Cancellations - Part 2

Kevin1855
Level 3
Lancaster, PA

Cancellations - Part 2

Hola,

 

 Very sorry to keep coming back to the well here for advice....

 

I have a strict cancellation policy.

 

If a guest cancels and I agree to a refund:

1.  Does AirBnb keep the service fee imposed on the host?...Should I subtract that from the refund?

2.  If I wasn't going to offer a refund, I see my partial payout wouldn't happen until the date of the booking (upon check-in)....The real question is, should I wait to issue the refund until the payout is sent to me?  I'm not clear how this works.

 

thank you,

6 Replies 6
Dale711
Level 10
Paris, France

Hola @Kevin1855 

1. Yes 

Airbnb will keep the fee, guest needs to pay by theirself.

Host do not need to pay the Airbnb fee on behalf for the guest. Yet, the decision is on yourself.

 

2. You do not need to wait until the check in  date to make the refund for the guest.

Once the host make a cancellation, the amount will deduct immediately into yours future payout. You can track from the payout history page.

Thank you, Dale - greatly appreciated.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Kevin1855  There is no need to apologize for asking questions here-that's exactly what this forum is for. 

 

It's actually advisable to wait until you get paid to issue more of a refund than the guest would get under your cancellation policy, as it has happened that the guest gets refunded by Airbnb and then also the host.

 

I'm wondering why you have a strict policy, though, if you are just going to override it yourself and refund the guest more than they are due? What many hosts do is tell the guests that they will be open to refunding more if and when those cancelled dates get rebooked.

Thank you!  

 

It's a beach property and the guest had a new job assignment - he didn't think they'd be able to keep the reservation.  I was notified well in advance of his July arrival and I wanted to work with him.  I knew it would get booked as soon as it became available again (which it did)...so...no harm, no foul. 

 

I would take your approach if i was notified closer to the arrival date...but thanks for the reminder!  Very helpful 🙂

@Kevin1855  I agree that if it doesn't  present big inconvenience, the dates are far in the future and you'd have no problem refilling those dates, it's a nice gesture to offer to refund. That can make those guests book with you in the future as you made things hassle-free for them.

 

And there's a big difference between a host offering to refund, or caving to a demanding guest who is angry that a host is sticking to the cancellation policy they agreed to when they booked. 

I completely agree. And knock on wood...I’ve never experienced any guest demanding a refund after booking with a strict cancellation policy.  But I have noticed a trend...it’s only been people with new accounts / zero reviews that change their minds and want to cancel.  I like to give newbies the benefit of doubt to help get them established on Airbnb.