Why I get penalty after I cancelled an instant booking against my house rules?

[Z-2]

I just cancelled a reservation. That's the first cancellation I had. The guest booked our house using instant booking. He will bring a dog. He gave me an inquiry about that. I was just about reply No and he booked (only 4 minutes after he submit an inquiry). Our house rule clearly states NO pet policy. Then I replied him we can't accept him because of that. Then I proceed to cancel this reservation. 

When I cancelled online, there is no selection as "Against house rules", so I picked "Others" and write "they will bring dog and I have no pet policy". But it says I need pay $50 cancellation fee. Why? Anyway, I still cancelled it, thinking the earlier cancel, the better for both of us.  But because of this,  I not only get $50 penalty, they also block my dates. But why, I think it should be penalty-free. From this article: "How do penalty-free cancellations work for Instant Book hosts?"
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2022/how-do-penaltyfree-cancellations-work-for-instant-book-host...
it says:
"Hosts who have Instant Book turned on for their listing can always cancel, without penalty, if they’re uncomfortable with a reservation.

Some examples of when a host can cancel penalty-free include:

The guest has several unfavorable reviews that concern the host
The guest hasn’t responded to questions the host needs to know about their trip
The guest makes it clear they’ll likely break one of the host’s house rules, like bringing a pet or smoking"

So I am uncomfortable with this reservation because he will bring a dog. It should be penalty-free cancellation. 

I called Airbnb (waited a long time), the Airbnb lady insists I just can't cancel any reservations  on guests. If I do, there is a penalty and date block. She said the only way I can prevent this is turn "instant booking" off. Is there something wrong here? It seems unreasonable at all and against their own policy. Thanks!

[Fred13]

   I can really appreciate where you coming from, makes total sense. Yet, a frustrating hassle  awaits; makes no sense, except to them I guess.

    Btw, while on the podium - many of their policies are like that - they seem to not grasp how they are high-maintenance (aka costly) in nature and that adds to = fixed cost >  less profitability > having to lay off people > having to borrow at exorbitant 10%+ rates > etc >etc. Economists they are not.

[Sarah977]

@Z-2  4 days isn't all that long to wait  in Airbnb CS land. 

Here's the 3 P's to keep in mind when dealing with CS: Politeness, Patience, Persistence.

If you don't hear back from them in a day or two, message again, reminding them that you are still waiting to be attended to. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

[Z-2]

@Sarah977 I thought this is a small case to handle and should be very easy to fix. I will give them a message every day until they reply. "Politeness, Patience, Persistence", I will remember that. Thanks!

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Z-2 , Others have said it already, never cancel a booking with that button if you can find any other way of doing it and a call to the CS desk as soon as you can get through is #1 way of making it go away.  One more finer point, when CS ask's you if you want to cancel the booking, say "No, I need you to cancel it for me and clear my schedule because its is not a legitimate request".  It happened to me once and Airbnb was on the hook to find them an alternative not me. 

The wait time makes no sense for sure except that they prioritize current stays in their cue far higher than after the fact situations.  They also give a higher response time to guests than hosts and lastly Superhosts get quicker responses.  Unfortunately, that means your last on the list of urgent's.   I do hope they square this away for you, stay well, JR

[Z-2]

@Melodie-And-John0 Thanks

[Z-2]

Just an update, after 16 days, airbnb support team finally replied me and the issue is solved. 

"I’ve waived the host cancellation penalties as a one-time courtesy. We don't typically remove host cancellation penalties, but I do understand that there might be a confusion on the guest's end. We have successfully freed up your calendar and removed the cancellation fee. Rest assured that this cancellation will no longer affect your account negatively. For your future convenience, we suggest that you reach out to us first before cancelling a reservation to ensure that you will not get penalized. Also, you can choose to turn off Instant book so that you can review all booking requests before accepting it."

[Sarah977]

@Z-2  Happy to hear you had success. Don't you just love the "I've waived the penalties as a one-time courtesy"? It's like you're supposed to be eternally grateful for not being penalized for cancelling a guest who was refusing to abide by your house rules. Oh well, at least they did it. 

[Z-2]

@Sarah977 I was thinking the same when I read the message. But I am still glad it gets solved after so many days.