Managing Airbnb pre-approvals and special offers

When a reservation is confirmed via an Airbnb pre-approval or special offer, or when a host-initiated alteration includes a custom total price, you may notice that standard fees are missing from the breakdown in Guesty. This happens because Airbnb handles these inquiry-based bookings and custom-priced alterations differently than standard reservations, often bundling fees into a single total or requiring you to include them manually.

Learn more about reservation statuses.

Financial and accounting limitations

Understanding how Airbnb processes these totals is essential for maintaining an accurate guest folio and accounting folio in Guesty.

• Missing fee breakdowns: For reservations confirmed through pre-approvals, special offers, or host-initiated alterations with custom pricing, Airbnb does not provide a granular breakdown of individual fees.
• Impact on accounting: Because fees are often bundled into the accommodation fare, your accounting folio may show discrepancies where the total payout is correct, but the specific line items (like management fees or cleaning fees) are not separated.
• Guest folio impact: In Guesty, the guest folio will reflect the total price provided by Airbnb. For pre-approvals, only the cleaning fee is typically broken out after confirmation, all other fees remain embedded in the nightly rate.
• Manual fee inclusion: For special offers, standard fees are not added on top of your offer price. You must manually calculate and include all fees in the total price you send to the guest.
• Reservation alterations: Fees are displayed during an alteration depending on how the price is set:
  • Standard alterations: If the alteration continues from the listing's existing pricing settings, standard fees are applied and broken down normally.
  • Host-initiated alterations with a custom price: If a host sets a new custom total price via Airbnb, the alteration assumes the behavior of a special offer, and Airbnb only displays a single entry in the pricing breakdown. Original standard fees aren't carried forward; only the cleaning fee is retained alongside the new custom price. Ensure all other fees are already accounted for in the custom price you set.
  • Altering existing special offers: If you alter a reservation that was originally a pre-approval or special offer, Guesty can't account for extra standard fees because the original breakdown doesn't exist.

Understanding pre-approvals

A pre-approval is an invitation for a guest to book based on the specific details they provided in their inquiry.

• Price bundling: Once a pre-approval is confirmed, Airbnb bundles all additional fees (except the cleaning fee) into a single total accommodation fare.
• Fixed parameters: You can only pre-approve the specific dates, guest count, and price requested by the guest in their inquiry. You cannot suggest a different price or property.
• Calendar availability: Sending a pre-approval does not block your calendar. The dates only become blocked once the guest accepts and confirms the booking.
• Expiration: Pre-approvals expire after 24 hours if the guest does not take action.ked with pre-approval, an altered reservation will use the pricing settings at the time of alteration.

Pre-approve an inquiry

Follow the instructions below to pre-approve an inquiry via the reservation page.

Step by step:

1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
2. In the side navigation menu, click Reservations.
3. Click the relevant reservation.
4. Under "Overview", click Pre-approve inquiry.
   

Using special offers

Special offers give you the flexibility to provide a custom booking invitation to a guest. This is useful for offering discounts, suggesting alternative dates, or moving a guest to a different listing.

• Total price responsibility: When sending a special offer, Airbnb does not apply your listing's pricing rules. The price you enter must be the final total, including all reservation nights and any standard fees (like cleaning or resort fees).
• Taxes and deposits: Do not include taxes or security deposits in the special offer price. Airbnb handles these separately.
• Service fees: The Airbnb service fee is deducted from the total price you set. The payout you receive will be your offer amount minus that fee.
• Availability: Unlike pricing rules, your listing's availability rules still apply. Ensure the property is available and fits the guest's needs before sending the offer.

Managing pre-approvals and special offers

• Multiple offers: You can send special offers or pre-approvals to multiple guests for the same dates. The first guest to accept and pay will confirm the reservation.
• Customizing messages: You can customize the automatic message the guest receives for a pre-approval directly in Airbnb.
• Withdrawing an offer: To cancel a pre-approval before a guest accepts, you must withdraw it directly on Airbnb.
• Response rates: To maintain Superhost status, respond to all inquiries within 24 hours. Setting up auto-responses can help you meet these requirements consistently.