Cancellation during stay

[Zack-And-Jessica0]

Hi - I have a situaton where the current guest is visiting from out of state.  Currently they have booked 5 days and it is Memorial Day weekend.  They are 1 night into the stay and want to cancel due to weather.  The home is in the Southern California mountains where we are experiencing an unsual rainy May. Anyhow, we are set to a Strict policy but I also don't want to be a jerk or not compassionate to the guests. 

In your opinion, if I were to cancel them ~ do you feel 50% of their stay + cleaning fee is reasonable? They are asking for full refund minus the night they stayed....

This is the third time this has arrised and I really feel that moving forward I need to put in Bold letters somewhere that we will not offer refunds due to weather unless roads are closed. 

[Linda108]

Just want to make sure that YOU are not cancelling the booking for the guest, right?  Let Air BNB handle the cancellation per the guest request and your policy.  Instead of a full refund,  since you are not able to rebook the space at this late date, perhaps you can offer a discount for future booking.  This weather system has been around for a while and does not constitute an extenuating circumstance.  I am here in the desert near Palm Springs we are having the coldest May in decades!  

[Zack-And-Jessica0]

Hi! Thank you for your reply!

This weather is crazy! We as the hosts are not canceling, the guest wishes to. They are from out of State, so I am a little more sympathetic to their travel needs but I agree we've had this weather around for some time.  And they booked a home in the mountains!   I have a call into Airbnb to help out canceling to make the dates available on my calendar.  Now to get them to call me back! Its been 3 hours. 

[Lisa723]

@Zack-And-Jessica0  @Linda108 Ridiculous! I would not refund due to weather unless the property were inaccessible-- I would tell them I'll refund whatever I can recoup by rebooking.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Zack-And-Jessica0 

Cancelling for whatever reason is up to the guest..... but expecting the host to fully refund because of BAD WEATHER?!?!? is just plain crazy.

So..... if people were at a resort instead of an Airbnb, do you think the resort or hotel will provide refunds everytime a guest is upset cause it's raining or the weather isn't as nice the guests had hoped???? 

I honestly would not entertain the idea of a refund AT ALL. They don't deserve one and have a lot of nerve asking/expecting a refund. 

[Susan17]

If we had to refund guests every time it rained here in Ireland, we'd be bankrupt! 

[Lisa723]

@Susan17 same!

[Tina63]

The weather is out of your control. No way would I refund! 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Zack-And-Jessica0 

if you will have the same dilemma every time when some of your guests want to cancel then I would recommend changing your cancelation policy to flexible 🙂