@Marie111 Hi Marie, your perception is correct.....the automated booking system is not recognising this as a new booking. What this guest has done is sent you a message through your existing message stream requesting another stay rather than submitting it as a new booking request! Your message stream with previous guests remains open for a considerable time, and conversation through that stream will not trigger a new booking request. You will need to contact the guest through your messages, explain this to them and ask that they submit a new booking request, just as they did the first time they stayed with you. Do not under any circumstance arrange another booking without going through the correct Airbnb procedure. As nice as the guest may have been many hosts have been scammed by accepting bookings outside the Airbnb protocol. You have no protection if you accept 'private' bookings, and a booking that you arrange with the guest through 'messages' would be classified as a private booking!
The following link by Dave & Deb may be of some help to you but I can't find anything specific regarding 'messages'.
Reservation "Inquiry" or "Request" - What's the Difference?
I am sorry that it has taken this long for someone to respond to your question Marie! Be assured that responses on the Community Forum generally are answered rather quicker than this one, and I am in part to blame for that! I did see it yesterday but, because it is not a part of the platform that I get involved in I did not respond to it and I can't guarantee that the information I give to you will be 100% accurate!!! But you had a genuine question to which you deserve an answer! I sincerely hope that it is accurate enough and, it has not come too late to be of help to you. Cheers.....Rob
