Guest Requests To Shorten Stay

[Stephanie336]

I have a guest that booked 9/8-22 who now wants to come just for 9/11-21.  

I have a strict cancellation policy.  

AirBnB is asking me to accept or decline this date change request.  

Are there any pitfalls around this request that I should be aware of?  I have learned that we should not accept a cancellation request from a guest as it can hurt our metrics, etc. but what about in the case of someone just wanting to shorten their stay?

ALSO, when someone requests that we cancel, I learned that we as hosts have 24 hours to decline and if we do not decline within that 24 hour period, the reservation is automatically cancelled.  Would this be the same for a request to have a reservation shortened--where we must actively decline it within 24 hours or guest automatically gets their stay shortened and expense lessened?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide!  

[Paul154]

Ah. That is bait and switch.  She is negotiating in bad faith.

Ask her to pay a higher rate for her shortened stay or ask her to cancel, enticing her with $xx.xx dollars back of her 50% loss.

Sorry..

[Marit-Anne0]

@Stephanie336

Then I would adjust the rate before accepting.

[Stephanie336]

I haven't figured out how to do that; it simply gives me an option to accept the shortened stay or decline it; and the nightly rate remains the same whether I accept it or not.  

[Marit-Anne0]

@Stephanie336

You must decline their request and initiate the change from your end. Then you can alter the total amount to pay and they would have to accept the change.

[Stephanie336]

Thank you, appreciate your help.. it now sounds like she may just add the days on the end of the stay rather than shorten her stay.  Either way, this is good info to know!  

[Maria758]

Stephanie,

I agree, and disagree with @Marit-Anne0.  

I disagree with her previous post about changing the rates before accepting the alteration request.  In fact, I'm not sure you can change the rates before accepting the alteration request.  

However, I do agree in that yes, you should decline their request and send them an alteration request yourself.  I usually like complete such things on my end anyways, except for alterations like # of guests, that I tell them to do.  Guests' have to review and accept the alteration request before it becomes affective, and I include a Message PRIOR explaining what and why I sent the alterations I did. 

Here's is how to do it:

I'm a host. How do I make a change to a confirmed reservation? | Airbnb Help Center

I'm a host. How do I make a change to a confirmed reservation?

If you need to make a change to a confirmed reservation, you can submit a change request to your guest.

To submit a change request as a host:

1. Go to Your Reservations on airbnb.com
2. Click Change or Cancel next to the reservation you want to change
3. Choose Change Reservation
4. Click Submit Alteration

If the guest accepts your request, the reservation will be updated and they'll be charged or refunded if necessary. If the request is declined or you don’t receive a response, the reservation will stay the same.

There are a couple of other things to know about submitting change requests:

• Your chosen cancellation policy will apply based on the new dates.
• If the dates of the reservation have already passed, you can’t make any changes to the reservation.
• If you want to change the details of your requested changes, you’ll have to repeat the steps above and remove your request, and then submit a new one.
• If you changed your pricing, the new reservation will reflect this pricing if your change request is accepted.
• To request additional funds from your guest, you can do so directly from the Resolutions Center.

I do this all the time and it's worked out nicely all, but one, time!  ^_^  

If you need help, let me know via Messaging!

Hope this is helpful!

Happy Hosting!

Izzie, Co-Host

LOV Puerto Rico

[Marit-Anne0]

Perhaps you misunderstood - my idea was to forewarn the guests that the nightly rate would be different if they shortened their stay.

[Maria758]

@Marit-Anne0 Yes, I misunderstood.  I agree, forewarn the guests first... always ^_^

[Maria758]

@marzena This is a great tip!  I concur! 

Should they ultimately reconfirm they stay, it is could to include this information n their review.  Of course, remember to include this information "nicely" as my rule of thumb is to always remember that the reviews I post for guests are not only for the hosts, but for future guests as well.  I want potentional guests to know that we are flexible but also take our policies, and that of Airbnb, seriously.

There's always a nice way to rely negative news.

Happy Hosting!

Izzie, Co-Host

LOV Puerto Rico

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

You could message the guest that you offered 17 days at a total of $XX and then you agreed to 14 days at the same discounted rate giving a total of $YY but that your rate for 10 days would not be discounted and would be the same as $YY. 

Ask the guest if she wants to withdraw her alteration request or have you decline it since the cost will be the same.  Tell the guest that if she wants the alteration request to go through you will have to send her a resolution request for the difference and that you hope she will agree to pay that amount via resolution because she is asking for a different contract than that which was initially agreed upon. 

Hopefully the guest will reply with either "leave the reservation as is but we are not arriving until 'date'" OR  "go ahead and alter it and send me the resolution for the additional amount and I will happily pay it."  If the latter you could even offer to discount the resolution amount a little because you are getting those days back in your calendar with the potential of rerenting them.

[John1137]

Just curious how the discounts would apply- my original listing offered both a weekly and monthly discount-. If the change results in a stay that is now short of a month will Airbnb automatically refund me those funds?

[Kelea-and-Gord0]

Chiming in late here, but would appreciate feedback from the community. Guest books almost exactly 2 months before arrival. Short stay (just a few nights) but advises today...two days before arrival...that they would like to shorten the trip by 1 night. They did not send a personal note to us; rather they went through Airbnb options to change or alter a reservation. As such, Airbnb has asked us to 'accept' this request (meaning we lose the income of one night) or 'decline' (meaning the guest still pays). We are always very open to working with our guests, and have never stuck it to anyone if there are situations beyond their control, or they simply need to make a change to dates within a reasonable timeframe.

To shorten a stay last minute-as this one proposes-and without any reason, is a first for us.

The problem now is not so much the lost night itself, understanding the chances of us re-booking the night with another party is virtually nil, but we are on the hook for a scheduled clean...on a holiday weekend no less, so we can't get it re-scheduled in order to attempt a last minute recoup. The net result is we lose the rental for one night at minimum, cleaning fee on top at worst.

Imagine having guests arrive at your home if you have stuck to your policy guns...not too welcoming. Imagine letting people decide any old time they like to adjust their travel plans, which could financially impact you. I have let the guest know this, in gentler & simpler terms, but as language is a potential barrier we could come across as pretty rigid hosts. I have heard nothing back from them.

Should we just suck it up and take a hit? That is my principal thought to resolution. But why would Airbnb even allow this when our parameters for cancellation are already set...even though I understand this is not an outright cancellation. They still collect their booking fee, take their bit of skin from hosts as well, yet the burden is left to the host to appear 'good guy' or 'bad guy'. 

Any recommendations as to how others have handled this would be great. 

[Letti0]

@Kelea-and-Gord0  I decline and then tell them if I can rebook I will refund the money, so the sooner they cancel the date the better chance I have to rebook. Which you and I know will probably not happen, but it sounds better than just a flat out no. 

[Kelea-and-Gord0]

That is pretty much where I was thinking of going. Ultimately I can calculate my expenses (short of the lost night) and offer a palatable refund after we have received payout. We are reasonable folk, but not in the business of losing money on top of effort.