@Jenny,
@Jenny
I inquired about the lack of non-refundable only dates when the new cancellation policy was introduced last year. It is a feature that is available on Booking and Expedia, and we have utilized it during peak periods, Carnival, December/January holiday period, and when there are special events (e.g., concerts, cricket, festivals, etc.).
Last year a guest booked a discounted non-refundable two night stay to arrive on Christmas day. We had gotten host rust after having been closed for 16 months, and this booking caught me off guard, because I hadn't yet updated the minimum stay requirement to 7 nights for the holiday period, or blocked off Christmas day for arrivals. Two days before arrival the guest claimed that they had caught COVID the week before, and wanted to cancel and get a full refund. Thankfully, ABB sided with us on refusing the refund, because the guest should have contacted us when they were diagnosed (but we had to wait a day before this decision was made). The guest's late notification prevented an opportunity to book another reservation for that Christmas to New Year week.
Guests are relying upon ABB to make decisions in their favor when it contradicts the host's chosen cancellation policy. As a result, the quality of the booking in terms of intent to fulfill the contract has drastically degraded. In fact, this past year we had seven ABB bookings at the guesthouse between August 2021 and March 2022, and three of them cancelled last minute (one didn't request a refund). We don't need the games that some guests are playing nowadays to work ABB's policies into giving them unwarranted refunds. On other platforms, we make the final decision if we're willing to make an exception to our cancellation policy.