Should I refund my guests?

[Tempestt0]

My guests booked for 3 nights and stayed one night, but then had to leave because of "an emergency." Should I be offering to refund them for 2 nights? I feel bad for them but I was also expecting the money. What are all the options?

[Claudia119]

It's really a personal choice, based on so many things, including whether they ask for a refund or not.    Your options are to keep the money or not.  I have had people book for a period of time, then not stay all the nights they booked for, and I have not refunded, because I would not have been able to rebook and recapture the loss.  Many travelers book for security of having a place and then can choose again to let it go if they don't need to stay. 

[David126]

They can cancel, any refund is determined by your cancellation conditions.

[Tim-and-Holly0]

My policy has been to provide a refund to a guest only if I get rebooked, then only to refund the amount of the new booking less any Airbnb charges so I come out even. I really don't care to make extra money on guests, but want to be nice too. As hosts we can't afford to lose money. Almost all of my guests have been understanding and accept this policy. Some even got their money back.

In May I had one guest cancel, another guest booked the same days so the first guest got a refund. Then the second guest cancelled and a third person booked the same time so the second guest got her money back too.  I came out even. A win for everyone.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

It's completely up to you...\

Our guests this weekend were meant to arrive on Friday night - their flight was cancelled and they arrived this morning. We told them we were refunding for one night, they said they didn't want us to but we feel bad about taking money for last night. It's a subjective and personal thing and only you can really answer it for yourself.

[Tina63]

You are running a business; why would you refund?! In no other hospitality industry can you 'try before you buy' (and that is what they are doing - try for 1 or 2 nights....found a cheaper or 'better' place/change of plans/'we'll book somewhere with a moderate cancellation policy then if we don't like it we'll move on'...). The reason why they are leaving is irrelevant ('emergency' or not). I wonder if you would feel the same if you had a number of consecutive reservations do this... Or maybe I have been in this business too long...