Why isn't there a way to automatically cancel same-day reservations when payment isn't made quickly enough?

[Eric8077]

When a reservation request is approved and payment is pending, the guest is always given 24 hours to make a payment.  But, sometimes with same-day bookings, payment stays pending and is never made and I lose money.  Guests should have 30 minutes to pay max or the request should be canceled.  I always have to reach out to Airbnb support and they don't always cancel it.  I strongly feel some guests do this to me on purpose to make me lose money.  There needs to be a way to set a much lower timeframe for same-day bookings.

From my understanding, the only reason bookings are not immediately confirmed is because of declined credit cards.

[Guy991]

Hello @Eric8077 ,

Indeed, there is an old bug in the system in these types of situations, and I strongly advise that you write it as an idea in the suggestion box.

I am not sure they will fix it, but at least you have tried.

I do not believe guests do it on purpose. Sometimes they have issues with their payment method. I had a guest who wanted to extend their stay while they were here, but his payment did not go through. I saw exactly how it looked from his point of view.

[Eric8077]

What would be the bug?  They're always given 24 hours to remit payment.  Do you mean the card being declined is the bug?  I never see the option to cancel it on my end.  Do you mean there should be an option?  I've asked Airbnb support about it several times.

[Helen3]

Personally I don't take same day bookings and this is one of the reasons why.

Airbnb shouldn't accept same day bookings if they aren't able to ensure payment is made before a booking is confirmed @Eric8077