new "Firm" cancellation policy

[Linda3403]

The new Firm policy states:  "Full refund for cancellations up to 30 days before check-in. If booked fewer than 30 days before check-in, full refund for cancellations made within 48 hours of booking and at least 14 days before check-in. After that, 50% refund up to 7 days before check-in. No refund after that."

I just had a guest awarded a full refund, even though it was at least two weeks since they booked. Is the wording of the policy incorrect, or has it been applied incorrectly.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Linda3403 If the stay is more than 30 days away then a full refund is what the policy says.

[Linda3403]

Thanks, but the stay was only 15 days away.  As I read the policy, the guest must meet two conditions to gain a full refund, (1) cancel within 48 hours of making the booking, and (2) at least 14 days prior.  But they only met number (2), and still got a refund. 

[Linda3403]

I think I have it sorted.  Was my error. 

[Jeremy194]

Hi there and thanks for the topic, I'm wondering if anybody would want to help clarify the difference between firm and strict cancellation policies? I'm still a little murky about what makes them different.

[Sarah977]

@Jeremy194  What part do you find confusing? With Firm, if they cancel more than 30 days before check-in, they get refunded. With Strict they take a 50% hit even if they cancel 3 months before check-in.

• Firm cancellation policy: To receive a full refund, guests must cancel at least 30 days before check-in. They can also get a full refund within 48 hours of booking if the cancellation occurs at least 14 days before check-in. If they cancel between 7 and 30 days before check-in, you’ll be paid 50% for all nights. If they cancel less than 7 days before check-in, you’ll be paid 100% for all nights.
• Strict cancellation policy: To receive a full refund, guests must cancel within 48 hours of booking and the cancellation must occur at least 14 days before check-in. If they cancel between 7 and 14 days before check-in, you’ll be paid 50% for all nights. If they cancel after that, you’ll be paid 100% for all nights.

[Jeremy194]

Thank you for the explanation. What I find confusing is that the strict policy is more lenient than the firm. It's not true that under the strict policy they wouldn't get a full refund even if they booked three months in advance. My understanding is under the strict policy if they cancel within 48 hours of booking and it's 14 days before their arrival date they will still get a full refund. Is that not true?

[Sarah977]

@Jeremy194  Okay, lets say the guest books 2 months in advance. 31 days before check-in, they decide to cancel. Under firm, they will get a full refund. Under strict, they won't, because they didn't cancel within 48 hours of booking.

This part of the Strict policy- "If they cancel between 7 and 14 days before check-in, you’ll be paid 50% for all nights" only holds true if they cancel with 48 hrs. of booking.

At least that's my understanding. (I have always used Moderate)

[Jeremy194]

Thank you for discussing this with me. I think I really get it now. A lot hinges on that 48 hours clause.

I have always used moderate myself. But I'm finding when guests cancel right at the five day mark - that it still impacts me quite a bit.  Greater notice would be a lot more helpful…

[Sarah977]

@Jeremy194  Airbnb really isn't adept at wording things in a way which is clear.

Moderate has always worked well for me because my location is such that almost all my guests fly here- it's a beach vacation destination. So they have airline tickets booked, maybe a car rental, maybe surf lessons or a whale watching tour booked. They have too many things in play to just cancel less than 5 days before check-in.

It's only happened once in years of hosting, and that was because the guest had had a death of a close family member- she was completely distracted by it and her Airbnb bookings that needed to be cancelled were far from her mind.

But if a host gets a lot of 5 day cancellations, and it's not easy to get the dates rebooked with that little notice, then moderate probably isn't the best.

Different policies work for different hosts. I'd never use flexible because I would be bummed if I spent the 2 hrs it takes me to clean and prepare for a guest only to have them cancel. And I wouldn't be able to rebook on such short notice.

But a host who lives right near an airport or interstate might get tons of last minute bookings- it's their bread and butter, so flexible might work fine- they'll get another booking for that day right away.