How booking requests work

A booking request is a resident's proposal to stay in a specific room (or rooms) for specific dates. Until you accept and payment processes, nothing is confirmed.

The shape of the flow

Resident submits request  →  Pending host response  →  Accepted by host
                                       ↓                       ↓
                                  Declined by host      Resident pays
                                       or                       ↓
                                  Missed by host       Confirmed booking

The booking moves through several internal states as it progresses: pending host response, pending payment, then a confirmed payment state once everything settles.

Step by step

1. Resident submits a request

The resident picks dates, rooms, and confirms personal details. You see the request in Bookings and get a notification.

2. You have 48 hours to respond

Counted from when the request lands. During this window you can:

Review the resident — profile, verification status, why they're moving.
Message the resident in the Inbox — questions don't extend the timer, so respond fast.
Accept — moves the booking to its payment state.
Decline — sends the resident a note and releases them.

If 48 hours pass without action, the request is marked as Slipping Away. If no response is given by 120 hours, the system auto-marks it as Missed by Host. A missed request counts worse against your metrics than a clean decline.

3. Accept

When you accept:

The booking moves to the payment state. If the resident has a card on file, payment is captured; otherwise the booking sits in pending payment until they pay.
Once paid, the booking is confirmed. The room is held on your calendar.
The resident gets a confirmation and your check-in instructions if configured.
The instalment counts toward your balance for payout.

4. Decline

When you decline:

You pick a reason from a preset list (and can add a short note).
The resident sees the reason and is free to look elsewhere.
Frequent declines hurt your acceptance rate.

5. Missed

If 120 hours pass with no response, the system auto-marks the request missed by host. The resident is notified and your response performance takes a hit.

What you see on the request

When you open a request, you see the resident's profile information: verification status, age, occupation, languages, the reason they're moving, past bookings if any.

Multi-room requests

A single booking can include several rooms in the same listing (a couple, a friend group, a family). You accept or decline the request as a whole.

What happens if the resident cancels

Before you accept, the resident can cancel with no penalty. After you accept (or after payment), cancellations follow the cancellation policy of your listing — see Cancellations: who can cancel and the impact on you.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can I get more time to respond? A: No, the 48-hour window is fixed. Message the resident early if you need information — they often wait.

Q: Can I see who the resident is before accepting? A: Yes. Profile, verification status, age, occupation, reason for moving.

Q: What if I accept and then can't host? A: Contact support to cancel — host-initiated cancellations are not a UI action.

Q: Why didn't I get notified about a new request? A: Check that notifications are enabled in your account settings, and that our emails aren't in spam.

Q: The resident wants to pay outside the platform. What do I do? A: Always decline. Off-platform payment voids our cancellation, dispute, and payout protections.