Extrenuating Circumstances for a cancellation-asking to break house rules before check in

[Nicole187]

So long story short, I had a guest who agreed to my house rules and then later asked me if their girlfriend could come over a couple times during his stay (20 days and she was not listed as a guest on the reservation).  I let him know that I have my house rules for a reason and while I totally understand wanting to see his partner, I am not comfortable having someone over who is not a registered guest.  I referred him to the house rules, which he agreed to when he booked the room.  He then asks if I would be willing to send him a new invoice through air bnb with a new total of her being there for 7 days, whether she stayed for all 7 or not because he didn't want her to feel "unwelcome".  Yeah...

So anyway, I just let him know in a professional manner that I thought about it but that I was not comfortable with someone coming and going on days that I do not know and that I did not think my listing was the right fit for his situation.  He then asked me to cancel, which I did, but now I can't find his canceled reservation for the room in the "extrenuating circumstances" drop down.  I definitely don't feel that I should be punished (room blacked out during that time frame "to deter me from cancelling reservations in the future"...whatever....for him not wanting to follow my house rules. 

Does anyone have any advice as to how I can email Air bnb to let them know that I cannot see his reservation in the extrenuating circumstances drop down?  I appreciate you all taking the time to read this.  I'm new, I have only had about 6 or 7 guests, mostly one nighters, so this is totally new to me. 

Thanks again,

-Nico

[Sandra126]

Cancelling as a host always carries penalties. If a guest is causing issues, the best way forward is to contact Airbnb and let them do the cancellation. It is also a good idea to have communication between you and the guest on the platform, even as a summary of what has been discussed in person. For the record! But since you did in fact cancel, I suggest tryong to see if Airbnb is willing to help you with freeing your calendar etc, given the circumstances. Try, anyway. They are v strict on cancellations and you might just have to bear it. Other alternatives to cancelling is to alter the stay to the day after, for instance. That way the stay ends, nobody cancels.

[Jw1]

Good idea. I had something more simple. I accepted a reservation request. And the guest became excited and almost furious. She begged me to cancel and seemed in such a mess that I did as requested, immediately, and bypassed (I think) a hasty warning that blippe don the screen - thinking that this cannot be a problem as I am doing what the guest requested, and it was excellent customer service. Maybe this guest would book another time. I also "learned the hard way" and one of only 6 prime weeks where I live in Denmark is now blocked. I tried to contact airbnb through the extenuating circumstances drop down, and wrote there even though the situation did not fall into one of the very few categories. There SHOULD be a category for this situation of course . . . but even better, they should build into their system a way for a host to cancel WITH CONSENT of the guest - which would not result in this kind of Draconian punishment. It is anti-host which, in the end, is anti Airbnb. After all, there ARE other ways to rent out . . . and we are certainly reviewing them now.
YOUR ADVICE sounded solid . . . DO YOU HAVE A WAY TO CONTACT AIRBNB about this? I would love to try doing so in a way that gets a response.
Thx

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Personally I think you did the wrong thing - a long term guest requested that his girlfriend could stay for a number of nights and was willing to pay. I really don't see what the problem was all about - unless there is more to it than you mention. She would have been a 'registered ' guest if you had accepted his revised booking. You have been penalised for this and the only way to lroceed is to ask for mercy from the Airbnb team - not sure they will view it that sympathetically as the guests seems to have been above board and. Dry reasonable. Good luck!

[Christian65]

I think your guest offered a compromise which I would have accepted. However, your house -> your rules.

I would ask if he wishes to find another spot and then offer him to refund him the rest of the days and find another guest.

By doing so you are very forthcoming and you can part on good terms but you can however ask him to cancel or abide by your houserules and part on negative terms.

Extenuating circumstances doesn't seem to apply here.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-is-airbnb-s-extenuating-circumstances-policy

Best of luck

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Be careful Nico - you already have one cancellation listed, and you do say your place is couple-friendly. It will begin to look bad on your profile if you cancel again. And, as already pointed out, this is not an extenuating circumstance and is not breaking your house rules either. Good luck