I just received a request for New Years Eve weekend and we most likely will be out of town for that weekend. I'm not able to go past November 22 to update my calendar, so will I my rankings/scores/etc go down because I'm declining a stay for a weekend that Rover won't even let me update my availability for yet? And what's the best course of action to tell this client no since it's so far out and we don't know our schedule?
I would archive the request, and let the client know that it is too far out for you to consider booking at this time. Also mention that you'll most likely be out of town. If you are interested in serving them otherwise (like a different date) maybe you could do a meet & greet just to be sure that you and the dog are a good fit.
I like to let clients know that because life happens and travel plans often change, I don't book stays more than a month out. I am, however, willing to do meet and greets to assess whether it's a good fit. Like Mary said, this gives you the chance to be a first choice for other date ranges that come up for the client.
You most likely won't get many requests so far in advance. Just let them know that you are planning to spend some of the winter holiday out of town, and are not sure what dates are unavailable at this point. Let them know that you are happy to work with them if/when dates become more solidified (and availability allowing of course), but that you don't anticipate knowing for a couple of months.