Instant book or booking requests
Let guests book a room instantly, or review each request first. On Finding Retreats the choice is made per room, so you decide exactly where you want the extra control.
Two ways a guest can book
Instant book
The guest books and pays straight away. No approval step.
- The default for every room you add
- The booking lands in your list as confirmed
- Best when the room is genuinely open and guest fit is broad
Booking request
The guest sends a request. You have 48 hours to approve it or offer other rooms before it expires.
- Set per room, so one retreat can mix both
- Nothing is charged until you approve and the guest completes the booking
- Best for retreats where you vet guests or manage tight room inventory
If a guest selects any room that is on request, the whole booking goes through as a request.
How a booking request works
From the guest sending it to the booking being confirmed.
The guest requests a room
They pick dates, a room and the number of guests, and can add a message. A 48-hour response window starts.
You approve, or offer alternatives
From Booking requests in your dashboard you approve the request as it stands, or offer one or more other rooms on the same retreat if the one they asked for is not available. Either way the 48-hour clock resets for the guest.
The guest confirms
On approval the guest is emailed a link to complete the booking. If you offered alternatives, they choose one and confirm it.
Unanswered requests expire
A request that gets no response within its window is marked expired automatically. No charge is made and the guest is free to book elsewhere.
| Request status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | Waiting for you to respond |
| Approved | You accepted; the guest can now complete the booking |
| Alternatives offered | You suggested other rooms; the guest is choosing |
| Guest confirmed | The guest completed the booking |
| Expired | The response window passed with no action |
| Cancelled | The request was cancelled |
One list for every booking
Instant bookings and confirmed requests end up in the same Sales list in your dashboard, with your full booking history alongside. Each booking shows:
- Guest name and number of guests
- Retreat dates
- Amount paid so far and the booking total, in the booking currency
- Payment status
- What you earn after the 10% platform fee
- Payout status
Your payout for each booking is scheduled for the day after the retreat starts, and the commission is a flat 10%, the same for every host.
See how the 10% compares with other platformsResponse speed counts towards ranking
How quickly and how consistently you respond feeds the Host engagement pillar, which is 20% of your ranking score. Requests you let expire count against you; requests you answer the same day count for you.
See exactly how ranking worksQuestions hosts ask
Take bookings your way
Instant book where it suits you, requests where it matters. Listing is free and the commission is 10% flat.
Want a manager to handle requests for you? See how co-hosts and team access work.