Guest wants to cancel, I want to override my policy and refund in full

[Timothy19]

I have a guest scheduled to stay with me in October for a wedding. The wedding, not surprisingly, was postponed due to the coronavirus. The guest wants to reschedule for next year but I cannot accommodate and I would like to refund in full (I am on Strict). I've tried to contact AirBnB but the phone support wait times are 45min to an hour. I've tried messaging support and haven't heard back (first message was July 1).

So, my question is, if the guest goes online and chooses to cancel, will there be any way for me to approve a full refund including AirBnB fees?

Thanks,

Tim 

[Alexandra316]

@Timothy19 You can approve a refund of everything due to you, but not the Airbnb fees. When the guest cancels, you will get an email informing you. In that email is a button that says Refund in full. Just click it and follow the steps. If the guest feels that they should be refunded the Airbnb service fees, I would tell them to contact Airbnb themselves. I wouldn't expect a refund on that if I were them.

One note about the process though: for some reason, the system is glitchy, and it will tell you that the refund is coming out of your next payout. You just won't receive a payout for the booking: Airbnb will not take any money from your next payout.

[Ann72]

@Alexandra316  Thanks for clearing this up.  I've been confused by choosing to refund in the way you recommend because the amount is more than the payout I would have gotten.  And since Airbnb says they'll deduct it from the next payout, I haven't wanted to do it because it seems they'd deduct more than I would have gotten, if that makes sense.  So I wait until the payout is processing and then I issue the payout.  

The other reason I do this is because I have everything in QuickBooks and don't want to screw up the accounting.  When someone cancels, I modify the payout in my system and then create a credit for the same amount, so that when I re-book the dates I can refund.  

From what you're saying, I could issue the full refund, then just use the credit in my system to pay the invoice.

[Alexandra316]

@Ann72Yes, the way it's worded on the site is quite confusing. I'm not sure why it would say you're refunding more than your payout though: it's my understanding that the system won't allow you to refund more than the guest has paid. What kind of difference are we talking about?

[Ann72]

@Alexandra316  For a cancelled reservation in September, my payout would have been $178.48.  Yet when I click through "Issue full refund" in the email, here's what I come to:

Obviously I could select "partial refund" and enter $178.48 instead of $184, but the whole set-up bugs me.

[Alexandra316]

@Ann72Wow, that's weird. Maybe currency fluctuation? That's annoying, yeah. I feel like it should be a straightforward process... not sure why they make it convoluted, and the wording regarding having money taken from your next payout is straight up wrong. 

[Ann72]

@Alexandra316  I should have made it clearer - the difference is the service fee Airbnb takes from my end.  But that little difference, plus the wording about taking it out of my payment account, is why I wait until the payout has been made.  I tell the guests when they cancel or say they're going to cancel that I'll refund the 50% balance if I re-book the dates.  And also that I don't get paid until their trip date.  (They never realize that, having given their money to Airbnb when they booked.)  And also that Airbnb will probably keep its service fee.  

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Ann72 , your method seems reasonable as long as they cancel as soon as they know they arent able to use the booking so you can re-rent it.  We have been most flex since our beginning but rarely got a cancellation until covid came to town, now we have had many and were still getting new ones, One person Instant Booked our Glamper for Friday less than 24 hours before check in and cancelled 30 minutes later when she found out one of her friends she hangs out with tested positive.  She had to ask me for her money back cause she was within the 24 hour window and actually wasn't positive herself (yet) but I gave her her money back, she has promised to come back in a couple weeks when she is sure she is safe (Even the refund I just did turned into another booking the next morning).  Another interesting thing I have found is that most of my re-books over cancelled dates are paying noticeably more than ones made 6 months ago foir these dates and not complaining about it ( I raised all my prices 20% after covid).  That 20% extra has helped us absorb the 24 hour cool-out period a bit better!   Host safely, JR

[Russell49]

It is not your business why guests book your place. Their outdoor experience is not your concern. They booked your room, you reserved it and they shouldn't be given leeway based on an event cancelled. This is a travel insurance issue, not an AirBnB issue.

[Helen350]

@Russell49 ! - In the UK, it's the LAW that accommodation providers refund in full if they were booking for an event cancelled by emergency laws. It's currently illegal in the UK to have more than 30 guests at weddings, so couples are postponing. `And so hosts should refund in full.  - Might be different in Pennsylvania, USA tho'! - Still, I think @Timothy19 is doing the right thing, morally.

[Russell49]

Morals are subjective. There is nothing stopping guests visiting the scenery here if a separate event got cancelled-that's up to them as I only care about what is to do with my property.. Likewise, I have had far too many 11th hour cancellations with dodgy excuses.

[Ann72]

@Russell49  I agree - I don't care why they book or why they cancel, I want all my policies honored.  If I decide to give them the money back when I re-book the dates, that's my decision, not theirs and not Airbnb's.

[Russell49]

EXACTLY. Whatever events they do or organize outside of my room is NOT my business. Booking my room and having me reserve it til the 11th hour however is MY business and refunds will likely not be given as I have a strict policy. I have seen too many people try to "play the system".

[Helen350]

@Russell49 No -it IS the LAW in the UK that if you booked accommodation for an EVENT - wedding, concert, festival, & the government then made it illegal to hold the wedding, event, festival, then BY LAW the host MUST refund in full. It's not legal to take their money, & tell them to amuse themselves doing some other activity. This link from the gov.uk website  proves this law. www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-cma-to-investigate-cancellation-policy-concerns

- Your opinion is incidental - it's UK LAW

- But, of course this may not be so in the US, or Australia.

[Russell49]

I don't live in the UK, so I am only expressing from where I live. Not sure why you would interject when your country has different laws.I guess that is "incidental" as well.🤣🤣🤣