Cancellations and refunds

[Caroline1126]

We were planning on opening our home to Airbnb for the school year 19-20 until a group of seniors approached us. Their Rental was condemned and they had no where else to go.

They had a compelling argument and we agreed to rent them .

We had 2 reservations on the calendar and needed to cancel them.

The first guest tried and bc of the strict cancellation policy she could not get her money back. 

I did not want to cancel on my end bc I was working hard to get super host status.

what do you suggest we do?

thanks so much.

btw we have been hosting and traveling with ABNB since 2006 and LOVE IT

[Kelly149]

You are the one cancelling.

You could call ABB and beg for mercy on the cancellation, but you're cancelling bc you got a better offer.

[Lawrene0]

What a mess, @Caroline1126 . As @Kelly149  says, you are the one who wants to cancel in this case, and so you have to do the cancelling. 

Yes, it is because some seniors asked you to, but that's not the fault of the booked guests. 

How awful for them to be asked to do the cancelling themselves, with popups showing they will get no refund. If you truly love Airbnb, you won't make hosts look bad. 

My best advice is to help those seniors find someplace suitable that is not already booked. You can do your bit without expecting others to bear the burden of it. Block your calendar so that after your booked guests leave, the seniors can move in. 

Sorry to sound harsh. I'm sure those seniors don't know how much they are asking of you. 

[Kelly149]

if the house is rented for the whole school year and you won't be renting it on ABB, then having or not having SH doesn't seem that important. right?

[Caroline1126]

Thanks so much for your input.

one thing I failed to mention the guest is happy to cancel bc one of the tenants is her daughter. She was coming to attend her graduation.