Potential scam: Guest claims another host cancelled her reservation at last minute

[Mike915]

We had a guest stay with us asked us to honor a very low price, allegedly due to another Airbnb host canceling their reservation at the last minute.

I kind of thought this was fishy, given that we are in a very upscale area and I’ve never heard of this happening. Now, I wonder if she scammed us.

She also smoked pot in the house which is a clear violation of our hosting rules, had we not had an open day after her departure, we would have had to cancel the reservation for deep cleaning.

Has anyone else ever had someone beg for a low price due to another host canceling their reservation at the last minute?

[Nanxing0]

As a consistent suggestion, HOLD ON TO YOUR PRICE. We have had guests trying to negotiate price and we always respond that our price is not negotiable. Guests trying to negotiate price tend to be more problematic, no matter what reason they use. 

I have had several guests booked with me due to other hosts cancelled their reservations last minute. It's not uncommon on Airbnb due to many reasons including the one you had -- previous guest violated house rule and you need to cancel the next reservation to fix it. But those good guests never negotiate on price. 

Smoking pot is becoming an increasing issue to a lot of hosts these days, including myself, as we really have no way to physically enforce the no-smoking rule, plus pot is becoming legalized in this country. Airbnb is not helpful on this as well. They only cover a deodorization fee if you hire a professional and send them the invoice. They don't allow us to put and "fine" on any guest violating our house rule.

[Mike915]

Smoking pot is illegal in Tennessee, and we state plainly and without wavering that if you choose to smoke at our property we WILL evict you and retain your deposit. We rarely have issues but when we do it has always been with people who are looking for a deal, are booking last minute, or both. Seems we would learn our lesson!