Guest cancelled within 24 hours

[Claire1864]

Hiya. Any advice appreciated. 

WE are new to bnb. We had a guest due last week however had to cancel on the check in day due to a family accident.

Obvs we cannot book it out at such short notice, would you take a cut, refund all monies or offer different dates? Our place is managed by a chap he says it's up to us but advised that we refund. Just wondering what the best option is.

(personally I'd like to give him full refund but we are out of pocket) 

[Gwen386]

I don’t see your listing. In any event, what was your cancellation policy? That takes precedence unless you want to offer something different. 

[Sandra856]

@Claire1864 When your listing was set up you had to choose a cancellation policy. When a guest cancels for whatever reason the guest will get refunded according to the cancellation policy. It all happens automatically when they press the cancellation button on their reservation page and neither Airbnb or you as a host need to get involved. 
Make sure to choose the cancellation policy that fits you and also I really recommend to make sure you understand and know about all the basics when it comes to Airbnb and hosting. You can find a lot of knowledge in this very community.

Best, Sandra 

[Sandra856]

@Claire1864 You and the guest are entering a binding (legal) agreement when the guest books and the guest will get refunded according to that agreement - meaning you can’t afterwards choose how much you would like to refund. It is all already decided in the agreement. 
(You can of course always choose to refund more than what the cancellation policy offers - if you wish. If a guest of mine needs to cancel I always tell them that in case someone new rebooks I will refund the days that are rebooked).

[Sandra856]

@Claire1864 @Another thing to think about is that if a guest cancels after midnight on the day of arrival they will be able to leave a review. 

[Helen3]

I can't see why your STR manager would say it's a good idea to make a voluntary refund.

why would you?

i would say to the guest that if they cancel that any refund due would be in line with the cancellation policy the guest booked under .

@Claire1864  

[Claire1864]

Thanks. Our manager said he'd changed the cancellation policy from strict to lowest level when covid hit, as the guests circumstances were of a personal matter (family accident) he felt it was down to our discretion.