How long does it take for a guest to receive a refund?

[Lynne2]

"If your guest canceled the reservation before the check-in date, you can give them an additional refund beyond what the cancellation policy provides by going to Your reservations and clicking Issue Refund."

How long does it take for a guest to receive a refund if I want to give them an additional refund?  Is the additional refund option available directly after a guest cancels? 

I have a particular situation where a guest may cancel due to illness in the family, and she has asked me questions I can't answer!

Thank you!

Lynne

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

Your guest should contact Airbnb directly and have them process the cancellation under the Extenuating Circumstances policy.  If they qualify, they will receive a full refund and you won't have to do anything.  Whatever you do, DO NOT PROCESS THE CANCELLATION ON THEIR BEHALF, as there will be steep penalties for you.

[Lynne2]

I do know about not cancelling on their behalf, don't worry 🙂   The booking hasn't been made yet.  The guest is just concerned about the consequences should she have to cancel. 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Lynne2

The concequences lie in your cancellation policy.  https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies#strict

I assume you have set it to strict for a reason ?

[Marit-Anne0]

I believe it can take up to a week - but I suppose that would be acceptable when they are not coming due to illness.  Actually, I am finding it odd that they should be urgent about this question.  It could very well be that they are trying to get out of a cancellation situation where there is no illness.  With illness their travel insurance would cover any excess to your cancellation policy.

[Lynne2]

Hi Marit,

No, there is nothing sinister about it.  The guest hasn't booked but wants to know the procedure if she should have to cancel.  She has an ill brother who might require her to cancel.  She is being very up-front and I would like to help. 

[Scott80]

But in a way it IS sinister. The guest is already planning in detail about how things can go wrong. Whereas a typical person would briefly consider the worst case scenario and then plan on things going right. If someone was asking me detailed information about cancellation even before they booked, as others have said I'd send them the link to the cancellation policy direct them to AirBnB with questions and neither pre-approve nor decline their request.