Overseas bookings despite closed borders

[Truusje0]

I have 2 guests booked in for 2 weeks mid September.  They are coming from Texas and here in New Zealand our borders are closed to anyone who is not a resident and everyone who does come in has to isolate in a government run hotel for 2 weeks.  I have relayed this information to the guests but they want to keep the booking for now and see what happens.  It’s pretty obvious they will not be coming here and I would like to cancel thier booking so someone else can book that time.  Is there a way I can apply to do this withought being penalised by Airbnb in terms of my rating as a host?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Truusje0 We have a similar issue with guests coming in September from the USA. We have messaged them and they have said they will not be coming. Between us we are trying to work out how we can cancel and them get all their money back. Sadly I fear we will have to wait until August 1st when Airbnb will likely extend the EC policy for guests booking prior to March 14th to stays up to mid September. At this point they should then get their money back and we will get our calendar back!

[Huma0]

Since all the COVID-19 related cancellations, I have only had a couple of bookings from locals. However, I have one from a lady in Germany who postponed her stay in June to September instead. As we are now seeing increases in cases in parts of Europe (Germany included), should I be worried?

I assume that if the quarantine will be extended to cover Germany, as it has just been for Spain, she will cancel her trip, so that will mean another 100% refund from me for a last minute cancellation when it's probably too late to rebook the room. Or, as she already chose to postpone her trip (booked prior to 15th March) rather than cancel it, does that mean she no longer qualifies for COVID EC or does it not matter? 

On the other hand, should I just encourage her to cancel and offer her the full refund anyway even though she doesn't qualify right now, having no idea if that is even necessary? She has already had to change her plans and probably does not want to change them again unless absolutely necessary.

I don't mean to sound greedy, but I already lost the month of income from her original dates, which were impossible to get rebooked, so it is going to really hurt to lose two months of income from this booking. Obviously I would refund her further if I can get another booking, but that becomes less and less likely the later she cancels.

[Huma0]

PS she did not qualify for a full refund at the time she postponed and I did not have to agree to her postponing (I could have got paid for the majority of her stay according to the long-term cancellation policy) but I didn't think that was fair, especially as she never asked me for a full refund only a postponement.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Huma0 When you look at the booking date for your German's stay I assume it still says pre March 14. If this is the case then I fear she will be able to cancel as and when Airbnb extend the ECs to her dates.

This is yet another example where Airbnb's drip feed of cancellations is damaging and will hurt Airbnb as well as hosts if the person cancels and you cannot re book the dates.

Having said all of that I am confident that Germany will keep its covid stats better than the UK so you might get her visiting. Alternatively we may all be closed down again!

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Thanks and yes I think you are right. The guest did book before 14th March. She seems like a reasonable person, but I know already that she is also more likely to 'wait and see' before cancelling.

I do have a close colleague who lives in Germany and whom I speak to several times a week, so he keeps me updated on the situation there and I have far more confidence in how they are dealing with it there than here. However, things change from minute to minute.

I guess I will just resign myself that this may be another 100% refund for a last minute cancellation that I can't rebook, but you're right, these drip, drip changes to policies are proving very stressful.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

PS yes, on the message thread, her reservation is still showing as booked in January.

[Linda108]

@Truusje0   If I understand your situation, you would prefer to accept bookings from guests who are currently allowed to travel and stay in your area, right?   It is such a dynamic situation many hosts and other businesses have difficulty planning.  Did the guest Instant Book?  Perhaps in these times you should not allow IB.  As for this guest, you might have to wait it out and hope for the best or face the host penalties for cancelling.  Meanwhile, add a rule to your listing that does not allow booking from non-residents.  Add a bold message across the beginning of your description that also states that fact.  

You have a great listing and great reviews thus far.

[Amanda660]

I have a guest booked for the first half of September who told me 6 weeks ago they weren’t coming but we’re holding out to see if the EC dates were extended and they’d be overt.  They didn’t want to postpone/change dates or cancel and jet me rebook/refund. 

It had been a  5 night stay but I amended it to 1 night (to which they agreed) so worst case scenario it would only block off one night.