Guest want to cancel their 14 nights stay within 30 days before check in

[Erna6]

Hi can anyone offer any advise.

I have one guest family of four who want to cancel their 14 nights stay due to unseen circumstances. Their check in date is  less than 30 days.

Peak season is coming soon, and I've lost some revenue due to their bookings on 10,July.

Would they get a refund from airbnb? My cancellation policy is set at STRICK.

Thanks

Erna

[Monika64]

@Erna6  When was the reservation made? What day did they book?

I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) that even with Strict cancelation policy they are allowed to cancel their booking and get full refund within 48 hours of booking as long as the stay isn't within 14 days (which in their case isn't). 

[Erna6]

Dear Monika,

They made the reservation by 22, May 2019 for check in   10, July 2019 (14 nights stay).

She was asking the deposit refund. What that's mean?

If they are asking security deposit, it was US$200 per stay.. not per day.

What is the best to do as I really lost revenue during those "holiday prime time"

Thanks,

Erna

[Monika64]

@Erna6  I believe in this case they'd get a 50% refund because they've canceled after the 48 hours period but over a full week before their check in date.

They actually have to cancel (push the cancel button so you'd get a notification from Airbnb about the cancelation) and Airbnb would take care of the rest (the money transaction itself). 

Your dates in your calendar should open up so others can book.

Do NOT cancel yourself no matter how they want that because in that case you'll not get money plust you will be penalized by Airbnb. 

If the guest would like to ask for any additional refund (on top of the 50%) they can by requesting money officially trough Airbnb. You would have the chance to respond to that whichever way you'd like to. 

[Erna6]

Dear Monika,

Thanks so much for your helps! Guests finally cancelled from their side and airbnb promised to refund me half of the amount.

Warm regards,

Erna

[Sandra856]

@Erna6 Tell the guest that when they paid they paid airbnb and that you can't do anything from your side as airbnb are the ones who takes care of cancellations. The guest can cancel from her side getting the money back automatically according to the cancellation policy. If the guest got questions the guest should contact airbnb. Tell the guest that you are sorry but you can't do anything from your side if you cancel as a host you get penalized with a 100 dollars fine from airbnb.

[Erna6]

Dear Sandra,

Thanks a lot for your helps! Guests just cancelled from their side. 

Airbnb would refund me half of the amount. Really appreciated your tips.

Warm regards,

Erna

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

@Erna6  BE VERY CAREFUL!   If you get a message saying the guest wants to cancel, asking you to approve or accept the cancellation, do not! Decline the request to cancel. This is a sneaky option Airbnb gives the guest- if you agree to it, it is registered as a host cancellation and you will be penalized- Airbnb will block all the dates of the cancelled reservation and you will not be able to rebook them, you will be fined $100, they will paste "Host cancelled this reservation" on your review page, and you will be unable to get Superhost status for a year.

Guests do this because if it's a host cancellation, they'll get a full refund. So if you get a message like that, decline it, and tell the guest they have to cancel from their end and Airbnb will automatically refund them according to the terms of your cancellation policy. You could tell the guest that if you are able to rebook the dates they blocked with their reservation, you will refund them more for those dates, if you like. And the sooner they cancel, the more likely it is that you will be able to rebook the dates. Make sure they understand that hosts do not get paid until 24 hours after a guest checks in- that you don't have their money at this point, Airbnb does.

But you aren't obligated to refund any more than your cancellation policy spècifies- the guest agreed to the cancellation policy when they booked. Airbnb will probably call or message you pressuring you to fully refund the guest- stick to your guns, don't give in to the pressure.

[Erna6]

Dear Sarah,

Thanks a mill for your helps! It's worked... airbnb reimbursed me half as the guests cancelled it  from their side... and not me!

Again, Thanks so much for the tips!

Warm regards,

Erna