Guest keeps shortening reservation

[Sean14]

Hey folks

I have a current guest (moved in yesterday). She originally booked for just over 2 months.

The week before last she requested this be reduced by a week. I accepted. Then last week she said she was going to cancel and sleep with a friend because of covid (this is a shared house). Then she saw she would lose the first month's fees and decided to stay. Then today she's requested to cut another 2.5 weeks off of her stay.

I accepted the first alteration request but I am very reluctant to accept this one. If I accept I'll only receive about 55% of the original booking fee. Am I being too harsh? She seems like a nice person but I think she has it in her head now that she can chop and change her dates any way she likes. Thanks

[Emiel1]

@Sean14 

You can make the change yourself, the change form gives you the option to manually change the calculated price (increase it to what you think is a fair deal). Make this clear to the guest first and also let her know no future alterations will be accepted.

[Helen3]

I think the guest is being completely unreasonable - she knew it was a shared home when she booked. (As it will be at her friend’s)

Tell her if her plans have now changed she needs to cancel under the long term policy she booked under and Airbnb will process her cancellation so she only pays for the first month. 

if you want you can tell her IF any of the  days get rebooked you can look at a proportional refund @Sean14  

[Heidi588]

My opinion...

I don't think you're being too harsh. People have the right to ask for something and you have the right to say no. You've already said yes twice, you can gently but firmly say that you're not willing to do it again, no explanation. An explanation or a defense will just invite fighting. If she tries to convince you, stand firm, repeat what you said the first time to say no. If she asks yet again, ignore, you've already answered twice. If she escalates, she has the choice to accept your no or to leave, no negotiating. If she stays, it doesn't ever need to be mentioned again. If she leaves, whatever money you lose is the price of peace. 

[Colleen253]

@Sean14 "She seems like a nice person but I think she has it in her head now that she can chop and change her dates any way she likes". Of course she does, precisely because you accepted her first request.

Whether a person is 'nice' or not shouldn't even come into play. A guest books understanding your cancellation policy and they should be held to it. Why should they not? Unfortunately, when you give most people an inch, they'll try to take miles.

I agree with @Helen3 .

[Sean14]

The plot thickens. She'd now told me she's a front-line covid nurse and worried she'll give covid to the other guests, whereas previously she told me she was a nursing student and worried that she'd catch it from other guests. I think she's trying to bait me into cancelling for her

[Helen3]

@Sean14  I am not sure how you are able to comply with gov Covid regs as you have multiple unrelated guests sharing bathroom, kitchen and other space in your home ?

when this guest booked as a student nurse did you ask her where she would be working before accepting the booking?

have you asked her for written confirmation of where she is working at the hospital? 

personally I wouldn’t accept frontline hospital staff in a listing with four individual  bedrooms, where you aren’t on the premises,  even if they aren’t working directly on Covid wards (and I work for the NHS). 

[Sean14]

No I didn't ask. She intimated she would be attending lectures etc, not doing any practical work. 

Regs are fine as groups of less than 6 people are allowed to mix.

I have now asked for confirmation 🙂

[Helen3]

Always good to have these things in writing before you accept the booking. @Sean14 

I would ask for evidence that she has been rostered to work on Covid wards or indeed any ward.

If you are going to accept multiple different guests from different households, I would review your approach going forward and have in writing which town/location they are from, what they will be doing during their stay, how many times a day you clean communal areas at the listing and the guidance you provide guests for socially isolating when at your listing ensuring you have cleaning products they use after each use of the kitchen/bathroom and other communal areas.