How does approving an Airbnb reservation request work?

You can change your listing's booking settings to set up "request to book" reservations. This allows you to approve reservation requests from guests via the reservation page in Guesty or the Guesty Inbox.

Below is the lifecycle of a booking request's reservation status from start to finish:

1. First, the guest will select reservation dates on the listing page in Airbnb, and click Reserve. After that, they'll proceed to the checkout page.
2. Once the guest provides their payment details, they'll click Request to book to send the reservation request to the Host.
3. The reservation will update to pending_verification status in Airbnb.
   This status means that Airbnb is checking if the dates are available to book, as well as, verifying the guest’s identity and payment method.
   The process may take up to 24 hours.
4. If the guest has passed the verification process successfully, the reservation status will change to Pending. If the guest hasn't passed the verification process, their request will be a failed booking, and won't be sent to the Host.
   The "Pending" status means that Airbnb has sent a reservation requested notification to Guesty. You'll also receive the request via a message thread on Airbnb.
5. You'll then have 23 hours and 50 minutes to either approve or decline the request. The dates will be blocked on the calendar to prevent overbookings and will remain blocked until you approve the reservation or the request expires. Keep in mind that this time limit is set to help maintain and protect your Host or Super Host status. Once the time passed, Guesty will send an automatic message to the guest, letting them know the request has been declined. This message cannot be adjusted or removed.
   
   • If you accept the reservation request:
     The guest's payment method will be charged
     1. If the charge attempt fails, the guest will be given 24 hours to revise or update their payment method, and the reservation's status will update to pending_payment.
     2. If the charge attempt is successful, the reservation status will transition to Confirmed.
     3. If the payment issues haven't been resolved within 24 hours, the reservation request will no longer be valid and the dates will become available for other guests to book.

        Important:

        If you deny the reservation request, the request expires (or is automatically declined), or the guest retracts their request, then the reservation request will be voided and the dates will become available for other guests to book again.
        The reservation can be declined automatically if one of the following occurs:

        • If you didn't approve/decline the request within 23 hours and 50 minutes of receiving it
        • The requested dates aren't available anymore
        • The capacity of the listing in Guesty (number of guests allowed) is less than what the request has
          

          For example: Let's say your listing in Guesty has a capacity for 10 guests, but the request is for 12 guests. In this case, the reservation request will be automatically declined.