Cancellation

[Jessica-And-Terry0]

Hi. I am new to AirBnB as a host. I have a client who booked for 9 nights. Before she booked, she asked if she could book because it was a last minute notice. She said she was in  the process of looking for an apartment. She is on her 6th night and messaged me if she needs to cancel and leave early because she found an apartment which means she wants to get a refund. Do we give refunds for this situation?

[Patricia1375]

I had a couple different guests come and then had to leave earlier than planned.  For the medical emergency, I gave a full refund for days not stayed.  For a guest who decided to leave the state for personal issues (3 days before the reservation was complete) I gave one nights stay back.  Since you are new and are hoping for positive reviews, it might be worth it to give a refund for some if not all nights. 

[M199]

@Jessica-And-Terry0 

Stick to your policy cancellation it is a legal contract.  However if you can rebook cancelled nights, then you maybe  you can offer a refund.

[Jessica-And-Terry0]

So my guest booked until the 18th but now she said she is checking out tomorrow. How can I change the dates so I can put it back on the market without her charges being changed as well? Also, when I tried to change the reservation, it prompts me to notify her and the charges were adjusted as well and my being charged for 6 nights instead of the original 9 nights. I don’t want her to use that against me later to show that she only booked for 6 nights. More advice please? Thank you.

[Lisa723]

@Jessica-And-Terry0 the only way to re-open the dates without refund is to have her cancel on her end. (Never cancel on your end, as Airbnb will penalize you and block the dates if you cancel a reservation.) However, as others have suggested, as a new host a positive review is much more important than a few nights' revenue. In your shoes I would change the dates and give her her money back. When you have a solid track record of 5-star ratings then you can eat a few retaliatory reviews.

[Jessica-And-Terry0]

Thank you for that advice. I appreciate it.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jessica-And-Terry0 what cancellation policy did you agree to when you listed? If you went with the default (flexible) then the guest cn cancel and get a refund

[Jessica-And-Terry0]

Thank you for the advice.

[Helen3]

Hi @Jessica-And-Terry0 

do have a look at the Airbnb Help Centre it has lots of useful FAQs to help you manage your listing .