Booking Mechanics
Instant Book
Guests book without waiting for you to approve.
Why you care
Airbnb visibly favours Instant Book listings in search, so turning it off costs you ranking. The trade is that you screen with rules and requirements instead of by reading each request.
Worked example
Requiring government ID and no negative reviews keeps most of the screening value while keeping the ranking benefit. Turning Instant Book off entirely can cost a fifth of your impressions.