Help with guest cancellation

[Keith569]

Help!  I am new to hosting our cabin. Our first guest is scheduled for 30 days from now and just emailed requesting to cancel.  Our cancellation policy is the 50% refund if cancelled long before. How do I do it? Do they request cancellation on their end through Airbnb, or do I have to process on my end? If I do it, how do I do it?  Thank you!

[Emiel1]

@Keith569 

The guest must cancel the reservation, the cancellation policy attached will automatically calculate the refund (If any). The guest:should read this:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/169/how-do-i-cancel-my-reservation-for-a-place-to-stay

[Keith569]

Thank you!  That is what I thought, I was just surprised that she emailed me to cancel.

[Colleen253]

@Keith569 Proceed carefully when it comes to cancellations. Best to let the guest do the cancelling, and never do it yourself, on behalf of the guest. You'll be in for penalties if you do. Also let Airbnb handle the refunding, if any. Too easy to get caught in a situation where a guest gets a double refund.

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/990/as-a-host-what-penalties-apply-if-i-cancel-a-reservation-for-...

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Keith569 

This is a post I wrote in 2017 - https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/BEWARE-of-quot-Guest-requests-that-you-cancel-quot/m-p/4...