Stay in Control: Homhero and Booking.com’s ‘Request to Book’
Homhero users can now enhance their hosting experience by utilising Booking.com’s Request to Book feature. This function is designed to give you complete control over your property and bookings, adding a crucial layer of approval for your peace of mind.
Discover how this feature puts you in the driver’s seat.
Highlights
- ‘Request to Book’ requires guests to send a booking request that you can manually accept or decline.
- It allows you to see booking requests beforehand, helping you prevent future issues
- You can choose how you receive bookings – either by letting guests book instantly (Instant Booking) or by reviewing requests first (Request To Book).
What is ‘Request to Book’?
Booking.com’s ‘Request to Book’ feature is a reservation workflow that gives property managers an alternative to the ‘Instant Booking’ model. It provides complete control by requiring guests to submit a booking request, rather than booking the property immediately. This allows hosts to review the request to ensure a good fit, and manually accept or decline the stay, offering an extra layer of assurance.
‘Request to Book’ vs. ‘Instant Booking’
The key difference between the two models is control versus convenience.
‘Instant Booking’ is often preferred by hosts and guests alike because it allows travelers, especially those in a rush, to immediately confirm their reservation. ‘Request to Book’ involves a manual review step. This choice empowers property owners to prioritise either manual control or the speed of an automated process, which in turn may impact their workload and total number of confirmed bookings.
Benefits of ‘Request to Book’
The primary benefit of this feature is the enhanced control and peace of mind it provides.
- Guest Screening: Hosts can screen guests before accepting a reservation, allowing them to understand who is coming and the purpose of their stay, which helps reduce potential risks.
- Personalised Stays: It creates opportunities to enhance the guest experience. By communicating during the request process, hosts can gather information to personalise the stay, such as providing themed amenities for a special event.
How ‘Request to Book’ Works
The feature operates on a specific two-way confirmation system:
- Guest Request: A guest must send a booking request at least three days before their check-in date. The feature is not available for last-minute bookings.
- Host Response: The host receives a notification and has 24 hours to accept or decline the request.
- Guest Confirmation: If the host accepts, the guest then has a separate 24-hour window to finalise the booking and confirm their stay (e.g. submit payment).
- Expiry: If either the host or the guest fails to respond within their respective 24-hour timeframes, the request automatically expires, and no reservation is made.
The ‘Request To Book’ workflow requires more active management from the host. It’s also important to note that direct communication is not permitted until the booking is fully confirmed, though hosts can pre-answer common questions in their property’s Q&A section.
How To Implement Request To Book on Booking.com with Homhero
Getting started with Request To Book is simple! This feature easily can be enabled for new listings by selecting ‘Request to Book'” as the ‘Booking Type’ in your Homhero listing settings.
For more details, view our step-by-step ‘Request To Book’ guide for setting up, pushing listings to Booking.com and managing booking requests.
URL has been copied successfully!