Guest has departed property but not cancelled booking

[Luke-And-Sarah0]

A guest decided to leave the house early, after only 2 nights into an 11 night stay (due to some unexpected construction noise in our usually extremely peaceful neighbourhood).

We're happy for her to cancel her booking, but for some reason she says she can't. We're worried she will just let the booking run its course and then leave us a negative review, which will make things difficult for us as new hosts. 

Is there anything we can do?

Luke

[Donna15]

@Luke-And-Sarah0, the cancellation is the guest's responsibility. She needs to contact AirBnB if she needs assistance. 

She will be refunded whatever money is owing on the basis of your cancellation policy.

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Tips-Tricks/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728

I'm sure you already know this, but do not cancel for her, as hefty penalties are involved when a host cancels (including the days being blocked and unavailable to other potential guests). 

On the bottom of the guest's itinerary there should also be a number by which she can contact AirBnB.

And if the guest gives a negative review, you always have the option to respond - preferably briefly - with the facts.

[Luke-And-Sarah0]

Thanks for the info @Donna15, that's much clearer for us now 🙂 

Yes, the guest asked us to cancel on her behalf but thankfully we investigated before doing so! 

We've sent her further instructions and info re: our "flexbile" cancellation policy, hopefully she will cancel it soon.

[Donna15]

Glad to help, @Luke-And-Sarah0. 🙂

It's possible she wanted you to cancel so that she wouldn't lose the AirBnB service fee. Good that you did your homework.

If I may suggest:

- establish a Security Deposit;

- change your cancellation policy from flexible to moderate or - my own preference - strict;

- get rid of the Extra Guests No Charge box, as it can mislead some guests into thinking that it's OK to squeeze in an extra person or two beyond what your listing can accommodate; you can make the box invisible by going to your settings, entering a high dollar (e.g. $250), and then hitting Save. When the page refreshes, the box will no longer be visible. 

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

You or the guest should make an alteration to the reservation (not a cancellation). The other party will have to accept it.