Guest decided to stay longer, so I have to cancel others

[Alain3]

Hi everyone,

A guest asked whether she could rent the room for one month, renewable. As she is a nice person, I said yes. Anyway, I had only two requests for this month (August), and these only for one and two nights. So a whole month is preferable.

I warned the two persons and "sent them a new offer" with a price of zero. Will this enable them to get a refund? I hope so, and, if not, how can I do it? I mean through the airbnb web site, I could always call them, get their home address and send them a check...

I tried to find the relevant procedure, but there does not seem to be one. Surely, I'm not supposed to turn out someone I already know on behalf of total strangers?

Also, can you please tell me the procedure for blocking the calendar, or something similar, to make sure nobody else tries to book during this month?

I saw something like "automatic approval" but I can't find it anymore...

BTW, please speak English 🙂

[David126]

You can go into your calender and block of dates that are not available.

Requests are not a problem, if you have bookings then that is very different. You can not double book and cancellations have consequences.

[Alain3]

But how do you find the calendar, please?

[David126]

Under Your Listings

[Alain3]

They were automatic reservations. Now I can see "Payment Breakdown". This means they got their money back, yes?

[Mike77]

Oh, boy... You got a good one, Dave.

Chuckle.

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[Alain3]

I found the calendar, thank you David.

Mike, why do you think it's funny? Is it because it's a very common problem and the solution is obvious?

Anyway, Mike, you have such a pretty place up your tree that you can laugh at me all you want, I won't take offense 🙂

[Mike77]

It is amusing to me that so many people are so lost.  Seems that many people can't figure out easy stuff.  Can't make decisions, can't stand up for themselves.  Want info chewed for them and then spit into their mouths like little baby birds.

It is like an never ending parade of silly people.

That is what is amusing.

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[David126]

I assume that is why ABB have made it hard to contact them.

Simplistically in this case someone has a better offer and they want to cancel an existing commitment, can they do so, yes, will there be consequences, also yes, otherwise the whole platform would collapse.

[Mike77]

"you can laugh at me all you want..."

Oh, good.  I was stifling myself and almost busted something.

Ahhhh much better now.

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[Heather32]

Aloha Alain,

Sometimes it's hard to navigate and find all the info you need. If you are new to this experience it can be kind of daunting.

First, never ever ever take a booking you think you might need to cancel. If you have a guest who is asking to renew on a month by month basis, then you should not be listing the unit on Airbnb. You should have a long term rental contract.

The reason Airbnb penalizes you when you cancel a booking is that it is a tremendous inconvenience for the guest you are cancelling. They now have to find another place to rent and worry about getting their money back.

You need to think of the nights you are booking as tangible items, and once they are sold, they are gone and you don't have any more to sell. If you told the long term guest you would let them stay indefinitely, you need to have a time period for her to decide and block those dates, or you need to tell her what you have left available, and that is all she can stay for.

What you've done is not very ethical.

I suggest you sit down with pen and paper and look through your listing thoroughly. Get to know the rules etc. I'm confused that you were able to list your property without being able to set your prices and access the calendar!

Aloha,

Heather

[Paul4]

You really need to spend some serious time studying all the 'how it works' and 'help' guides on the website. A lot of this stuff is not intuitive and a bit confusing, and to understand it takes time and effort. Most of us who answer questions are here to help and pay back those who helped us when we needed it.

[Mike77]

"Most of us..."

What are the other people doing?

Mike
AirBnB Treehouse for Rent
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7292887

[Melanie58 · Accepted solution]

Hi Alain, 

I have a similar situation - I had a guest request to stay for three months after staying for two nights.  I approved this request because it works really well with my situation, but I did not cancel any of the other guests.  He agreed to stay anyway, even though there are six nights he will have to stay somewhere else.  (I simply worked out an arrangement with our neighbor, which benefits everyone).

A way you could do this is by having your one month guest apply for only a certain portion of the nights, block out the rest on your calendar so no one can book them.  Then send them a special offer with the total amount you would want to charge for the one month.  It may be that they wouldn't mind going somewhere else for two nights.

In general, it is not a good idea to cancel guests, and Airbnb kind of punishes that.  It will automatically show in your reviews that you cancelled those guests, for example, if you wind up having to be the one doing the cancelling.  Then those two dates may be blocked on your calendar anyway.  If that happens, then the above method could work to get you paid for the nights you plan on having the one month guest.

[Jude7]

@Melanie58 gave the response I would have given.  As others have said, there are serious consequences to you for canceling, as Airbnb considers an accepted reservation to be a serious thing.

Explain the situation to your long-term guests, and see if they can make other arrangements for the nights your place has already been booked.

Jude