Strict Cancellation and still got a refund

[Joe-And-Mary1]

I had a guest book a reservation on Aug 24. An hour later, he wanted to get a refund due to the workspace not being big enough for his preference, even though it was seen in the pictures. We have a strict cancelation policy but he still got a full refund.  On the Airbnb website, it states

Free cancellation for 48 hours, as long as the guest cancels at least 14 days before check-in

His check in date was suppose to be on September 4, which is less than 14 days. 

I also found that if it is between 7-10 days, he only would've gotten a 50% refund.

I spoke to a case manager and said that since it's less than 48 hours, the guest received a full refund but they completely disregarded the part where it says it has to be at least 14 days.

Please advise. Thank you all in advance!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Joe-And-Mary1 Yep they got it wrong. Possibly for the best as they would have given a bad review had they stayed. Whist irritating, at the end of the day  your place was only blocked from bookings for a day or so.

[Colleen253]

@Joe-And-Mary1 Normally, upon cancellation by the guest, your cancellation policy would be applied automatically by Airbnb and the guest refunded (or not) accordingly. Perhaps what happened in this case is the guest contacted Airbnb when they realized they wouldn’t get the full refund, and your policy was over ridden. The trouble with Airbnb CS reps is they are outsourced call center workers who rarely know policy. You could try to fight it, but that would be a painful battle. And as Mike and Jane said, at least your calendar was only blocked a short period of time. 

[Brian2036]

@Joe-And-Mary1 @Colleen253 @Mike-And-Jane0 

So now we are not only required to educate guests, we have to train CS representatives as well.

[Colleen253]

@Brian2036 It is what it is. But if we know what we’re dealing with, the better prepared going into battle with Customer Circus. That’s why, the very rare times I might contact CC, I do it by chat so I can link policy and paste relevant sections. Or if calling, at least be very well versed in policy yourself. 
@Joe-And-Mary1