What is taken the moment you book

The moment the booking closes, the dates you chose are blocked on the listing's calendar. From then on nobody else can book them.

The space is kept for you the moment the card company approves your payment, and the same operation checks that nobody got there before you. There is no window in which two people hold the same space.

There is no answer to wait for. While you are entering your card details the space is not held for anyone, and whoever's payment the card company approves first gets it. The booking closes only when the payment is captured — when the money is actually taken, not when the card company first approves it. A paid booking stands for the whole period unless one side cancels it.

The dates are released when the booking is cancelled, or when the period ends.