Construction of a new house right next door suddenly began 2 days ago without notice. I have confirmed reservations through Christmas. I sent notices to all of these guests offering them a 25% discount. One particular guest had asked about construction at the time she made her reservation and I had assured her that no construction was ongoing. I have agreed to allow her cancellation with full refund. Her reservation is just 2 weeks away. I contacted Airbnb 2 days ago and was assured that there would be no problem cancelling jointly with no detrimental affect on my guest or myself, but that I have to wait for a callback from the Airbnb Specialist. Airbnb says they are very busy and I have to just wait. Unfortunately, the guest is anxious and I want unblock her dates to re-rent for the house for that period which is only 14 days away.
Questions:
Can I unblock this guest’s dates while I am waiting so that someone else can book those dates?
What are other hosts’ experiences on this issue with Airbnb?
How have other hosts handled informing future guests of the construction; should I announce it in my listing? The various phases of construction will have differing affects on our guests, i.e., framing stage will be lots of pounding whereas finish work will be much quieter. We can guess when certain stages will occur, but of course we do not know for sure, therefore it would be impossible to describe which construction phase it will be in during a guest’s chosen dates. I have decided to take the instant booking feature off and therefore require guests to request to book so that I can inform each inquiring guest about the construction and what phase it might be in during their dates. I also plan to significantly lower the rates in my listing because of the construction and can explain this to the inquiring guests before they book.
Any comments or helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
