Cancellation in case of unforseen renovation + refund in case of strict cancellation policy

[Aline135]

Hi! I have a guest who has booked two weeks in July and I have now found out that the property will be undergoing some serious renovations. This may affect the use she can have of the balcony as well as the airconditioning.

I have informed her of this risk and she has decided to cancel, but she is a little concerned because I have a strict policy, and that would cost her 50% of the booking cost. So I told her that I have the possibility to refund her.

She is still concerned that I will not be able to refund her the total amount.

On my end, I am concerned that if I cancel, I will face a penalty, and my rating will go down.

What is the best thing to do? Has anyone else experienced a similar situation?

Thanks a lot!

[Emiel1]

Hello @Aline135 ,

If the guest cancels and you (manually) going to refund the money hold by the cancellation policy, the guest  will not be refunded the Airbnb service costs. So for a total refund YOU will have to cancel OR Airbnb has to be involved to perform the cancellation with total refund (or maybe can relocate the guest). As you can not offer the accomodation completely as described in the listing, i think you will have to cancel the reservation on your side (and yes, get penalized by Airbnb). But you can contact them and explain the situation, maybe they are willing to cancel penalty free.

Best regards, Emiel 

[Marzena4]

@Aline135 Check because you might apply for this: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-if-i-need-to-cancel-because-of-an-emergency-or-unavoid...

From there: "Severe property damage or unforeseen maintenance issues that directly impact the ability to host safely" 

If the above applies, contact Airbnb first.