[BETA] Chirp Safeguard: Protect Your Airbnb Response Rate

[BETA]: Chirp Safeguard is in beta. For now, it's available only to accounts using Conversations with Airbnb as their primary integration, connected in place of a PMS. If your Airbnb listings come through a PMS, Chirp Safeguard isn't available on your account yet. See the Airbnb Connection Guide to set up Airbnb as your primary integration.

What Chirp Safeguard does

Chirp Safeguard answers Airbnb inquiries and requests to book that nobody on your team has answered, shortly before Airbnb's 24-hour deadline. An unanswered request counts against your response rate, so Safeguard makes sure every one gets a response in time.

Safeguard only steps in when nobody has responded. For an inquiry, any reply from your team or Autopilot stops it. For a request to book, only accepting or declining does. Safeguard sends your own templates word for word, with template variables filled in. Chirp AI does not write these messages.

Why this protects your response rate

Airbnb explains how response rate works in Improve your response rate and response time:

"Your response rate is the percentage of new inquiries and reservation requests you responded to within 24 hours in the past 30 days."

"A response includes accepting, pre-approving, declining, sending a message, or sending a special offer."

Airbnb counts different responses for each type of request, so Safeguard takes a different action for each.

Inquiries: Safeguard sends a message before the deadline

Airbnb's rule for inquiries:

"If a guest sends you an inquiry—a question, or any kind of message other than a reservation request—via Message host, you'll need to respond to the inquiry within 24 hours to maintain your response rate."

Sending a message is on Airbnb's list of responses. If nobody has replied as the deadline approaches, Safeguard sends your inquiry template before the 24 hours run out. The inquiry is answered in time and stays open, so the guest can still book.

Requests to book: Safeguard declines and sends a message

Airbnb's rules for requests to book (reservation requests):

"If the guest sends you a reservation request, you'll need to accept or decline within 24 hours to maintain your response rate."

"Letting a reservation request expire without responding counts as a non-response and will lower your response rate. Declining a request counts as a response."

A request to book needs an accept or a decline. A message alone doesn't stop it from expiring, and an expired request lowers your response rate. If a request is still pending as the deadline approaches, Safeguard declines it, which Airbnb counts as a response. Safeguard sends your message template with the decline so the guest hears from you.

Important: Messaging the guest does not stop Safeguard from declining a request to book. If you want the booking, accept it before the time shown on the request.

Set up Chirp Safeguard

1. Go to Conversation Settings and find the Chirp Safeguard card.
2. Under When to respond, choose how long before Airbnb's deadline Safeguard acts. You can choose from 30 minutes to 6 hours before expiry.
3. To cover requests to book, turn on Decline trip requests automatically. Then choose a Reason and a Message Template.
4. To cover inquiries, turn on Reply to inquiries automatically. Then choose a Message Template.
5. Click Save.

Each type you turn on needs a message template. For an inquiry, the template is the reply. For a request to book, Airbnb requires a message with every decline.

Note: The reasons "Dates not available" and "Waiting for a better reservation" keep the requested dates blocked on Airbnb until someone reopens them. "Not a good fit" is the default and leaves your calendar alone.

Note: Safeguard sends the current version of the template you chose. If that template is later deleted, Safeguard sends the text the template had when you last saved the card.

What you'll see in a conversation

• While a request is waiting and Safeguard is set to act, the request's action card shows when it will act:
  • Request to book: "Chirp Safeguard will decline this request at …"
  • Inquiry: "If no one replies, Chirp Safeguard will respond at …"
• Messages and declines that Safeguard sends appear in the conversation from Chirp Safeguard.
• If Safeguard can't complete an action, it posts a note in the conversation asking your team to respond on Airbnb directly.

When Chirp Safeguard doesn't act

Right before acting, Safeguard re-checks the request live on Airbnb. It does nothing when:

• Someone already replied to an inquiry. This covers a message from you, a co-host or Autopilot, or a special offer.
• A request to book is no longer pending. This includes a request that was accepted, declined or withdrawn, including on Airbnb itself.
• The deadline has passed. Safeguard never acts after Airbnb's 24-hour deadline.
• It has already acted on that request. Safeguard responds once per request. A new request in the same thread gets its own deadline.

Safeguard checks for due requests every 5 minutes, so it acts within about 5 minutes of the lead time starting.

Source

Airbnb Help Center: Improve your response rate and response time. Quotes taken from the article on September 30, 2026.