Guest cancelled on first day of stay on Moderate cancellation policy

[Natalie157]

Hello! I've been hosting for nearly 4 years and am a proud Superhost. I had guests booked for a 3-night stay, checking in on May 8, for their daughter's Master's grad ceremony. The morning of check-in, her husband called me to cancel. He said 2 of the guests, including his wife who booked, have bronchitis. She went to the doctor 2 days before but thought she could rally and make the trip. They waited until the absolute last minute to cancel. He even said he was still coming to town, but would find lodging elsewhere since he didn't need an entire house. My cancellation policy is "Moderate," which states, "Full refund 5 days prior to arrival." No "learn more" below like other cancellation policy options; it looks very black and white. I thought this meant that a guest has up until 5 days before check-in date to cancel and receive a full refund. Within that 5 day window, no refund would be issued. Apparently it does not.

I was given a payout that was $246 less than my full amount. I don't understand what I'm not understanding. I've contacted Airbnb. The Support Ambassador's supervisor was supposed to call me, but she instead sent a message during the designated call window (Monday morning 8AM-noon & I'd cleared my morning to be available). I messaged back, my question still unanswered, and heard nothing. I called Airbnb this afternoon (Tuesday), and the Support Ambassador's supervisor contacted my already-assigned supervisor. They refuse to call me. I find the quick questions-and-answers/back-and-forth of a phone call can be efficiently faster than messaging. I just want to talk to a supervisor. The supervisor just sent a message telling me I've received a payout via my chosen policy. The numbers do not add up and my guests cancelled the day of check-in. What am I missing here? Any clarification you all can provide would be extremely helpful. Thank you!

[Colleen253]

@Natalie157 The app is much more limited in what you can see and do. It's has it's uses for sure, but it isn't the be all and end all for hosting. There are loads of articles and information on the website help section you are likely missing.

[Natalie157]

@Colleen253 I get that the app is an abbreviated version. If that's the case, though, perhaps they shouldn't let hosts edit such important settings via app? We should be presented all information to make our informed decision. If said information isn't directly posted (for brevity's sake), they should link. Like I said above, if it said "Learn more" under Moderate, as it does on other cancellation policy options, I would just blame myself for not clicking/reading. But, for it to be presented in ONE sentence of "Full refund 5 days prior to arrival," I feel like it's shady. Now that I've read all of the information (via their website), I understand.

Yes, like you, I definitely refer to the website for the most prudent or time-sensitive issues.  I do try to stay educated, read Airbnb's newsletters, emails, etc. There's always room for more knowledge and improvement, though.

Happy hosting to you, and thanks for your info and reply!

[Sarah977]

@Natalie157  And then when you have informed yourself about everything, you find out they've suddenly changed a bunch of it 🙂

A friend who hosts got me into it. I'm not a techie, so was intimidated about using an online booking platform and kept procrastinating. 

One day when I was visiting her, she sat me down and said "Look, I'll show you, it's really not that complicated. So see, here's my dashboard, where it shows- hey, WTF, they just changed it all around again! " 

[Pete69]

A related question: Does Airbnb allow hosts to select the "moderate" cancellation policy, but write their own rule? For example, if a host wanted to have free cancellation until 3 days before check-in, then after that, the canceling guest must pay 100% of the first night + cleaning fee, plus only 50% of the second night, then a 100% refund for the remaining nights booked.

[Alexandra316]

@Pete69 You can always manually refund more than whatever the guest automatically gets. Trying to make it stricter wouldn't be possible, since the money gets refunded automatically. 

I would consider whether or not it actually has a benefit to you to state it as your policy. We all know that a lot of guests don't read the information presented all that carefully. What do you think the chances are that they're going to read carefully enough to understand what you're offering  then make their decision to stay based on that? I think it would be better to stick with the standard policies and refund more if you think it's warranted.