Why hosts are asked to respond within 24 hours

Hosts are asked to respond to reservation requests, booking inquiries, and all other messages from guests within 24 hours because quick responses build trust in our hosting community, making it easier for guests to find a place to stay, book an experience, or schedule a service.

Fast responses encourage bookings

If you got a booking inquiry or reservation request, responding within 24 hours helps you move toward a confirmed reservation. Guests who have already checked into a home or are planning a future service or experience appreciate quick responses, too.

Good response rates help your Superhost status

A high response rate is one of the criteria of reaching and maintaining Superhost status. You’ll need to respond to 90% of new messages, and accept or decline new reservation requests, within 24 hours.

What counts as a response?

A response depends on what kind of communication you got from the guest.

For homes:

• If you have a trip inquiry, you can do any of the following to respond within 24 hours:
  • Pre-approve the booking if your place is available
  • Send a special offer to suggest different pricing or dates
  • Send a message
  • Decline if you’re not able to host

• If you have a home reservation request, accepting or declining counts as a response
  

For services and experiences:

• If you have a service or experience booking inquiry, you can simply send a message to respond within 24 hours.

• If you have a service or experience booking, you don’t need to do anything. Your calendar automatically accepts the reservation and adjusts according to your service availability or experience host calendar settings.

For all other messages from current or potential guests, send a message to keep your response rate up.

What happens if you don't respond within 24 hours?

Taking longer than 24 hours to respond will count as a late response, which will decrease your response rate and increase your response time. Your response rate can impact your listing’s position in search results. You can find your response rate in your account under:

• Insights for most hosts
• Performance for hosts using professional hosting tools

Learn more about response rate and how it’s calculated.