cancelations

[Richard372]

I have now had 2 cancellations from 'guests' and it is only just the start of the season.  These people have blocked my calendar for months than just before they travel they cancel.  Do airbnb penalise them financialy or ore they allowed to cancel at will.  I cant see how I can advertising with airbnb when it is such a one sided relationship.  Does anyone know what I can do?  Does anyone know how to contact airbnb?

[Farah1]

@Richard372 with the strict cancellation policy that you have, guests automatically only get 50% refund if they cancel more than 7 days before the reservation date and they do not get any refund if they cancel less than 7 days. That is the penalty for guests based on your cancellation policy. All refund to guests not including the Airbnb fees. 

[Colin72]

Hi Richard, 

I recently had a very similar issue with 3 Swiss business school students. 6 months in advance they reserved my apartment from July to December 2017. Safe to say, at the last minute (before cancellation penalties would kick in) they canceled their booking, all while holding those dates "hostage" for 6 months. 

Sadly there is not much Airbnb can do, you could report the profile, if it was the same profile booking and canceling multiple times,  otherwise, I fear Airbnb will just view it as a string of bad luck. 

What I have done, for my high season bookings, is explained the case of the Swiss booking to my future guests and requested a small deposit from them to ensure their interest of their booking, (you can do so under the message tab - Send or Request Money) I am already booked out for the summer, and every guest has been very understanding of the situation and my request. 

Lastly, you can alter your cancellation policy under Hosting. You can view them here- https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies#flexible

Hope you have better guests in the future!

Cheers

[Nina75]

Strict Policy... also do not let someone book more than 30days. at a time until after they have stayed and like the place.