How fast and how consistently you respond to guests feeds the Host engagement pillar of your ranking, which carries 20% of your score. Booking requests are the clearest case: each one has a 48-hour window, and letting it expire counts against you.
Targets
Respond to every booking request well inside its 48-hour window — the same day where you can.
Reply to guest messages within 24 hours.
Never let a request expire; if the room is unavailable, offer alternative rooms instead.
How to hit them
Check Booking requests and Messages daily.
Give a trusted team member the Manager role so they can respond when you cannot.
Keep rooms you are happy to sell without vetting on Instant Book, so they never wait on you.
What is measured
Response speed and response rate. Both sit in the Host engagement pillar alongside how findable your listings are in search.