Airbnb cancelled a reservation the day-of and gave guest a full refund?

[Trevor-Jess0]

So I received a notification from Airbnb this morning. They had just cancelled a week-long reservation that was set to start today. This reservation has been on the calendar for several days. Not only did they cancel on the day of, they also gave the guest a full refund. 

"Unfortunately, we’ve received quality assurance information regarding this guest and we’re no longer able to support them as a member of our Airbnb community. Your calendar should now be open for the affected dates.

We’ve also reached out to (guest name removed) to let them know this is no longer an active reservation. We’ve refunded them in full and they are aware that we’ve let you know about this cancellation."

I feel like if Airbnb is going to cancel the booking on the day it is supposed to start, they should at least give me the cancellation fee I would have received from my Moderate cancellation policy. Most of my guests book a week ahead of time, so Airbnb is really screwing me over here. Also, this guest has all the check-in information, addresses, etc, and I'm not sure why Airbnb cancelled. 

Does anyone have experience with this? I've contacted Airbnb, but who knows when I'll hear back. Is it reasonable to try to get the cancellation fee from them? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Trevor-Jess0 Whilst the situation is unpalatable you have likely dodged a bad guest and should be happy that all you have lost is the rental fee. It would be unreasonable for airbnb not to refund the guest if they are not being allowed to stay at your place.

[Trevor-Jess0]

Yeah, you're right, there's probably a good reason and we're better off not dealing with this guest.

I agree that the guest shoudn't have to pay - I was hoping more along the lines that Airbnb had a little fund for things like this. It's just unfortunate that it happened so last minute since the guest had booked a week ago. 

[James2566]

My concern would also be if the guest is in transit to your home

with all the check-in details! That’s terrible. I think you dodged a bullet but their host guarantee should cover this kind of situation. 

[Colleen253]

@James2566 Another good point.

@Trevor-Jess0 Did you remove the ability for them to gain access to the house, or checked to make sure they did not get in?

[Trevor-Jess0]

Yes, we checked a few times and he didn't show, so that's good! We were worried about that since it's a self-check-in deal!

[Sarah977]

@Trevor-Jess0  If you get a booking cancelled, you should immediately change the self check-in code so they can't gain access.

[Emilia42]

@Trevor-Jess0 My guess is that Airbnb canceled the reservation because they could not collect payment or something surrounds the payment was fishy. Better they do this prior to the stay than when the guest is sitting in your living room. Is the guest's profile still active? My question now is whether or not this guest will have the option to leave you a review. I sure hope not.

[Colleen253]

@Emilia42 You raise a very good point about the review. If one does show up, @Trevor-Jess0, you will be totally justified in having it removed. 

[Trevor-Jess0]

Yes, I got the email to leave a review for the guest, so I assume he got one too (which seemed really odd). I do plan to have Airbnb remove it if he reviews me. We'll see!

[Emilia42]

@Trevor-Jess0 Please keep us updated!

[Despina27]

Same thing just happened to me! We have a strict cancel policy and should be refunded entire cost. I know I probably dodged a bad guest but why are they refunding the guest money. Shouldn’t they be giving that to me?