Unfair Host Cancellation Penalty

[Jillian115]

Last year, I had a troublesome guest and said I would never host her again in the review process. She recently requested a stay at my property again. (I live in a small town, and she has family here). I didn't respond to her request. It upset me that she could request the first place since I told Airbnb I would not host her again. Anyway, long story short, because I didn't respond, the dates remained blocked. When I unblocked them, I got penalized for a cancelation. I really hate how unfair Airbnb can be to hosts.

[Jillian115]

@William810 Yep. I know. I just don think I should receive a cancellation penalty for it. 

[Gordon0]

Assuming she didn't instant book, and putting whether you ticked the 'I wouldn't host again' box, @Jillian115 , why didn't you simply decline the request? 

[Jillian115]

@Gordon0 A few reasons one I mentioned. But really just saying it’s an unfair penalty. 

[Gordon0]

Yes, but one that could have been easily avoided, @Jillian115. 

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115 It doesn't make any sense at all why you would be penalized for a cancellation when there was no booking. It was only a request. I've let an inappropriate request expire without declining, and I wasn't penalized when I unblocked the dates. Something is wrong here. You need to fight this and have it reversed.

[Jillian115]

@Colleen253 Thanks, I'll try. The thought of fighting it through CS makes me feel tired already. 

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115  I feel you on that. Maybe try shouting about it on Airbnb's Twitter or other social media? Some hosts do say that gets attention quicker. It's worth a shot on a pretty clear cut case like yours.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Jillian115 

If you had simply just declined the request as soon as you saw the guest profile and realized who she was..... it would have been the end. Imo, ignoring and not responding to any request, no matter how upsetting it is, is never a good idea. 

If it were me, I'd have copy and pasted the previous negative review, tell her she's got a lot of nerve and she's expected to withdraw her request immediately. 

You should absolutely try to get CS to unblock the dates. If they refuse, just keep at it until you get someone who will. Good luck~

[Anonymous]

@Jillian115   If you were verbally explicit in your review of the guest that you would not host her again, it does seem strange that she still tried to request another stay. But even allegedly troublesome guests are owed the courtesy of taking action on their requests. I don't understand why you felt that simply doing nothing was the correct action, as there is no advisory anywhere here suggesting that. There wouldn't have been a penalty for simply declining.

[Emilia42]

@Jillian115 

Not responding is worst than a decline. It doesn't matter how unfair Airbnb can be, by listing on their platform, you have to play by the rules of their algorithm. By clicking "Would not host again" Airbnb gave you the option to accept or decline. You could have explained to the guest why you feel uncomfortable hosting them given your last experience and asked them to withdraw their request. Or you simply could have made up a fib and declined. Either way, the guest cannot instantly book with you and that has to count for something. 

[Jillian115]

@Anonymous @Jessica-and-Henry0 @Gordon0 @William810 Thanks everyone. Yes I get it I should have declined. I know it. I knew it when I posted this. But it was not the point of my post. I didn't decline her because she has family in the area and its a small town. As I stated above. I was only saying I should not have been given a cancellation penalty for a request especially since I had already stated that I would not host her again when airbnb asked me if I would host her again. Thats it. If you think Airbnb is right in this thats fine. I'll just leave it at that.   

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115  Something definitely went wrong. The only fact that matters here is that with no booking, there should be no cancellation penalty. Hope you get this fixed. 

[Linda108]

While in hind site you agree you should have taken the step to decline the request, I get that the point of your post was the unfair cancellation penalty.  I agree with @Colleen253  that the application of a penalty for cancellation when there was no booking does not make sense.  However you stated you cancelled the booking which must mean that the guest was able to book without your acceptance.  Therefore the issue is now that the guest was able to instant book, right?  Here lies the problem.  System glitch?  I have had guest be able to IB erroneously and was able to get a no penalty cancellation.  Probably too late in this case but seems this was an Air BNB error.  Just a thought.

[Suzanne302]

@Jillian115  Something is missing here or not being explained correctly. As others have stated, if there was no booking, there can be no cancellation penalty. Are you sure it is a "cancellation penalty"? If so, yes, that's a mistake and a glitch and CS absolutely needs to correct it. Or are you just calling it a cancellation penalty and you were actually penalized for not responding?

Also, you say the dates were blocked but you were able to unblock them? And it was after you unblocked the dates that you were penalized? That part doesn't make any sense. If Airbnb blocked the dates, you wouldn't be able to unblock them.

If the simple story is that you didn't respond, and you got penalized, then that's on you and you need to accept whatever penalty you get.