BEWARE of "Guest requests that you cancel"

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

It happened to me. And I'm seeing that there have been many others like me.

All hosts~ please be aware~

Upon receiving the message "GUEST requests that you cancel" you will be faced with 2 options (1) Cancel (2) Keep reservation.

Unless you DO want to be penalized for a host cancellation - DO NOT click on cancel.

Click on "keep reservation" because the guest does not need the host's consent or approval or agreement to cancel. This is just another ploy to TRICK hosts into taking the blame.

Guest requests that YOU cancel - the second you click CANCEL this will become a HOST CANCELLATION. 

This will negatively affect your commitment rate, and Airbnb will do nothing about it. They will say, you (host) agreed to cancel so this is a host cancellation - and you only have yourself to blame for agreeing to cancel. 

[Bella18]

I just noticed , that if you pre approve your guest , the next new menu pops up and asked if you want to block these days or keep them open in case another guests to be able to send you inquiry, I was also on "not on instant booking" , I decided to switch from instant away, but for a few weeks I didn't get any inquiry it all , plus I had a guest who canceled her reservation after 2 month since she booked, so I was forced to lower the price and switched back to instant today and a few hours later I got two inquiry.

[Linda-And-Richard0]

@Bella11  Please keep in mind an Inquiry is NOT the same as a Request to book.  The inquiry is just looking to see if your space is available.  The Request is actually asking to book the listing, payment ready.  I once preapproved an inquiry and that the guest had 24 hours to decide if they would book the listing.  They could have sent inquiries to dozens of hosts before they decided if and when to actually book.  Do Not preapprove inquires, you are blocking your calendar to other potential guests.

[Bella18]

Thank you very much, I still wait for her respond to my several e mails, but ABB still pushing me to pre approve her, because it takes 24 hours no more , but what she is decided I have no idea , she is not responding, and ABB still pushing.

by the way guys , don't keep your advertising on smart price, they have glitch there and it's not incorporate your additional prices, like for weekand or holiday, when you already request the higher price. You can take a look into their prices as a sugestion, but don't keep your advertisement on that feature, it's not reliable.

[Mahrita0]

i agree the bigger they,ve got the worse they have become all these rule as ive said no host no airbnb so its about time they listen to host and i hate being threatned

[M-and-I0]

Wow I was not aware this request existed. That's just about the most unnecessary and misleading thing ever. What is the point of this request given that you will get host penalties anyway and what's the difference between that and the guest asking you to cancel verbally? Obviously, it's just a way of manipulating an unknowing host into being more likely to cancel.

[Ward1]

Agreed.  This happened to me.  If a guest wants to cancel, make sure they do it on their end.  Thanks!

[Fred13]

I wonder why this is an option for guests in the first place.

[Stephanie336]

I am new and this just happened to me.  However, I did NOT select either option in the email.. and apparently if you do nothing within 24 hours, Air BnB just cancels it, refunds the guest's money, and blocks your calendar permanently for those cancelled dates so you are unable to re-book to someone else!  😞 

[Fred13]

Hey @Stephanie336 . Your particularly case was very illuminating of just how absurd this option is, since it sounds like the auto-default of a non-answer is the same as actually cancelling.  Suppose one gets one of these requests and their Internet is down for more than 24 hours?

[Stephanie336]

Yes, I hope they change this.

I did call Air BnB, explained nicely that I am new to the site, and they did agree to open my calendar back up for those dates and also said they removed anything that would negatively effect my metrics.

Nonetheless, this was a big lesson learned.  

Are there any other surprising / odd things like this that I should be aware of and keep an eye out for with this site?  

Thanks!

Stephanie

[Fred13]

There is a simple solution to this poorly-thought-out feature: when a guest initiates the host request to cancel, the guest is tagged as having cancelled, not the host. This way the feature becomes a helpful feature, not a landmine. This feature as is won't last long, it is too absurd to do so.

@Stephanie336One general cultural pattern I notice with Airbnb, they tend to bend over backwards to appease guests, since they are the actual payers. I am assuming they feel there are enough 'providers' (aka hosts).  Being explicit with your ~description~ of your place is very intrumental in two ways: it pre-qualifies your applicants better (leading to better fitting guests) and it makes it easier for Airbnb to take your side in inevitable disputes, especially with guests that never take any personal responsibility (aka the non-readers). Good luck.

[Stephanie336]

Thank you @Fred13 ...

[Mahrita0]

then join another company so you make sure you always room booked airbnb are not the only letting companys google ive jus been suspeded for having dust in my bathroom and they expected to have room to them self although it says host lives in flat ,the real reason is they came stinking of drink and i felt uncomfortable ,on arrival i always tell my guest that if the need anything or any problems then just tell someone complained about dog barking a(she was in heat and b(its the festival time and they keep settting of fire works,it tells you there is a dog in house what am i meant to do glue her mouth shut theres a saying if you like dogs you have a good heart

[Aden1]

I have a Strict Cancellation Policy . I have a current situation whereby the guest after arriving after Midnight ( I have posted check in until 9:00pm) then knocked on my bedroom door at 2;00 AM to complain that they locked themselves out of their room. Might I add they are very young college age, No Airbnb History, just joined . I was kind enough to accept them. Then in the morning they disapeared, Proceeded to call me insesently all morning to request a Refund, I refused. They contacted Airbnb and  fabricated many lies claiming they found mold in the room etc.. ;My place is impeccable , I have a 5 star SuperHost rating and  all my reviews are 

excellent. Airbnb issued them a full refund of $620 not 50% mind you but the full 100% refund. 

I have spoken to  3 people already and have gotten nowhere. No One will ever call you back also they are completely inept and upqualified to make any decision expect spewing out robotic, pat answers.  Please Help!

[Gillian82]

Hi

We had a flood in our home and had to cancel 2 reservations very reluctantly.  However, we are emailing airbnb because we have extreme circumstances, but we cannot download our evidence to the file uploader.  We cannot drag or download the file.

Can anyone help with this

Thanks

Gill & John