You have 48 hours to accept or decline a booking request. If you don’t respond within that window, the request expires automatically and the tenant is not charged.
The 48-hour response window
From the moment a tenant sends a booking request, the 48-hour clock starts. You have three options: accept, decline or suggest new dates. You can respond directly from the notification email or from your Personal Dashboard under Bookings.
The faster you respond, the better. Tenants searching for accommodation are often applying to multiple listings at the same time. A quick response — ideally within a few hours — increases the chances that your chosen tenant is still available and hasn’t confirmed a booking elsewhere.
How to accept a booking
- Log in and go to your Personal Dashboard
- Click Bookings and select the pending request
- Review the tenant’s profile, dates and message
- Click Accept
Once you accept, the tenant’s payment is processed automatically. You’ll receive an email confirmation with the tenant’s contact details and booking summary. Your first month’s rent is transferred to you 24 hours after the tenant moves in.
How to decline a booking
- Go to your Personal Dashboard → Bookings
- Select the pending request
- Click Decline and select a reason
Always provide a reason when declining — it helps Uniplaces improve the matching between landlords and tenants, and it’s courteous to the tenant who took the time to apply. The tenant is not charged for a declined request.
What happens if you don’t respond?
If the 48-hour window passes without a response, the request expires automatically. The tenant receives a notification and is free to search for other listings. You are not penalised for a single expired request.
However, consistently missing response deadlines reduces your response rate score, which directly affects your listing’s visibility in Uniplaces search results. Listings with high response rates rank higher and attract more booking requests.
Does not responding affect your ranking?
Yes — Uniplaces tracks your response rate as part of your overall listing quality score. A low response rate signals to the algorithm that you’re an inactive landlord, which results in lower placement in search results over time.
If you know you’ll be away or unavailable, block your dates in the availability calendar to prevent requests from arriving during that period. See How to Update Your Availability Calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Can I accept a booking request after it has expired?
No — once a request expires it cannot be reactivated. If the tenant is still interested, they’ll need to send a new booking request. Contact the Uniplaces support team if you need assistance reaching out to a tenant whose request has expired.
Can I suggest different dates instead of accepting or declining?
Yes — if the tenant’s proposed dates don’t work for you, you can suggest alternative dates from the booking request view in your Personal Dashboard. The tenant then has the option to accept your suggested dates or withdraw their request.
What if I accidentally decline a request?
Once a request is declined, it cannot be reversed. Contact the Uniplaces support team immediately if this happens — they may be able to assist depending on the circumstances, but there is no guarantee the tenant will still be available.
Can I accept more than one request for the same listing?
You can accept multiple requests for the same listing as long as the dates don’t overlap. Once you accept a request for a specific period, all other requests for that same period are automatically declined. You can accept another request for a different availability window.
Still need help?
Contact our landlord support team →