Guest keeps altering-- I would rather have her cancel

[Laura2592]

So this guest has canceled a reservation once in April then made another for October. She altered it once a few months ago. I accepted. Now she wants to alter it again. $300 difference in pay out (less for us) and I can re-book that weekend no problem. Her new dates have her arriving on a Saturday and checking out on Monday.  That's a Friday night we miss and I know I can book it. New guest, zero reviews. Lots of messages about the wifi and the fireplace. 

I would rather she cancel. I want to deny the alteration request and am concerned that if I do, she will be snippy. What would you do?

[Lawrene0]

Oh, @Laura2592 , you can handle snippy. 😉

I predict that come October she will cancel and want all her money back. Can I make that a bet?

[Laura2592]

@Lawrene0 I wouldn't bet against you!

So if I reject the request  what should I say? I've only ever accepted. Usually guests send a note about why they need the change and its no big deal. But not this one. 

[Lawrene0]

I've only ever accepted, too, @Laura2592 . I'm a chump. 

But if I were to reject, I'd probably say something like, "So sorry not to be able to accept, but the change will throw our schedule off. I know this is very likely a deal-breaker and completely understand if you need to cancel and book someplace that can handle your new dates."

How about that?

[Laura2592]

@Lawrene0  I like it. Irs also true!

[Mark116]

@Laura2592  She doesn't need an explanation, just say that unfortunately you're unable to accommodate this latest change request, and maybe her schedule will allow for a trip some other time, blah blah. 

Or, are you saying you think if you do this, refuse the change, that she will keep the existing reservation instead of cancelling and then have a bad attitude during the stay?

[Laura2592]

@Mark116 yeah the latter is what I'm concerned about.  It's a visit to her daughter at college and there's not a lot of other spots in the immediate area.

[Brian2036]

@Laura2592 

That sounds like someone I would rather not host.

 You could tell her that your new policy for unreviewed guests (particularly her) is a minimum of three days and a $500 cash security deposit.

[Anonymous]

@Brian2036  No, if a guest complains that a host asked to collect any form of offsite payment that wasn't disclosed in the listing, or implies any form of discrimination that sets different requirements for different guests, Airbnb will immediately suspend the listing. Why set oneself up for that kind of hassle?

[Brian2036]

@Anonymous 

Thanks for that information. Once again I was unaware of important detail.

This forum has been extremely helpful to me. 

I suppose that if undisclosed charges were allowed someone of an unscrupulous nature could wait until guests arrive, then demand an additional fee when they are not in a position to refuse.

[Marissa160]

@Laura2592  you may recall my most recent guest that asked a lot of questions too and exhausted me LOL! I too, have been pushing back a little on guests this past week. Lots of requests to exceed my max, randomly bring extra people, etc. It’s been a strange week. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 I love what Lawrene suggested. 

With an alteration request I always stipulate "Happy to accomodate your request. Please note we are able to accomodate a change of dates one time only." Draw the line in the sand early.

[Kelly149]

Or what if you change the dates but don’t change the payout? Or increase it even. 

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149 is it possible to do that? I've never done that before. 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 @Yes! You reject her change and then send her one of your own. All is editable.