Cancelling

[Stephanie2214]

A guest cancelled 5 days prior to booking by sending a message to me. This as within the cancellation policy guidelines so she does not need to pay. However I am not sure how to cancel this booking. At the time, I cancelled it straight away but I think she had to confirm this (which she didn't) now it is 2 days away and I neither I or she cannot cancel this booking without a penalty. 

Please can someone help guide me what to do here?

[Emiel1]

@Stephanie2214 

The guest must cancel the reservation, the attached cancellation policy will automacally calculate the refund (if any).

If a host cancels a reservation, then the host will always receive penalties from Airbnb !

The guest does not have to confirm a cancellation by the host.

[Kate867]

@Stephanie2214 … No no no, never ever cancel on behalf of the guest as you will be penalised by Airbnb.  Also, if a guest wants to cancel, do ask them to do it sooner rather than later to mitigate both their and your losses depending upon your policy.  Keep everything on Airbnb messaging.

[Stephanie2214]

Thankyou for your reply. I have now spoken with air b&b and they have advised the same. I wasn't sure on the procedures here but I have now asked the guest to cancel this booking themselves. 

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie2214  Then what do you mean by "At the time I cancelled it straight away"? Did you cancel it or not?

I would strongly suggest that you take some time to read through all of the articles for hosts in the Help section of the main Airbnb site. There's a lot to be aware of, and you don't want to be caught out doing something that  you will be penalized for.