Hi @Maggie70 @Saowanit0 Airbnb strongly discourages Host cancellations. So, when a Host cancels a booking, there are penalties imposed: there can be a fine ($50, $100, although you might be allowed one cancellation without being fined), the dates are blocked, and you are ineligible to qualify for Super Host for a year. Pretty harsh. That's why it's so important for all new hosts to spend time reading the articles in the Help Centre and the posts on these forums. It's so important that you educate yourself as much as possible to try to avoid the most common pitfalls.
There are a multitude of posts here from new hosts who have cancelled with similar results. Best rule of thumb: NEVER CANCEL. If the guest needs to cancel, have them do it. They lose their Airbnb fees, which is why guests prefer to have the host cancel, but hosts have much more to lose.
There is also a very underhanded technique (in my opinion) that can be used - you receive an email that says X would like to cancel, do you agree? (or similar wording). The correct answer is NO, I am fine to continue with the booking. It then goes back to the guest & they have to do the cancelling. It's caught many a host unaware - they will agree to cancel & bang, the dates are blocked, Super Host is lost for a year and there can be a fine. Not good!
Now that you've made this mistake, all you can do is contact Airbnb & plead your case to see if they will lift the penalities for you. It's worth a try. All ways to contact Airbnb are HERE. I think Twitter gets the quickest response these days. Best of luck! Karen
