Guest requesting cancellation

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Charmaye0
Level 2
Western Cape, South Africa

Guest requesting cancellation

Hi

 

My guest has just sent a cancellation request and I agreed.  It now looks like I cancelled and the date is blocked out in my calendar.

 

How is this going to affect me.  What is the penalty?  Will I lose my super host status as a result??

 

Please help.

 

We have worked really hard to achieve our super host status and now because I didn't understand what agreeing to the cancellation would do, it all seems to have been for nothing.

 

Regards

Charmaye

 

 

1 Best Answer
Clare0
Level 10
Templeton, CA

@Charmaye0 Any time you cancel a confirmed reservation request, you will be automatically penalized by Airbnb unless you have extenuating circumstances as a reason for cancelling (see link below).  

Many hosts, not realizing this, cancel a reservation because a guest sends them a message ask the host to cancel, or, because a guest has sent a request to cancel through Airbnb's cancellation tool.   If the host is able to honor the reservation as booked, then the host should not cancel....the guest must cancel if they are the ones who want the cancellation. 

 

The Airbnb cancellation tool (see link below) is generally used when a host wants / needs to cancel because they want to increase the nightly rate, decide they don't like the guest,  have double booked, have a better rental situation, etc. and the host does not cancel so they don't get the cancellation penalty.   In these situations, where it is the host who wants to cance, then the host must cancel, not the guest. Here's what the host sees when a guest  uses this tool:

guest request that host cancel.JPG

Note that even if the guest requests that a host cancel, it clearly states that host penalties will apply if the host cancels and hosts are given the opportunity to keep the reservation as is. 

 

Here are the links that will help you: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reser...

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-is-airbnb-s-extenuating-circumstances-policy

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1250/what-should-i-do-if-my-host-needs-to-cancel

 

If your guest asked you to cancel through Airbnb's message thread, you should contact Airbnb to get the penalties waived.  

Again, unless you are not able to honor a confirmed reservation, you should never cancel.  Even if the guest has extenuating circumstances, they should contact Airbnb for consideration of waiving any cancellation policy the host might have. 

 

I hope this helps!

Clare

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24 Replies 24
Clare0
Level 10
Templeton, CA

@Charmaye0 Any time you cancel a confirmed reservation request, you will be automatically penalized by Airbnb unless you have extenuating circumstances as a reason for cancelling (see link below).  

Many hosts, not realizing this, cancel a reservation because a guest sends them a message ask the host to cancel, or, because a guest has sent a request to cancel through Airbnb's cancellation tool.   If the host is able to honor the reservation as booked, then the host should not cancel....the guest must cancel if they are the ones who want the cancellation. 

 

The Airbnb cancellation tool (see link below) is generally used when a host wants / needs to cancel because they want to increase the nightly rate, decide they don't like the guest,  have double booked, have a better rental situation, etc. and the host does not cancel so they don't get the cancellation penalty.   In these situations, where it is the host who wants to cance, then the host must cancel, not the guest. Here's what the host sees when a guest  uses this tool:

guest request that host cancel.JPG

Note that even if the guest requests that a host cancel, it clearly states that host penalties will apply if the host cancels and hosts are given the opportunity to keep the reservation as is. 

 

Here are the links that will help you: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reser...

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-is-airbnb-s-extenuating-circumstances-policy

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1250/what-should-i-do-if-my-host-needs-to-cancel

 

If your guest asked you to cancel through Airbnb's message thread, you should contact Airbnb to get the penalties waived.  

Again, unless you are not able to honor a confirmed reservation, you should never cancel.  Even if the guest has extenuating circumstances, they should contact Airbnb for consideration of waiving any cancellation policy the host might have. 

 

I hope this helps!

Clare

The guest has requested cancellation due to her booking as a couple but she actually wants to share with her 9 year old. Our policy is no children and this is clearly in our rules. What now?

airbnb is bull**bleep** for this....they don't care about you as the landlord.  You will be charged $50 and demoted....there are NO exceptions if it doesn't meet their criteria for circumstances....lame

Tash9
Level 2
Alegría, Philippines

I completely agree with you. 

 

"guest requesting host to cancel" is one of the MANY ridiculous guest-biased options on Airbnb.

 

For a start, it shouldn't even exist; It's black and white, either the guest wants / needs to cancel or the host wants/needs to cancel FULL STOP.

 

Honestly want someone to show me a scenario where either needs the OTHER to cancel? Makes no sense?!

 

On top of that, if you inevitably get confused by this baffling options existence, as a host, you get penalised?!?!! It's out of order! Literally! Airbnb is broken.

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

**Screenshot edited

 

I'm co-host for a person who recently encountered this.   She did not want to cancel because I told her many times that hosts should never ever cancel, or else you get penalties and lose superhost status.

 

So.. she did not accept the cancelleation.  But also didn't indicate anything else.  So upon expiration the reservation came up like SHE was the one who cancelled! 

 

Han&Jiw.png

 

I think her message to AirBnB says it best: 

 

----

 

I think I recently lost my Superhost status because of a changed AirBnB feature that was tried on my account.

 

After check in my guest needed to cancel, however as he wanted a refund he was able to use a feature to request *ME* to cancel.

 

However I did not want to cancel because it was a confirmed booking, and I know that if I cancel then I will lose Superhost status.

 

So I did not respond to his request.

 

However I then later found out that his booking was cancelled anyway, and -worse- it showed that *I* was the one who cancelled!

However I never cancelled. So not only did I lose the income from this reservation, I have now also lost Superhost status.

I do not agree with this, I never wanted to cancel, it was the guest who wanted to cancel. I don't like this new feature and I don't like that it's being tried on me in this way.

 

I think the income can be considered lost and there may not be much that you can do about this. However I want you do reconsider removing me as a Superhost. I should not be to blame for a guest who wants to cancel himself.

 

I can provide detailed screenshots and more information if required.

 

Thank you for looking into this.

@Jiw0. Sorry you went through this.  The problem is that you did not respond to the request.   If you did not want to cancel, you should have clicked on the "Keep Reservation" button rather than ignoring the request which was what ultimately caused the cancellation. I'm not sure what you see on the app, but on a laptop this button is right next to the "Cancel Reservation" link.  

 

This link explains how the request to cancel works: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1250/what-should-i-do-if-my-host-needs-to-cancel

 

This forum is not staffed by Airbnb, but rather is a place for hosts and guests to share their experience.  If you need Airbnb's intervention on this, you will need to contact them directly. 

 

Hope this helps explain at least what happened!

 

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

 

Hi,  this does not explain it at all, because also if accommodating the guest adn clicking to grant the cancel request, then that would still result in a penalty.

 

Let's take a step back from there:  the reason a host is penalizes is when a HOST inconveniences a GUEST by cancelling his reservation.   That makes sense, because hosts should honour their commitment.

 

IN this case the cancellation requests is initiated BY THE GUEST.  therefore the guest is NOT inconvenienced because THE GUEST is the one going back on the agreed booking!   And if the host grants this request then the host is still penalized?   Sorry but that really is a broken process.     And I actually wonder why that feature is even there and available to a guest, it can only cause trouble.

@Jiw0 Not knowing the circumstances surrounding your guest's request, most of the time this tool is used when a host should cancel but does not.  Most often guests are instructed to use this feature when: 

 

1. A host informs a guest the listing is not available even if the reservation is confirmed, 

2. A host tells a guest that they will not accommodate the guest's reservation unless they pay more or unless they stay for a longer period of time. 

3. A host informs the guest that the property has damage and they cannot accommodate the guest. 

 

Many times hosts ask the guest to cancel instead of cancelling themselves.  When the guest cancels under these circumstances their refund is based on the host's cancellation policy and they are deprived of any other benefits such as a host cancellation credit. 

 

Your guest may have used this tool inappropriately in which case you should contact Airbnb about it.  This is especially true if the guest indicated in Airbnb's message thread why they wanted to cancel.  If the cancellation was clearly the guest's desire, not yours, I would expect Airbnb to reverse the cancellation penalty. 

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Also, as per the linked article, this is not the situation that occurred: 

 

---

Capture2.PNG

 

The host in this case didn't tell the guest at all that they can't acommodate them!  The guest tried to go around the cancellation policy.    On that ground alone I think further penalizing the host even after it is pointed out that the guest has abused the system in this way is improper and disingenuous conduct on the part of AirBnB.

 

And furthermore, that article is intended for guests.  Is there an article that explains this specific process and rationale for hosts?

@Jiw0 I'm not aware of a specific help article that explains how this works for hosts, but this is the message hosts receive when a guest initiates a cancellation request. 

 

Guest request to cancel.jpeg

You see the "Keep Reservation" link?  By clicking on it, the cancellation would have been prevented.  Also, note the message that says "If we don't hear back, the reservation will be cancelled on your behalf".

 

In any case, you or the host should contact Airbnb if there was a misunderstanding on how this works. 

I see that you say you’ll need to “contact Airbnb directly” how do you do this!? So frustrating to ask a question. 

Ric11
Level 4
Salford, United Kingdom

It seems to me that there is some major confusion over the different options to cancel a reservation. 

 

I have had a few guests cancel and it never comes through to myself to agree to the cancellation. 

 

For a host to cancel, there are a 5 options

 

My place is unavailable

I'm looking for a different price or trip length

I'm uncomfortable with the reservation or the guest has broken my house rules

My guest needs to cancel

Other

 

Option 1 and 2 would mean the host is charged for the cancellation and it will go against the host. 

Option 3 - for instant book reservations, the host is not penalised at all. For normal reservations, I do not know about penalties. 

Option 4 - I would assume that a message is sent to the guest for the guest to confirm that they want to cancel. The reservations cancellation policy would come into effect for the guest when using this option. 

Option 5 - Never used but I would assume this is the one that goes to Airbnb Customer Services to consider based on the information provided. 

 

As for the guest, I would expect them to have similar options. So if the guest selects the option that the host needs to cancel then you would get a message to confirm or decline that you need to cancel. If you confirm this then host cancellation penalties would come into practice. So make sure you reply and decline the cancellation. It is the guest that needs to select the correct option, or you could start the cancellation by using the guest needs to cancel option. 

 

Remember that as a host, we don't want to be penalised for cancelling, but as a guest, they also do not want to be penalised. 

 

If the guest checks in, and later decides they do not want to stay or they want to shorten their stay, personally I use the option to amend the reservation, changing the dates and sometimes, and sometimes not, I will give a part or full refund, but it allows you the option of how much to refund when amending a booking. 

 

It seems like either the correct options are not being selected or/and hosts are not reading and replying to requests within the given 24hr period. 

 

Janet605
Level 2
Chillicothe, IL

My first guest just canceled One day before they were to arrive and right after I gave them my location address and phone number.  Can I find out why they cancelled?  I gave up an 8 day reservation because they wanted these 2 booked days and now they have cancelled.  Not happy about this.

Yi-Shin0
Level 2
Balt, MD

It just happened to me. I thought the wording was weird “guest requests to cancel”, I mean, why do you need a host’s permission to cancel?? There’s no logic to it.  Why is this feature even exist for the guests?  I don’t know even know where is that option located?  I was a guest myself many times and never have seen such option.