Guests wants a refund outside of cancellation policy

[Laura5333]

Hi everyone, we have a guest wanting to cancel due to her daughter needing surgery(that’s what they are saying). It’s like a month before the booking and our cancellation policy is strict 50% if cancelled more then 14 days from the booking. It’s also holiday season so trying to get a replacement booking will be hard. She has emailed asking for a full refund .
What’s everyone’s thoughts? Is there a way to do this so if we get a booking I can refund but if we don’t get one then they owe us the agreed cancellation amount based on the cancellation policy they agreed to?

[Anonymous]

@Laura5333  What I usually do is advise the guest to submit a claim on their travel insurance and wish the daughter well. 

If they booked a place with a strict cancellation policy and didn't insure their trip, that's not your problem.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Laura5333 The most you should offer is that if the guest cancels and you manage to rebook the property you will send them the lower of whatever you get from the new guest or what Airbnb will pay you for their stay.

[Laura5333]

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking…How do I process that through air bnb? She messaged me saying she’s going to contact them and pretty much get the refund because of their “circumstance” 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Laura5333 You can't process it through airbnb other than, if you get paid by another booking, you use the resolution centre to send money back to the guest.

[Laura5333]

Oh ok Thankyou- do they cancel the booking or do I do it? I’m still so new to this and this is the first cancellation we have had

[Anonymous]

@Laura5333   DO NOT cancel the booking!! That will result in the guest getting 100% refund, you getting charged a fine, and your calendar being blocked.

Advise the guest to cancel as soon as possible to maximize your odds of re-booking. If you feel like giving them money out of your own pocket afterward, you're free to do so using Resolutions. But there's no reason you should feel obliged to take a loss over someone else's failure to get insurance.

[M199]

@Laura5333 

If not too late get on the phone with all the details and have it recorded by Airbnb on the reservation and guest profile.  It may be innocent, but no way for you to know its not a scam.  A reservation is a legally binding contract.

[Charlene225]

This is very helpful. I am also new to Airbnb, since Oct. 2021. We live in a popular beach area. If you can believe it we had 2 last minute bookings, and 2 cancellation requests on the same day, for the same day. I felt sorry for the first one (he said his car broke down and could not make the day trip) so I contacted support and allowed the refund. I have a firm cancellation policy.  The date was reopened and 2 hours later another last minute booking came in. Then yes you guessed it within the hour that they were to check in, I get a phone call saying one of their party had a sick child, at home and they had to cancel.  So back to support to give them a refund. I did not realize I could of said, if it gets rebooked I could refund some money. They booked for 4 people and that is a different amount than when just 2 book our place. So I would of refunded 50% if I got another last minute booking.  If they go to airbnb and say I refused to give a refund, and they claim illness as a circumstance, who does airbnb side with?

[Helen3]

Hi @Charlene225 

Please do have a look at the Airbnb Help website it has lots of useful FAQs on how airbnb works.

Personally I would never take last minute bookings because more often than not they can be dodgy problem guests. 

It's worth turning off Instant Book if you use it until you become more familiar with how Airbnb works and learnt how to vet your guests.