This article on how to use Airbnb suggests dont' use IB

I'm a normal home. I have 2 room which are on instant book and my bedroom and the sofa are not.
more than half my guests are instant book guests. It offers them peace of mind that they have a place to stay without having to stress for hours waiting for hosts to respond to their requests. They also get the place they want without risk that a host might string them along a while hoping for a more attractive guest (whatever that means).

I've had zero problems with my instant book guests. ZERO!

Regular request to book people are the big waste of time. 30% of them extract information and time then don't end up booking. 20% of them didn't read the listing and ask questions that have been answered (I usually tell them they are free to read the listing then ask any question not answered therein)--I usually don't hear from them again, which is mission accomplished.

The rest usually just ask something relevant to parking or proximity to some thing that is important to them. .I answer along with advice on whether or not this place is going to work well for them or give them a caution about something (it'll take 45 minutes to get there from here, but you're welcome to stay). Most of the time these people book and life is good for everyone.

Almost 100% of the time, people who need more than 3 messages before booking are trouble. They consume a lot of time even after booking and they want you to be part of their trip while they're here. No bueno.

So, I, a normal home, love IB.

I've said this time and time again, and will do so every time this "IB sucks" conversation comes up, "Your listing should be self selecting. If it is, then it will attract the right guests and IB saves everyone time."
If your listing isn't self selecting then IB will produce terrible results.

So, what is "self-selecting"...
In my listing, I describe the neighborhood, the space, and what type of guest will enjoy it here. More specifically I state the following:
"The house is ideal for people looking for a quiet oasis from the city. It's a non-smoking house, but you can enjoy a smoke on the balcony overlooking the city."

This automatically turns off the people looking for a party pad. While there have been a few, the fact that these are "hosted" stays and that they know other guests are looking for a "quiet oasis" means they wont have any fun here. It also turns away people who want to sit in bed and smoke all day long. probably 5% of my guests have been smokers and with only 1 exception (who seemed to think that pot wasn't considered smoking) none had to be told to go smoke outside.
This also reinforces what I say in the first paragraph on the listing:

"The apartment is a flat in a 100 year old Victorian home with some old world touches and many modern conveniences. Nestled between the Castro District and Haight-Ashbury District you are in convenient walking distance to two of San Francisco's great neighborhoods and close to public transportation. This is a quiet oasis from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco."

So, now they've seen the word "quiet" 2 separate times in the listing.
It's also clear that this building is OLD. It will not operate the same as a new house, but it's been modernized for comfort.

The description along with the price will draw the right guests.
If you're price is low, you'll get bargain hunters.. This may be the right fit for your offering..
If you're price is too high, you'll get people who are demanding possibly more than you're offering.

The secret is to find the goldilocks zone for pricing and back that up with the description and pictures.


That IB would be forced upon people without also a clear explanation of how to make it work, is terribly wrong.
I do understand AirBnB's position, although I don't agree with it, on making IB required... it's about discrimination. IB automatically prevents discrimination--well form the booking approval point, you may end up staying somewhere they're hosting a nazi revival and have to confront racism up close.

What I've said to people who have feld discriminated against in their quest for an airbnb listing is "why would you want to stay there in the first place? this racist asshole just saved you from the regret of giving them your money." People often talk about "vote with your dollars". Many people don't want to enable racism by funding it, directly or indirectly. Some profiles exude racism... they're easy to avoid. Others, maybe it's preferable they just reject your booking and you move your money to someone whose social values are more in line with your own.

Aloha CC,
I was just looking for your post of the guest who had left a "." as his review.
I just got one (grrr....a local of course) that was totally empty of any comments.
Perhaps there's an airbnb lag of some sort going on.
The emptiness was no where posted expect in my emails to read her review.
The number of reviews did not increase.
Whatever, tis Hump Day. I bet Airbnb had special catered breakfast, lunch and dinner for their IT to pay more attention to.
The option is there to respond to the review, and I was thinking of you and your "What I think so and so meant to say was...".
Of course, (like in your experience with the guest) I went out of my way for their repeated changes in time of arrival, who knows what else for a one night stand.
I love 'old age', so much easier to forget irrelevant stuff that doesn't make a hoots difference tomorrow.

I agree Keith on the way you describe the "self-selecting" listing. I think you are basically describing the art of how to write a listing description. The art of attracting the right guests and repelling the wrong ones. Sometimes when hosts complain about problems they are having with guests, I or other hosts have looked at their listing and found in their listing description, things which when added up, could be viewed as helping cause the problems they have experienced.