Guest wants reservation to be transferred into another guest’s name

[Codi13]

I have my house rented out in August with a strict cancellation policy set. The guest now may not be able to make it and he wants to transfer it to another guest’s name. I’m assuming he wants to avoid the cancellation fee. He also wants me to call him regarding the issue. What can be done?

[Helen3]

Hi @Codi13 

If the guest that wants to take over the booking  is a member of Airbnb and you are happy with their profile - Airbnb may consider transferring the booking but do check with them as I'm not sure.

do not call the guest but keep all communication with the guest on the airbnb platform. 

I would ask the guest who booked if their friend is on Airbnb and say that bookings are normally not transferable but you will check with Airbnb. 

[Codi13]

How do I check with air bnb?

[Shelley159]

However this plays out @Codi13 , don't phone and don't text directly. You want to keep all communication inside the Airbnb message thread.

I would ask the guest to cancel and refund them, and ask that the other guest book in their own name. But certainly not all hosts would agree with this. There's also a very big possibility that there is no other guest in the first place - they just want you to agree to a refund, and they know that you need to free up the calendar for the "other guest" to book. Even so, personally I would still want them to cancel and I'd rather give the dates to someone else. "Forcing" someone (through denying a refund) to keep a reservation that they don't want, often doesn't end well.

You'll probably get some different perspectives here, which will help you decide.

[Codi13]

Ok, thank you for your help. What do you mean by “doesn’t end well”?

[Shelley159]

If a guest wants you to refund them when they cancel and you're not willing, the guest may keep the reservation and they can review you @Codi13. There are many posts here from hosts who feel reviews were retaliatory (because the guest didn't get a refund), but they have no success getting the reviews removed. It's often not easy or straightforward to prove that someone reviewed you in retaliation for something you did, like enforce your cancellation policy.

[Codi13]

Also, how do I refund if my cancellation policy is set to take 50%?

[Codi13]

He is now saying the other guests will just come and he may not come at all but they’ll keep the reservation under his name. I’m not sure how to respond to this….should I tell him that if he can’t make it he should cancel? And they should rebook under their name?

[Shelley159]

@Codi13 you could follow @Helen3 's advice and contact Airbnb Support about the booking to find out whether they're willing to transfer it to another guest in the party (if one of them has an Airbnb profile that you'll accept). Technically, if the booking is not transferred, it's a 3rd-party booking which is not allowed:

Booking for friends and family - Airbnb Help Center

If the booking is not transferred, you're back to the decision as to whether you want to ask the guest to cancel and perhaps refund them, and see whether the other person then books the dates (or wait for someone else entirely to book).

If you keep the booking in the name of the original guest and let the others stay, that's a risk you take. Worst-case scenario (which doesn't necessarily have a high probability): something goes wrong and there's an issue with insurance or Airbnb Support. Most likely scenario: the guests are a little less concerned about their behaviour (more messy, a little late checking out, etc.), as the people staying are not the ones at risk of getting a bad review from you.

[Codi13]

Ok thank you. I think I’ll refund him (if I can) and hope his friend rebooks. How do I refund him if my cancellation policy is set to take 50%

[Shelley159]

Hi @Codi13 - just don't cancel from your side by selecting cancel on the reservation (that will result in heavy penalties, and you're not the one who can't go ahead with the booking).

The guest can contact Customer Support and ask to cancel, indicating that you've agreed to a refund (if you do). Support may contact you to check this with you.

Alternatively, you can contact Support and indicate that your guest wishes to cancel and that you're willing to refund, but make sure they process it as a guest cancellation (not a host cancellation). They will likely contact the guest to confirm first. 

(You could also take the opportunity to find out whether they would transfer the booking to the other guest)

I tried to look at your calendar to see how long this guest booked for in August, but everything looks unavailable until 1 September?