Cancelling a reservation as host

[Andrea1132]

It is the begining of August and I want to cancel a reservation of an existing guest who has booked until october because my family situation has changed and I can no longer have a guest. What are the procedures?

[Emiel1 · Accepted solution]

hello @Andrea1132 ,

Please read the information in  here:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/166/how-do-i-cancel-a-reservation-as-a-host

including the links to "penalties" and "extenuating circumstance". It is important to follow procedures as described, especially if there are extenuating circumstances (which can waive the penalties).

But as you state you (temporary ?) can't have a guest and seems this is your first cancellation (your profile dose not mention another one, ) penalties will not really affect you (except for missing possible Super host status)

Hope this helps,

Emiel

[Letti0]

@Andrea1132  You can contact AirBnB and see if they will allow this under extinuating circumstances. It's worth a try. There is no phone number for your area, so I would spell out in detail what the issue is regarding why you need to cancel and direct message AirbnbHelp on Twitter. 

[Andrea1132]

Sorry, I did not reply to your excellent and very helpful suggestions.

Here is what happened in the end:  I called Airbnb aid line and there was a mediator who tried to solve the issue with my guest. The mediator was most helpful and very diplomatic. Unfortunately, my guest and I could not reach an agreement but  I was able to ask him to leave the next day. The guest stayed at my house for free the previous month. 

I was penalized for the remaining time of the original reservation (I could not advertise my place) and I spent the following year paying back the debt to Airbnb. 

As a result, I lost the Superhost medal, and some income, but I gained experience (as soccer players like to say).

It was not a nice experience, but in the end I was able to have peace of mind and I learned a lot from it. No long-term rentals for me!  😄