calendars for multiple listings or synced your Airbnb calendar with another website’s calendar. In these instances, your calendar will be blocked to prevent different guests from double-booking your listing.
- Pending trip request: If you have a pending trip request, those dates will remain blocked until you accept or decline the request. If you don't respond within 24 hours, those dates will remain blocked—though you can unblock them manually. To receive alerts for pending trip requests, adjust your notification settings.
- Confirmed reservations: When you accept a trip request, the dates are automatically blocked in your calendar.
- Canceled reservations: If you cancel a confirmed reservation, those dates will remain blocked. Learn more about what happens when you cancel a reservation.
- Expired trip requests: If a trip request expires before you’re able to respond, those dates will be automatically blocked. You can manually unblock those dates on your calendar.
- Insufficient info: Airbnb can block your calendar if you haven’t provided all the information required for your account, so make sure everything's up to date.
How inquiries or invites impact availability
- Guests may inquire about certain dates before sending a trip request: These dates will remain available so multiple guests can send inquiries, until you have a pending trip request. If you decide to issue an invitation to book and Instant Book is not turned on, those dates will automatically be blocked on your calendar until either the guest books or the invite expires after 24 hours—whichever comes first.
- If you issue an invitation to book and allow guests to book instantly: You’ll have the option to block those dates until the guest books or until the invite expires after 24 hours, whichever comes first. This gives the guest a chance to book. You can change your mind at any time by withdrawing the invitation to book.
