What happens when a request expires

A request you don't respond to within 48 hours becomes a missed booking on your account. From the resident's perspective it looks like silence. From the platform's perspective it counts worse than a decline would have.

What the resident sees

The request status changes — they see it expired with no action.
They receive a notification.
They can submit a new request — to you or anyone else.

What you see in your account

The booking shows up in Bookings under your missed/past requests.
Your missed bookings count goes up on Performance review.
Your response time and declining rate also feel the effect.
Sustained missed bookings can affect your search ranking.

What you can still do

If you wanted that booking:

Message the resident in the Inbox — apologise, briefly explain, invite them to send a new request.
Make sure the dates are still open in your calendar.
Respond fast when the new request arrives — your trust with that resident is already shaky.

Many residents will give you a second chance, especially if your reason is human.

How to prevent it

Push notifications on your phone — don't rely on email alone.
Team coverage — invite a team member who can cover when you can't.
A pause schedule — if you'll be unavailable for more than a day, contact support to pause the listing.
Even a 30-second placeholder reply counts as engagement and keeps the resident interested.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can the 48-hour timer be paused or extended? A: No.

Q: I responded just after it expired. Does that help? A: It can rescue the relationship (the resident may still book), but the missed booking is recorded.

Q: Do missed bookings affect my account? A: A single one won't. A pattern over time will affect ranking and can trigger a performance warning.