High number of cancellations

[Beth191]

Anyone else experiencing a high number of cancellations?

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve noticed our guests are cancelling at a rate we’ve never experienced before. Perhaps one in five or six reservations. Our place is in Seattle, by the way.

They are often Asian and the reasons are always different.

Trying to figure out if it’s coincidence and people are booking when they really aren’t committed to staying, if it’s a scam, or someone’s booking up rooms to drive business to their own Airbnb in our neighborhood and then cancelling within the refund window.

We will likely implement a more strict cancellation policy as a result of this but having a more flexible policy has, I believe, helped us get bookings.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Beth191 My suspicion is that this is down to oversupply of properties. Guests can book a backstop property and then wait until weeks or even days before their stay to see if they can find a better/cheaper property. With over supply in the market there will often be something better available.
As you say your flexible cancellation policy may well get you more bookings but they are frankly not worth having if you just get cancellations. We have always had a strict cancellation policy so any booking guarantees some money in the bank.

[Beth191]

Thank you! I’ve just changed our policy to strict after yet another cancellation. I appreciate your insight about saturation in the marketplace. I guess guests don’t realize this is a business for hosts and canceling has an affect on our small business.

[Helen3]

Really I've host for nine years with a strict policy and have all the bookings I need. With two cancellations in nine years @Beth191 

[Beth191]

Good to know. We’ve just changed our policy to strict.

[Jeremy1138]

This year 2025, I’ve seen very high cancellations, nearly 50%. 
but just on Airbnb.

Our place is in Italy and the majority of cancellations were American guests.

We’ve always had a strict cancellation policy.

[Elise43]

Hi Beth, I host near DC, and our cancellation rate often seems tied to what's going on in national politics. We have had MANY more cancellations that normal this fall, and I attribute that to the deep job cuts in our region, and the government shut down. We also find that during election cycles, we get more cancellations-- maybe everyone is more on edge. I've been hosting for 13 years now, and my other friends in hospitality report similar trends related to the the news cycle. This is a big, interconnect economy, and I sure feel that as a small business owner!  

I'm excited that Airbnb is introducing the ability for us to set various cancellation policies for different dates-- that's going to really help with my holiday cancellations! (I find that holiday travel booked far in advance often cancels.)

Good luck!