Guest cancelled: Refund amount questions.

[Albert13]

Greetings to all,

I´ve been on Airbnb for almost 2 years now but I have never had a guest cancel.   Unfortunately the guest cancelled due to a death.

I have spoken with them and decided to waive the cancellation fee which was the strict 50%, but I am unsure as to what to do as my next step.   

How much do i need to refund them?  Does Airbnb refund them the partial 50% and am I responsible for returning the remaining 50% to the guest? or do I have to refund the full amount as shown by Airbnb.

I´m sure this is a simple matter to fix but as this is my first time, I would like the advice of the members on the board.

Thanks in advance.

Albert

[Andrea9]

@Albert13

You do nothing. Airbnb got the funds. They will refund. 

Refund is always according to your cancellation policy.

Usually, you will be sent something as to whether you wish to refund more - that is up to you.

But Airbnb does the actual transmission of money.

[Albert13]

Hello Andrea thank you for answering,

So if i have the 50% refund policy, the guest should automatically get back half of what the paid without me having to do anything. 

If i waive the 50% policy (due to a death in the family)  How do i go about returning the other 50%

I just made the mistake of refunding the full amount : (  Since now airbnb says the full amount will be deducted from my next hosting.  How do i fix this?

[Andrea9]

@Albert13

Too late. You'll have to suck it up this time unfortunately, and chalk it up to gathering experience.

You'll be that much wiser next time 😉

[Albert13]

Thank you but that answer isn´t very helpfull.  Do you work for airbnb?  How do i get in touch with someone who knows how to answer the question without being smarmy or rude?

[Helen3]

Hi Albert

Phone BnB - number is on your guest confirmation.

BnB are unlikely to change the refund as you authorised a complete refund. However you can try  (particularly if you are a new host).

Good luck

[Albert13]

Hi Helen,

I do want to give the guest his full amount back as it was a death in the family. I just don´t know how to go about it properly.

When prompted to send the full amount it told me that it would be discounted from my next hosting, which is odd since the guest cancelled before they arrived and i hadn´t been paid yet.  

I will try calling airbnb though. Hopefully they can guide me so i know what to do if it happens again.

Thank you for helping me out!

[Andrea9]

@Albert13

No, I as all others on this forum are all hosts spending our free time helping other hosts.

If my remark came over as impolite I apologise.