i have canceled a booking for a week in August

[Denise1060]

air bnb have now blocked that week off

how  do I unlock this week as though I can take a booking ???

[Sarah977]

@Denise1060  You can't unblock it. It is one of the punishments meted out for cancelling reservations. You'll be fined, as well. You should always contact Airbnb to cancel for you if there's a reason that would fall under extenuating circumstances. 

[Helen3]

If the listing is available @Denise1060   why did you cancel the guests booking?

Airbnb does tell when you cancel that the dates will be blocked and financial penalties will be involved.

If you can advise us on why you cancelled we might be able to advise further.  

[Denise1060]

Well Helen 

i personally have found the air bnb site very complex to navigate as a new user . Its not Ipad or phone friendly when trying to do Admin such as price fir weeks etc . Its impossible to do this from  ipad . 

so when trying  to

price a week  it went to a default payment of half the price i really wanted for an august week . When i realised i immediately contacted the guest and said so sorry this wasn't the correct price it was an error and i re did the quote . He didn't want to pay the correct price so i cancelled .I am a obe property owner . I make NO profit from letting i could not afford to loose the money . The person who had booked new instantly there was a problem it wasn't like he had it booked for days . 
so there you are maybe you are a whizz at the airbnb site Helen but as a phone and ipad user the site is pretty much unworkable. 

[Helen3]

I agree it's so much easier to manage your listing on a laptop or desktop @Denise1060 

A really good resource for the basics around Airbnb is Airbnb Help and also the useful tutorials and guides on these forums.

And read the host newsletters that come through. Airbnb often updates functions and regulations and it's really worth keeping up to date as it can be a complex beast.

Give Airbnb a call and explain the situation maybe you will get a rep who will be flexible.