Airbnb cancelled my guests 32 day reservation 1 day before their arrival.

[Sue1983]

I had a last minute request for an extended stay of 32 days.  They also had 6 people in their family, and my limit is 4.  After thinking it over, I decided to accept the request.  I spent the next 3 days working my tail off getting our place ready.  Since it was an extended stay, we moved everything out of the closets and drawers.  I also completely emptied out our refrigerator and most the things out of cabinets.  I stocked the kitchen with basics for a month  long stay.  I also had to purchase an extra bed, bedding, towels and life jackets.   It was exhausting, but I got it done.  Just as I put the finishing touches of flowers in a vase and breakfast items in the refrigerator, I received an email from Airbnb stating Airbnb cancelled the reservation for my "safety".   They said the guest was under further investigation and and would not give me any more details than that.  The guest came thru as "Verified" and I relied on that information when making my decision to host them.   I did not think there was any risk to my committing to spend the time, effort and expenses to get my place ready, because my cancellation policy is strict and they were already beyond the cancellation point.  Airbnb cancelled them less than 24 hours of their arrival.  Am I wrong to think Airbnb owes me compensation?

[M199]

@Sue1983 

Sorry to hear your story.  Yes, you put in a lot of time, effort and cost.

Although there are major issues that hosts have with Airbnb, IMHO, count yourself lucky that a potential guest who already broke your house rules was caught. There may have been a safety issue with the guest that Airbnb became aware of after the guest booked.

Also, be aware that in most places, stays over 28 days become longterm and are subject to tenancy regulations, squatters, etc.  Also, Airbnb only collects the first 30 days upfront, therefore another potential loss.

Personally, if I was in your shoes, I would be happy that Airbnb covered my backside and maybe saved my place from being trashed. 

But that's just my opinion.

[Kelly149]

@Sue1983 at least it got canceled before they arrived instead of after. Now, you've done the hard work of getting ready, reset your calendar and be ready to pick up some smaller bookings in those now open 32 days. 4-5 shorter bookings at higher prices will likely be worth more than a one-month single booking. Don't go looking for ABB to reimburse you, they will not. Unfortunately, you just get to make lemonade out of lemons on your own.

[Helen744]

@Sue 1983 Tough one Sue. I am not sure what happens here some of the other more experienced in this type of prob may know. I am pretty sure that it does not happen often. I think the guest still owes you. Check your communication  with these people as the answer may lie there. I guess now you can host six. Maybe lessen your time to two weeks. So sorry this happened . I imagine your calendar is not blocked and you can take other bookings . All the best . Its sounds awful for you. H

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Sue1983 who knows when Airbnb became aware that this guest was potentially dangerous. As others have said I believe you have dodged a bullet and Airbnb have actually done a good job here. It is just a shame that you went to all the effort you did - Hopefully you can benefit from some of this in the future.

[Susan990]

Airbnb reserves the right to cancel ( deny) a reservation if it is not in their best interest or yours - likely the cause was either the lack of payment, or record of unpaid funds owed to them on a past reservation, or discovery of the card used as a purchased card, which red lights that the party might be a "party house-whore house " operation. ABB has filters for all these areas in place. The first red flag was the last minute reservation request plus the big one of #6 people when your listing says #4. Best advice never ever allow last minute reservations!!! You made your place a screaming  target for the worst of the scammers crowd. Lucky for you ABB caught it.

[Helen744]

@Susan990 Its inappropriate in Australia to say do not allow last minute bookings Although often this is where problems lie there are many small towns in Australia who cater for families and others who need to break their trips , as the distances travelled in Australia can be very taxing. The reason that last minute bookings are taken is because it is often difficult to calculate when travelling by car from say Melbourne to Sydney or Brisbane exactly where you will be at the end of your travelling day,so there is a whole category of bookings which do fall into 'last minute'. this is not 'destination travel' but a type of 'transitory travel'Generally covered by Motels but not always H

[Helen744]

Did you notice any 'flags' on your communications with the guest?

[Suzanne302]

@Sue1983  I agree with the other hosts who say be thankful you dodged a potentially bad guest. I understand you feel like you did extra work but Airbnb doesn't owe you for preparing your space.

[Laura2592]

@Sue1983 though it stinks to have such short notice, consider this a bullet well dodged. 

We had some last minute cancels because of payment issues. Early in my hosting career a guest stayed with an expired credit card. Took me  months and hundreds of hours on the phone to get my lousy pay out. Since then I am grateful for any cancellations where guests have payment problems. 

You don't know what kind of trouble you avoided. You already stated this was against your house rules. In my experience when you make those exceptions, you tend to regret them.