Cancellation Charges Waiver Request

[Layla34]

Hello Airbnb Community Team

I have not been active on the platform for sometime now , since my unit was not available  for short term rental .
For almost a year now i didn’t have any transactions . I also was not updated with any new policies etc.

I just had a recent issue with a guest who went into instant booking option , ( i was under impression i had switch that off) but for some reason it was not switched off ( i kept receiving multiple requests to which I did not accommodate due to that my unit is still unavailable. ) and hence I was under impression that the option of instant booking was not activated!! Im almost sure I did switch off since last year ! Is there any other way  that this option could be reactivated  without my knowledge?!!!!

I also mistakenly didn’t block the calendar ( an option i just discovered yesterday ) and I didn’t feel like I needed to since i was under impression that Im in control of any upcoming booking and that it will get first to me for my pre approvals . I also didn’t want to deactivate my profile in case my unit is back again and I can start renting it on the platform!

When i saw a booking came into my inbox , I immediately went and canceled it ( the booking is 4 months down the line - Dec 25 ) and I immediately canceled in less than 24 hrs.

I communicated my issue very transparently with Airbnb support and didn’t realize i was not even in compliance with the new cancellation policies.

As i recall since I was active back in 2020 I had one chance for free cancellation per year ! I didn’t realize this is not the case anymore .

I had sent out a support message to Airbnb team and even asked for someone to call me back , the response was just we cant waive off those fees according to company policies. noting that i have  not disrupted any of the guests plans since it was a booking 4 months ahead and it took me 24hrs to respond !

I’m sure there must be some exceptions especially when something is not made out of negligence or on purpose ?!

just to explain that I have not been active neither on the platform nor with any of its updates for the past year or more .

When I said to the customer support that this is not the level of supportI’d expect from them and that I might consider not using this platform , they simply thats my right to do so ?!!!!!

can someone help/ guide me on this 

[Helen3]

sorry Airbnb expects host to make sure their listing is kept up to date and if you don't want to take bookings as you say you can block dates/remove IB or snooze the listing.

I think you will just need to accept the cancellation fee and remove IB so guests can't use this function going forward @Layla34 

[Layla34]

Thanks @Helen3  , Im quite sure my instant booking feature was off and somehow its turned on ! Am not sure how . 
Anyways i have turned it off again and blocked my calendar for whole of next year. 

[Huma0]

@Layla34 

You might have mistakenly thought IB was off when it wasn't, or it could have been an Airbnb error. This has happened to me twice.

When I first listed a room in my house, I am absolutely 100% sure that I switched IB off, as I remember looking at it and thinking, "No, I don't want that." Listing went live, I went to bed and in the morning woke up to find a bunch of instant bookings. Not surprising, given that overnight Smartpricing (which I didn't at the time realised was stupid) had cut my prices in half.

At some point, I felt forced to use IB because Airbnb was pushing it so hard and my listings disappeared from the search results without it. However, a few months ago, I decided to turn it off. I did this for all three of my listings. I remember it very clearly as, when I got to the third and last one, all these pop ups came up trying over and over to convince me not to turn it off. I turned it off regardless.

When I checked again, the system had turned IB back on for one of my listings.

I'm not making this up. This definitely happened. I am quite thorough about this sort of stuff. However, @Helen3 is right that it's best to also block your calendar, just in case. Plus it's better not to waste your time or guests' time with enquiries for dates that aren't available.

[Layla34]

@Huma0 thanks for confirming the same ! I was quite sure i had turned the IB off since last year since i already had the unit handed over to a relative of mine when i realized i couldn’t handle/ manage it anymore from overseas. 

its been almost a year now since i got any transactions. Just last month or so started getting messages . 
you are right i should have blocked it right away but i got some medical condition that was taking care off and didn’t realize until i saw a notification email a booking is confirmed. 
to my shock i went straight away and canceled it even without looking at any details. And immediately reported the case . 

i was then surprised with their response and  unwillingness  to speak with me ! Its not like that I’m canceling it and taking other bookings later on ! 

i have totally blocked my calendar for another year atleast . 

anyways thanks for the feedback and advise so far ! I guess am still learning my way through this platform . 

stay safe! 

[Gwen386]

Hi @Layla34 I suggest pausing or snoozing your listing until you’re ready to start hosting again. Below is the link giving you options on what/how to do it. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/476/snooze-unlist-or-deactivate-your-listing

[Layla34]

Thanks @Gwen386  , i just  did that . 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Huma0 @Helen3 Do IB hosts still get 3 free of charge cancellations each year under the new policy? If so @Layla34 shouldn't be charged.

[Helen3]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 

Yes you get a penalty free cancellation if the guest for example doesn't meet your house rules ie wants to bring children when your listing says you don't accept them or they don't provide a photo when you have ticked the box on your listing to say it's required.

But they don't cover hosts who don't block out their calendars I'm afraid.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

As far as I am aware, yes. The last time I checked the policy, that is what it said, as per @Helen3 's comment RE which reasons you can cancel penalty free. I don't check too often though as I don't use IB anymore.

What I find a bit confusing though is that Airbnb indicated that this would now become the case for ALL bookings, not just IB (i.e. that hosts were within their rights to cancel 3x bookings annually under certain circumstances) with the changes to the host cancellation policy. I was invited with a lot of other hosts to participate in a Zoom conference about it and that is what they told us.

I was then surprised to find that this is not clarified in the policy that was published here on the CC. I asked for clarification on this in response to that but got none. Meanwhile, the wording on the IB policy hasn't changed.

I fear that we were therefore totally misinformed in that conference call, but that is strange to me as I asked that specific question numerous times...

[Mayor9]

@Layla34 The instant booking option is not a reliable feature, it is always better to block off your calendar, or snooze the listing.

[Layla34]

Thank you @Mayor9 for this advise ! May i know how do i snooze the listing ?! I already blocked the calendar for next year but just to be on safe side ! 

[Layla34]

I just snoozed it … thanks! 

[Mayor9]

@Layla34 You're welcome

[Layla34]

Thank you all for your great support and discussions here  . I will definitely need to pay more attention as to what updates are being made to the policies and participate more in this wonderful community once I decide to be back 🙂 I have snoozed my listing for now . Happy Hosting everyone .