With instant booking, guests pay the first rent and service fee up front and their booking is confirmed automatically. Here's how to turn it on and what changes for you.
Instant booking: how to turn it on and what it changes
The article was updated on 22. 9. 2026.
Instant booking lets guests book your property without waiting for your decision. The guest pays the first rent and the service fee up front, and the booking is confirmed automatically – there is nothing for you to accept.
Guests see an Instant booking label on your listing, which makes it more visible in the search results. Guests who can book right away are also less likely to look at other properties while they wait.
How to turn instant booking on
Open the listing in the My Rentals web app, go to General information, and find the Instant booking section. Switch on Accept bookings automatically – the change is saved right away.
You can turn instant booking on or off for each listing separately, at any time. Turning it off has no effect on bookings that are already confirmed.
Two things have to be in place before you can turn it on:
- Your billing information has to be filled in and valid in your profile.
- Your listing details have to be complete – address, floor, and apartment or room number.
We are opening instant booking step by step. We started with a smaller group of hosts so we can see how it works for them and for their guests before we open it more widely. If you don't see the Instant booking section in your listing settings, it isn't open for your account yet.
What changes for you
| Regular booking request | Instant booking |
|---|---|
| You have 24 hours to accept, decline, or suggest changes. | The booking is confirmed automatically. There is nothing to accept or decline. |
| The guest pays after you accept. | The guest pays the first rent and service fee before the booking is confirmed. |
| You read the guest's introduction before you decide. | You get the same guest details, but after the booking is confirmed. |
Everything else stays the same: the agreement is signed online as usual, and the first rent is paid out to you after the guest moves in.
What happens when a guest books instantly
As soon as the payment arrives, we notify you by email, SMS and WhatsApp that a confirmed and paid booking has come in. You'll find the booking details, including the guest's introduction, in the Bookings section of My Rentals.
The guest then has 24 hours to sign the rental agreement and verify their identity. If they don't finish in time, you have the right to cancel the booking, just as with a regular one – see this article. The guest's payment is then returned to them in full.
Why is instant booking paused on my listing?
Instant booking stays on, but is paused, when something is missing that we need for the automatic confirmation. Guests then send you regular booking requests until you fix it, and we send you an email telling you what to do.
There are two reasons:
- Your billing information is missing or no longer valid. Add it in your profile.
- Your listing details are incomplete – address, floor, or apartment or room number. Complete them in the listing settings.
If you use a channel manager, a sync can overwrite your listing and leave these details out. In that case complete them again in My Rentals – instant booking turns back on by itself as soon as everything is in place.
