How to cancel a reservation if both host and guest wish to without penalty

[Olivia452]

Hi

Can anyone tell me the process to cancel a booking, if both guest and host wish to cancel and issue a full refund.

I have a feeling the guest may have to request the cancellation, nd then the host specify full refund (but am concerned as my cancellation policy is strict) and would the guest also receive the airbnb booking fee back or not?

Any help be much appreciated 🙂

[David5641]

@Olivia452 have the guest contact Airbnb. Do not cancel the reservation from your ends. If it is the guest who requests the cancellation, the host is not penalized. All you have to do is agreed to a full refund when Airbnb contacts you.

[Lisa723]

@Olivia452 if the reservation is subject to automatic penalty-free cancellation under Airbnb's covid19 extenuating circumstances policy, then either you or your guest can cancel it for the outcome you want. However, if Airbnb is not automatically showing you that you have the option of penalty-free cancellation when you click "change or cancel" then it is not, and you should not cancel it, as Airbnb will penalize you.

Normally, you could call Airbnb and ask them to cancel penalty-free since you and the guest agree. But Airbnb is currently unresponsive to both phone and message, so you're not going to get any help from them.

So, under the circumstances, the guest should cancel, then you should accept the option to refund them in full when you get the cancellation notice. Unfortunately, the guest's Airbnb fees will not be refunded in this scenario. You, or the guest, can pursue this with Airbnb, but you're unlikely to have any short-term success, based on my recent experiences and those of others.

[Olivia452]

Thanks so much Lisa, I really appreciate your comprehensive response. Yes it sounds like I will go for the last option then and advise the guest.

All the very best, have a great day and keep safe.