Booking.com’s Request to Book feature is available in all markets for eligible property types. It allows hosts to disable Instant Booking and review a guest’s booking request before accepting or declining it.
This article explains how Booking.com Request to Book works, how Hospitable handles these requests, and which property types are eligible.
Request to Book in Hospitable
Booking.com requests to book (RTB) are handled in two different ways:
As a Request to Book, which blocks your Hospitable calendar and other listing calendars while the request is processed.
As an Inquiry, which does not block your Hospitable calendar or on other listings.
💡 A "Request to book" and an "Inquiry" are the same flow from the guest's perspective. To Booking.com, there is only an option for "Request to book".
However, these are processed as two separate events on Hospitable, with different expected behaviours and functions.
It's important for you to know which flow your listing follows! See more below.
🚨 Note: Booking.com does not yet allow hosts to message guests through a third-party software like Hospitable during an inquiry.
The only exception to this is if the guest made the request to book using the iOS Booking.com app on their phone or device.
How Booking.com Request to Book works
The two different RTB flows on Booking.com are split between:
As a Request to Book: Enabled for hosts who:
Are in any of these countries: the US, Australia, France, Spain, UK, Germany, and Italy and
Have RTB and Payments by Booking.com set up on Booking.com.
As an Inquiry: Enabled for hosts who:
Are outside of those aforementioned countries, or
Do not have Payments by Booking.com set up on Booking.com.
💡 Both flows assume you have "Review and approve" enabled for your Booking.com listing on Hospitable.
Hosts in US, Australia, France, Spain, UK, Germany, and Italy
Hosts in these countries must also have RTB and Payments by Booking.com set up on Booking.com in order for the Request to Book flow to be enabled.
Hosts in these countries, who, for example, don't have Payments by Booking.com enabled, are not eligible for the Request to Book flow.
Other hosts
Hosts who:
Are outside the aforementioned countries
Are in those countries, but don't have Payments by Booking.com enabled
are not eligible for the Request to Book flow and instead follow the Inquiry flow.
The Request to Book flow
When a guest submits a request to book a property on Booking.com:
The host has 24 hours to accept or decline the request.
The requested dates are blocked on Booking.com for that time.
If the host does not respond within 24 hours, Booking.com automatically declines the request.
The dates are released (made available) again.
If the host rejects the request, the dates are made available again.
The host must give a reason for rejecting.
If the host accepts the request to book, the reservation is confirmed instantly, and the guest is charged by Booking.com.
For automated guest messaging, when receiving a request to book, see:
The Inquiry flow
The Inquiry flow looks the same as the Request to Book flow from the guest perspective, but there are some key operational differences from the host's perspective.
The host has 24 hours to accept or decline the inquiry.
Your Hospitable and other listing calendars remain available for those dates.
If the host does not respond within 24 hours, Booking.com automatically declines the request.
If the host accepts the request, the guest has another 24 hours to complete the booking.
If the guest does not complete the booking within those 24 hours, the request expires, and no booking is created.
The dates are not blocked on your Hospitable or other listing calendars during any of these steps.
For automated guest messaging, when receiving an inquiry, see:
Eligible property types
The "Review and approve" setting on Hospitable is not available for all property types.
The feature was intended for short-term rental hosts, and not for hotels.
Eligible property types are:
Holiday homes
Apartments
Villas
For any questions about your eligibility or about the request to book feature in general, please contact Booking.com's support directly.
How to enable Request to Book or Inquiries for Booking.com
In Hospitable:
Go to Properties and select the property that contains your Booking.com listing.
Go to the Availability page on the left-hand side menu.
Go to the Instant book tab.
Select the Review and approve option for the Booking.com listing.
Save your changes.
FAQs and troubleshooting
Why can't I toggle Request to Book on for my Booking.com listing?
Why can't I toggle Request to Book on for my Booking.com listing?
There is a specific scenario where hosts aren't able to switch between "Instant book" and "Request to book" on Booking.com.
When you created your listing on Booking.com, if you selected to set your listing to "Instant book" during the creation flow, and you then connected that listing to a property management software like Hospitable, you will not be able to change the booking preference to "Request to book".
This is a limitation placed by Booking.com, and something Hospitable cannot override.
How do I accept or reject a request to book from a Booking.com guest?
How do I accept or reject a request to book from a Booking.com guest?
You can accept or reject a guest's request to book with you directly from the Hospitable inbox.
These are the only actions a host can take on a request to book from Booking.com.
Why can't I message a guest who requested to book with me on Booking.com?
Why can't I message a guest who requested to book with me on Booking.com?
Booking.com does not yet allow hosts to message guests who made a request to book through a third-party software like Hospitable.
When you receive a request to book, and if you want to message the guest, you need to go to the Booking.com Pulse app or Extranet.
The only exception to this is if the guest made the request to book using the iOS Booking.com app on their phone or device.