Need advice.

[Mandy58]

Hello Hosters,

I have a solo male guest booking to stay at my place next month but unfortunately I only accept solo female travellers or couple (It was clearly written in description). He realized bout my policy after he had booked my place via instant book.
I have a strict cancellation policy, and now he is saying it is unfair for him to cancel because "I was the one who is not allowing him to stay, and if he had not gone back to re-read the description he would not have noticed my tenant stipulation".

So, Im not exactly sure what to do. On one hand, it is not my fault that he didnt read the description before booking, and on the other hand, he is sorta blaming me coz he will only get 50% back.

I need guidance to resolve this issue, and if anyone had a similar experience before? What is the next right move?

Thanks in advance! Much appreciated.

[Linda108]

@Mandy58  If you think it was an honest mistake, you might want to refund the 50% after the guest cancels.  Advise him that he must cancel ASAP and once he does, you will issue the refund for the remaining 50%.  You do not agree to the cancellation when emailed by Air BNB as it will then be considered a host cancellation.

Alternatively, you could advise that you will refund the 50% if the dates are re-booked.

[Mandy58]

Thank you Linda, that was helpful.

[Linda108]

Another thought, @Mandy58.  To be fair to the single male guest, it is easy to miss that part of your description.  Most travelers look a date, location, cost, pictures and reviews and only scan the description.  You do state in your description that you only accept solo women and not solo men, but you really could reinforce that if you also added it to "details guests must know about your home" which pop up during the booking process.   Find it under Booking settings.  Also, the guest may argue that this booking requirement is not easily noticed and receive a full refund.  Just a thought.

[Mandy58]

Thanks again for the little tip! will do that right away. 🙂

[BNB-Detroit0]

I think the Host is the one who is cancelling and thus you have the $50 or $100 penalty and the cancellation to prevent superhost status!

Ask the guest to cancel and inform the guest that they will receive a full refund -- that's what I would do given he is not cancelling but you are because he is a male.  I don't believe discrimination based on sex is allowed either, if he complained to Airbnb you might be kicked off the platform.  Play nice.

[Mandy58]

I am not cancelling so he has to cancel and am still waiting for him to do that. I am not discrimating the male sex, but mainly trying to keep me and my son safe by only allowing couples / female travellers to stay with me. 

[Elena87]

@Mandy58

You are completely mistaken here @BNB-Detroit0 , airbnb do allow this;

Airbnb hosts may

• Make a unit available to guests of the host’s gender and not the other, where the host shares living spaces with the guest

[Mandy58]

That's really good to know, thank you.

[Momi0]

@Elena87 

Thanks for letting @Mandy58 know what the gender policy is  ( I also wrote her too).    Its great when hosts can help each other out.  🙂

[Momi0]

@ Airbnb   

First off, you NEED to change your Community Center name immediately.  Meaning, your profile name.  That is NOT allowable.  You are not "Airbnb" and this post of yours using their TRADEMARK name will mislead others to think its AIRBNB posting replies.  Please change it to reflect your accurate name.  Thank you. 

Second, before you tell a host what is allowable,  you really should take the time to educate yourself on what the ABB discrimination policy stipulates.  A female host has the absolute right to decide if she wants to host a female or male.  Its important to take note that if a single/married female is hosting, she might not feel comfortable hosting a male or males.  There are many FEMALE hosts who only hosts Female guests.   ( I do not host males if my husband is out of town for work - suggested to me by an ABB Case Manager for safety after a horrible incident)

Last but not least, this host @Mandy58  did NOTHING wrong.  She cleary posted that she does not host males and its the guests responsibilty as well as REQUIRED BY AIRBNB to read all of the the hosts listing. He did not do that.  She is welcome to keep a portion of the booking cost based on her refund policy or she can decide to give a portion or all of it.  That's entirely up to her. 

@Mandy58  You did the right thing coming to the CC asking for guidance.  As someone in the legal field, I caution you to not take everything seriously of what others write in the CC.  Not everyone has taken the time to actually read all of the Terms and Conditions of ABB or their Discrimination Policy.  You are doing great.  🙂

Oh and one more thing @Mandy58.....if you would like to get additional help on this, just click on the link below my name to call ABB. If not, just message the guests, ask them to cancel, inform them that ABB will give them back their service fees and 50% .  You can use the resolution center to give back whatever portion you see fit.  I would recommend that you perhaps put your ONLY FEMALES or COUPLES in capital letters in your listings and place it at the TOP of your listing.  That will help future single males.  🙂

@Linda108  Thanks for helping her too.  Hope you are having a great day.   (Its sad just how many people don't read our listings huh?) 

[BNB-Detroit0]

@Momi0, you need to calm down. My post only intended to help and actually it gives a viewpoint from the male side of things. [Edited]

[Momi0]

EDITED:  to fix typo

@BNB-Detroit0 

Good to see you finally followed the Rules yourself by editing your profile name so it no longer reads..."Hi, I'm Airbnb."   

Imagine how many people would have sent you multiple messages asking for help if you hadn't!  haha  (fyi - not me though)

[Kati18]

@Mandy58  I would also remove Instant Book if you are going to put that stipulation in your listing.  As mentioned already, guests hardly read the descriptions and often miss important information.  This way you can avoid cancellations and decline any bookings that you do not want.

Also, put "females only" or something along those line in your listing title, that way it's more obvious that it's suited for women only.

Cheers,

Kati

[Mandy58]

I find it a little shocking tbh to know that guests hardly pays attention to the description of the listing of the place they are going to book. I always read them before doing any booking.

But yeah, maybe I will have to tweak the listing's name or remove the instant booking feature. 🙂