Confirmations issue

[Spring1]

Hi, I don't remember pre-approving an offer, but if I did, it wasn't in the last 2 weeks and I may have forgot to cancel the pre-approvement. All of a sudden, this morning, I received a confirmation from a guest on dates I'm not certain are available. What happens if I cancel? I don't see my approval on the message thread.

[Steve143 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Spring1,

Guests can book without you having to accept them because you have instant book turned on. Turn it off if you want to be able to accept or decline guests.

You should always keep your calendar up to date with your plans. This is especially important when you have instant book turned on.

If, as you say about the dates  "I'm not certain are available" you should block those dates until you are certain that you can host someone then.

You could turn off instant book and then all guests will have to request a reservation and you can then decide to accept or decline the request.

If you cancel then the penalties described here https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990

will apply to  you. The dates will be blocked on your calendar, a "The host cancelled ..." review will be put on your profile and you may be fined US$50 or $100

Steve.

[Spring1]

thank you so much for the detailed response!

Can I ask the visitor to cancel and then not be fined?

[Spring1]

Also, so I read the link you gave me, and from some reason I can not seen to understand the policy. Is it penalty free to cancle an instant booking reservation or not. Here is what it says in the link :

You can cancel instant bookings penalty-free an unlimited number of times if you’re uncomfortable with a reservation or if a guest breaks one of your House Rules. “Penalty-free” means you won’t pay a fee, lose Superhost status (or eligibility for it), or receive any of the other penalties mentioned above.

BUT THEN IT ALSO SAYS : You may not cancel reservations penalty-free for any other reason, including reasons that violate our nondiscrimination policy.

So I'm baffled...

[Steve143]

Hello @Spring1,

You can ask the guest to cancel. It's unlikely that they will agree as the problem is not theirs. As you have a strict cancellation policy they will loose at least 50% of their money. They will loose 100% if it's less than a week before they check in.

If the guest agrees to cancel and does cancel then you will receive a notification that the reservation has been cancelled.

The guest may use Airbnb to send a cancellation request.

If they do, you will receive a notification saying that the guest has requested a cancellation. If you accept this you will be seen to have cancelled and will be penalised.

You cannot cancel penalty free just because the booked dates are unavailable.

You may cancel penalty free, before a guest arrives, if you are uncomfortable with a guest. This means, for example, there is something in the Airbnb communication with the guest that indicates that their behaviour might be a problem.

If a guest has already arrived the policy says that you may cancel penalty free if they break your house rules.

From the policy, those are the only two reasons for which you may cancel penalty free.

Steve.

[Spring1]

Thank you again for all your help- one last question

I understand now that I can not cancel instant-bookings panelty-free (in case a guest hasnt arrived)  unless I'm uncomfortable with a guest and I provide a food reason why. Is that correct?

However I did also read that Canceation fee will be waived for your first cancellation within a 6-month period.

does this apply for instand- bookings as well?