Can I change reservation date multiple times?

[Vicki404]

I have made a reservation but cannot fulfill it due to an expected circumstance. I don't want to lose my 50% deposit + service fee, so I am thinking to postpone my reservation to a later date.

This is the cancellation policy of my booking:

"Free cancellation for 48 hours. After that, cancel up to 7 days before check-in and receive a 50% refund, minus the service fee."

QUESTIONS:

1. The host only open for reservation for next 6 months only. But I want to postpone my trip for more than a year. Can I change my reservation date more than 1 time?
2. I need to pay the 50% balance before I can request the date change. If after a year I want to give up my reservation, will I get the 50% balance refunded?
3. Will the dates on cancellation policy get updated after the reservation date amendment?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

@Vicki404 You're going to have to contact your host about this one. Any changes to the booking have to be approved by the host to go into effect, and it would be very unusual for a host to willingly accept a change to a date that's a year away. 

Perhaps the host will be willing to work something out with you, but in all honesty the most sensible thing you can do is cancel your booking and accept the loss.  

[Jessica2792]

@Vicki404 - were you able to change the dates more than once to be able to get your trip to the 12-month or more date? I’m in the same dilemma!

[Huma0]

@Vicki404 @Jessica2792 

This seems most unfair to me, i.e. most unfair to the host. You do realise that this is probably their income and that by changing your dates multiple times you are messing with that? 

I wold suggest that:

1. You check the cancellation policy BEFORE you book. If you cannot commit to those dates, then choose a listing with a more flexible cancellation policy or wait until you know your dates. If something serious and unexpected comes up, then there is an extenuating circumstances policy, but this does not cover you changing your plans on a whim.

2. Take out travel insurance that covers these kinds of issues. Do not expect the host to be your de facto travel insurer. That is not their job and it is unfair to expect them to be out of pocket. You do realise that they might have lost other bookings for those dates because you held up their calendar, right?

[Jessica2792]

@Huma0  - I’m over 110 days from when my original travel dates will be which gives them ample time to rebook the condo… We had some  changes in scheduling so unable to make the dates for this year but wanted to do the same weekend in 2023 in the same condo we have reservations for… While I appreciate your effort in taking so much time to write your lengthy opinion/reply, it was unnecessary and did not answer the question asked, nor are you the person the question was posed to. This condo is also run thru AirBnB by a 3rd party, so it isn’t as simple as contacting property owner directly. 

[Huma0]

@Jessica2792 

Okay, but you do realise this is a community forum, so by posting here, you are inviting responses from other users and you might not agree with all of the responses you get? That is kind of the point of an online forum...

If your dates are 110 days out, then I wonder why you do not automatically get a full refund anyway, unless you have chosen a listing with a stricter cancellation policy (or a long term one), which you would have been fully informed of when you booked, so it was your choice. The fact that you had changes in scheduling is hardly relevant. That is not the host's problem, sorry.

What is more problematic about your post is that you are asking how to change the booking MULTIPLE times without penalty. 

[Huma0]

@Jessica2792 

Oh, and as for my 'lengthy opinion/reply', it's not that much longer in word count than your reply to me. 

Again, this is an open forum for discussion, so if you can only handle people that agree with you, maybe it's not the place for you...

You are basically asking how to get around the contract that you signed up to. Not due to to some sort of extenuating circumstances, but due to changes in schedule, but you seem to think someone else, rather thank you, should be responsible for that?

[Jessica2792]

@Huma0  - Lolz… I understand that this is a community forum, but as you can see by when I went with the ‘@‘ it gave the question to original poster, I’m not the postee  asking for unsolicited advice. Lastly, no where in my question was I saying I wanted to skip without penalty, I just wanted to extend my date. It’s much easier when going thru property owner/host then a 3rd party in this situation. Cheers!

[Huma0]

@Jessica2792 

Well, then I would suggest in future you do not book with 3rd party operators. From what is reported on this forum, they are often problematic. You are better off booking with a host you can actually communicate with.

As for your question being directed at a specific user, you picked a post that is more than 2.5 years old. So, if you are going to reopen the discussion, you are likely to attract responses from other people. Unlikely that the original poster who is still showing as level one (means not very active on this forum) is ever going to see your post.

[Huma0]

@Jessica2792 

And just to be clear, when you make a booking on Airbnb, those dates are then blocked in the host's calendar. No other guests are able to book them. So, by changing your dates multiple times, you are potentially preventing that host from getting other bookings for those dates. You don't think that there should be a penalty to you because you are just moving your dates (even up to a year in advance) because you are not cancelling, but that host does not get paid for the dates that were blocked for you unless another guest books them.

Sure, 110 days seems a long way out and I have never refused a guest who wanted to change their dates well in advance, but at the end of the day, you signed up to a contract. You are now trying to break it. 

Maybe I have got something wrong and you are asking for something that was within the contract you signed up for? In that case, apologies, and I am sure you will get your refund/date change or whatever that you are supposedly entitled to.

[Jessica2792]

@Huma0 - definitely agree about the 3rd party! Lesson learned there. My partner also operates an Airbnb so the hoops I’m going thru seem a little perplexing, like I’m going in circles when I reach out to try to communicate with host/Airbnb but get touted to 3rd party who then refers me back to Airbnb. The 3rd party agreement has a different cancellation policy which is more lenient and no where in the AirBnB property does it list I can’t book further out then 6 months… Decided to just change to making it a summer trip when we take my daughter back to college vs having a ski trip. 😉

[Huma0]

@Jessica2792 

Who is the 3rd party? Is it a management company or a co-host? I'm not sure how they can have a different cancellation policy to the ones on Airbnb. If you made the booking on the Airbnb platform, then one of the Airbnb policies will apply (whichever one the host has selected). I don't know how a 3rd party can override this, but maybe someone else here knows.

As for the dates, each host can choose their booking window (mine is 12 months because I host long term stays, but it used to be 6 months and some hosts choose 3 months) from their settings, but this information is not automatically displayed on the listing. I know a lot of hosts do not accept bookings more than six months in advance because there is more likelihood that those bookings will be cancelled or the guest will want to change the dates! 

The easy way to tell is to go to the listing and put in the dates you want. If the host doesn't allow bookings that far out, those dates will automatically be blocked and show as unavailable. 

Anyway, it sounds like you have resigned yourself to going sooner.