Cancelling A Reservation Because Of Our Remodel

[Bill1150]

I’m seeking advice on cancelling a reservation we are hosting for Dec 21.  I have emailed and phoned the guest to discuss and they never answer.  We started a kitchen remodel around Sept 27 (also both bathrooms) and due to supply chain issues, it is moving very slowly.  Contractor does not feel good about having a reservation on the books for Dec 21.  (Original projection was for the project to be done around Dec 1.) 

I don’t want to be that host who ruins someone’s vacation, and I am frustrated that the guest does not engage with me.   Right now there is so much debris and mess at the place nobody could stay there.  I anticipate by Dec 15 it will look a lot better, but there will be loose ends.   I’m guessing we might have 1 bathroom by then, but we may not have countertops and there may be unfinished painting. 

I do not want to be penalized by AirBnB for this situation.  Advice?

[Colleen253]

@Bill1150  Tricky situation. You will absolutely be penalized if you cancel. If the guests arrive and the place is not as advertised, then you’re looking at refunding them a certain amount. Best case. Worst case, they complain to Airbnb, who refunds them their entire stay. They may then process it as a host cancel as well. You also risk a bad review. If you are successful in reaching the guest to fully discuss the situation with them, you might apologize profusely and offer to refund them in full plus their Airbnb service fee and an amount equal to what Airbnb would charge you for the cancellation, if they would cancel. That would be $50-100. I would suggest $100 minimum. That might persuade them. 

[Anonymous]

@Bill1150   If the guests were responsive to your message, you might have an opening to offer a date change with a big discount as an alternative to cancelling. Even this would be a stretch, though, if the guests' plans were based on the Christmas holiday.

The renovation delays, although not entirely within your control, don't appear to count as "extenuating circumstances," so the cancellation penalties are probably unavoidable. But the longer you wait to push that through, the harder it will be for the guests to find somewhere else to stay. Getting it over with ASAP seems like the right thing to do.

Also, your calendar is showing availability for dates earlier than 21 Dec., so until you fix that, your guests will have a hard time believing your excuse.