Other hosts' experience with cancellation policy

[Maarten10]

Hi all, 

I wondered if any other hosts would like to share their experience with cancellation policies.

We have a larger house, suitable for groups (8 BR) and rented out as a whole, not single rooms.
At the recommendation of Airbnb and other platforms we changed the cancellation policy to be more flexible (cancellation up to 30 days in advance, sometimes even 7 days).

This year we  had a good summer full of bookings (good price + nº of nights), but now we've had 2 or 3 cancellations that leave a big hole in our finances. It is difficult to fill the gaps because our pricing is not really attractive for smaller groups, even if we discount a little extra. Unfortunately, I do not know what the reasons for cancellation was.

So I decided to go back to a stricter policy, guests have to pay at least 50% if they cancel. This has worked ok in the past.

Do other hosts think that Covid-19 has changed the perspective of guests on strict cancellation a lot?

I appreciate any input 🙂

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Maarten10  By having a flexible cancellation policy a guest can book your place as a 'banker' and then, a few weeks before travel, they can search for a better/cheaper place. Perhaps in the past listings were not available but now the market is saturated with short term rentals in many areas they will often find a better alternative