Guest Cancellation

[Greg-And-Karen0]

I have a future guest booked for a very popular time to rent.  Her boyfriend (not the name rented under) wrote me and told me due to extenuating circumstances, they would have to cancel and would I be able to refund them.  I wrote back to him, and seperately to her, saying they need to cancel the reservation themselves since it is them that are wanting the cancellation, not I.  Also since no money has channged hands, there is no need of a refund.  They have not cancelled yet and I am sitting here wondering how long I wait before I am forced to cancel them?  I want to show those dates as open as soon as I can so I have a better chance of rerenting the room.  I also dont want to encur any negativity for cancelling a guest when it was really not my desire to do so in the first place.  Does this situation require phone contact with Airbnb?

[Serafina0]

Since you have a flexible cancellation policy, the guests have up until the day before arrival to cancel. No one likes cancellations, but as you say, it's better for guests to cancel earlier rather than later so we have a better chance of rebooking. If you cancel, you'll incur harsh penalties as the host and will not be allowed to rebook those dates through Airbnb , so it's really in the guest's court.

You could try to make it as easy for them as possible, sending the cancellation link directly along with a friendly note saying you'd be happy to welcome them another time. They may be delaying as they try to figure out a work-around for the nonrefundable fees Airbnb has collected from them.

Good luck, in this frustrating situation.

[David126]

I would at least change your policy to Moderate.

ABB will have taken payment from then, they need to cancel the reservation.