Guest Cancellation

[Emily130]

Hello, 

I had a guest book 6 weeks ago for January - April 2017.  Today she's cancelled saying her visa was rejected and she isn't coming to Manchester.  A while back I changed my cancellation policy to 'strict' to avoid the complication and hassle of people cancelling.  

Recently I cancelled a booking only 5 minutes after accepting, after making an error, and was pretty harshly penalised by Airbnb (not able to get superhost status despite 100% in everything), so I feel like I don't want to give a refund of the £480 deposit, but that it's pretty mean on the guest who has cancelled.  

What would others do in this situation? 

Thanks for your feedback.

Emily

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

Airbnb will refund her according to your cancellation policy.  You dont need to worry about refunding anything additional.

[Christian65]

Hi Emily!
I have forfeited my strict policy a couple of times but only when I had the opportunity to receive another booking at the same period.
You are in your right to uphold the policy but I would forfeit if you'd had a change of getting another booking. It seems like your guest have some financial problems and that can't be easy but policy wise you can insist on getting your payment. The guest has previously accepted the policy upon booking so no question about who is in their right but it depends on whether or not you want to be kind and forthcoming to the guests unfortunate situation or just stick with the policy rules.

[Dee9]

Me personally, I stick to my strict cancellation refund.

If you decide to do that, the guest will probably open a case with Airbnb as a last resort. No fear, you can still stick to your policy if you want. But if it gets that far, you will be asked by Airbnb if youre willing to change your mind. Good luck!

[Caitlin22]

I consider each situation. With your guest, this is something that is out of control regarding denial of their visa. Since it's still several months away, you still have time to book other guests during that time. Of course, it may not be a long stay of several months like this guest.. however, they were sure to let you know well in advance. I had one guest that checked in and left right away without contacting me to resolve his issue. Because of this, I kept the partial amount because now I could not book other guests since it was same day. Another guest canceled the same day that she booked since she no longer needed a room. Because of the quick update, I refunded her the full amount. Just follow your gut feeling and ask yourself.. would I want to lose out on that money if I were in their shoes? Put yourself in the guests' spot based on their situation. 

[Ed-and-Janan0]

Emily,

Reading your post, i have a few thoughts:

1) your previous transaction with a guest where AirBNB was abusive on the cancellation should not considered here.  The fees AirBNB kept were for them and not for the guest.  This one AirBNB will take their fees off the top as they did on the last one.  i recently had a similar cancellation within hours and was charged $150 penalty.   

2) AirBNB will close the transaction based on your cancellation policy.  If it is strict cancellation you should get a 50% payout.

3) I've read some of the comments sympathizing with the guest who wasnt able to get their VISA.  You as host arent offering trip insurance, your guest should have investigated visa and other needs before booking.   We as hosts still have to pay mortgage, utilities and other expenses.

4) I have a policy where i dont profit off the misfortune of my guests but if i pull the property off listing even for a day im missing opportunities to book the property.  If i can rebook the property i will refund any funds in excess of the initial booking less expenses (credit card fees, discount, etc).

Regards

ed

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

If you were a traveller planning a trip and found yourself  in that situation, what would you like the host to do?

It's more than two months away and you will have the opportunity to rebook the dates.

You could choose to be flexible.