Direct booking requests expire after 24 hours if you fail to accept or reject the request. If you prefer to automatically accept Direct booking requests, you can enable Direct's Instant Book feature. To get started, toggle on the feature from the Instant Book page, set an optional last-minute reservation buffer, and save your changes.
Last-minute reservations
You can specify the minimum number of days before check-in that are required for Instant Book to be applicable on a reservation. If a last-minute reservation comes in that is under your threshold, Hospitable will not automatically accept the request. If you set your threshold to zero days, all reservations will be eligible for Instant Book.
Guests can continue to submit booking requests up until your property's Advance Notice setting in Availability settings. If you allow requests with shorter notice, guests can submit requests to book up until 1 AM the day after check-in.
Guests can submit booking requests up until the Advance Notice setting in your property's Availability settings. If you allow requests with shorter notice, they can request to book until 1 AM the day after check-in.
If you require more notice for Direct Instant Book than your property's Advance Notice setting, booking requests will only be automatically accepted up to the threshold you set for Direct Instant Book.
Instant Book for Direct Premium
For Direct Premium, guest verification checks must also be finished, Instant Book can really help make sure you don't miss any qualified booking requests. When enabled, Hospitable will accept booking requests automatically when the risk score is Low. All other risk scores will require you to manually accept or reject the request.
How it works
After a guest creates their booking request, they next proceed to guest verification.
Once the guest finishes the guest vetting portal, we assign a risk to the reservation.
If you have enabled Instant Book and the risk color is low, the booking request will be immediately accepted after the guest finishes their verification.
If the risk color is medium or high, the booking request will not be automatically accepted. You should manually accept or reject the booking from the Inbox within 24 hours of the booking request; otherwise, the request will expire.
Instant Book for Direct Basic
For Direct Basic, if you enable Instant Book, all booking requests will be automatically accepted unless they fall within any last-minute reservation window you set.
Why Instant Book Might Not Work
If you've enabled Instant Book but a booking didn't go through instantly, here are the most common reasons:
Advance Notice Window Conflict
Instant Book respects your Advance Notice settings. If a guest tries to book within your advance notice window, the booking may not be instant — it may fall back to a Request to Book or be blocked entirely, depending on your configuration.
See the section below (How Instant Book Works with Advance Notice) for the full breakdown.
Instant Book and Guest Verification (Direct Premium Only)
If you use Direct Premium, Instant Book only auto-accepts low-risk guests. When a guest hasn't completed verification yet — or their verification is still being processed — the booking won't be confirmed instantly.
💡 Important distinction:
Direct Premium auto-accepts low-risk guests only (not all guests). Verification must be completed first.
Direct Basic auto-accepts all guests without verification.
If you have guest verification enabled on your Direct Premium site, Instant Book works together with verification as follows:
Instant Book ON + Verification ON: The guest must complete both payment and identity verification. Once both are done, the booking is automatically accepted — no manual action needed from you. The reservation will move from "Pending Verification" to "Confirmed" without passing through a manual acceptance step.
Instant Book OFF + Verification ON: The guest must complete payment and identity verification, but after verification passes, the reservation moves to "Pending" and waits for you to manually accept it. Verification does not auto-accept the booking when Instant Book is off.
If you're seeing bookings stuck in "Pending" after guests complete verification, check that Instant Book is turned on. When Instant Book is off, you'll always need to manually accept bookings, even after the guest has been verified.
Payment Processing Delay
In rare cases, the payment authorization may take longer than expected. If the payment provider hasn't confirmed the charge, the booking confirmation will be delayed.
How Instant Book Works with Advance Notice
Instant Book and Advance Notice interact in specific ways depending on your configuration. Here's how each scenario works:
When Instant Book Is Disabled
Shorter Notice | What happens |
OFF | Guests can Request to Book up until the property's advance notice cutoff. After that, the dates are blocked. |
ON | Guests can Request to Book up until 1:00 AM the next day. This extends the booking window beyond the normal advance notice cutoff. |
When Instant Book Is Enabled and Direct Notice Is Longer Than Property Notice
Example: Property Advance Notice = "Same Day 4 PM" · Direct Advance Notice = "1 Day"
Shorter Notice | What happens |
OFF | Instant Book is available until the Direct notice cutoff. After that, the booking falls back to Request to Book until the property's advance notice cutoff. Then dates are blocked. |
ON | Same as above, but after the Direct notice window, guests can Request to Book until 1:00 AM the next day instead of the property cutoff. |
When Instant Book Is Enabled and Direct Notice Is Shorter Than Property Notice
Example: Property Advance Notice = "3 Days" · Direct Advance Notice = "2 Days"
Shorter Notice | What happens |
OFF | Instant Book is available until the Direct notice cutoff. After that, dates are blocked (the property notice has already passed). |
ON | Instant Book is available until the Direct notice cutoff. After that, guests can Request to Book until 1:00 AM the next day. |
💡 Key takeaway: Instant Book always operates within the Direct Advance Notice window. What happens after that window depends on the relationship between your Direct and Property advance notice settings, and whether Shorter Notice is enabled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I enable Instant Book for some listings but not others?
Can I enable Instant Book for some listings but not others?
Yes. Instant Book can be configured per listing from your Direct Booking settings. You can also manage this from the Properties > [Click Property] > Availability page.
Does Instant Book override my Advance Notice settings?
Does Instant Book override my Advance Notice settings?
No. Instant Book operates within your Advance Notice window. If a guest tries to book inside your advance notice cutoff, Instant Book won't apply — the booking either falls back to Request to Book or is blocked, depending on your Shorter Notice setting.
Why did a guest get "Request to Book" even though I have Instant Book on?
Why did a guest get "Request to Book" even though I have Instant Book on?
This can happen if:
The booking falls within your Advance Notice window (see the scenarios above)
You use Direct Premium and the guest hasn't completed verification or wasn't classified as low-risk
There was a payment processing delay
What's the difference between Instant Book on Premium vs. Basic?
What's the difference between Instant Book on Premium vs. Basic?
Premium: Only auto-accepts low-risk guests. Guests must complete identity verification first.
Basic: Auto-accepts all guests without any verification.
Can a guest book instantly if they haven't verified their identity yet?
Can a guest book instantly if they haven't verified their identity yet?
Not on Premium. The verification must complete and the guest must be classified as low-risk before the booking is automatically confirmed. On Basic, verification isn't required, so all bookings go through instantly.