Is minimum stay at time of booking contractual

[Arthur35]

I have no Instant booking enabled and I have a guest that booked for 9 days in top top season. New years at ski resort.

Now the guest wants to change his mind and go back to 4 days which was the minimum stay at the time he booked. I have changed this now to 7 days for the 2 week period.

Do I have to honour this as the reservation contract only states the cancellation policy that was inplace at the time of the reservation. Nothing has been said about the minimum stay.

The guest does not want to cancel as he will loose a chunky reservation fee. However I am being threatened with a screenshot that says at the time of his booking the minimum stay was 4 days.

My question realy is the minimum stay requirement contractual at the time of booking.

I can see this as a potential problem as guest can demand to go back to minimum stay and once approved still cancel the booking.

[Helen3]

You don't have to accept changes to a booking for fewer days if a guest requests it. The guest is not going back to four days -  as from what you say -  it was nine days he booked in the first place.

Of course if you don't accept it, you will have an unhappy guest before the booking even starts.

If you feel you could get a replacement booking for a higher number of days than four, then perhaps offer him the option to cancel?

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/913/can-i-change-a-reservation-as-a-guest

[Arthur35]

He could cancel but it would cost him €300 in reservation fees, and he is not willing. He is holding me liable as at the time of booking he said the minimum stay requirements were 4 days. He has a screen shot to prove it. Will contact Airbnb or Spanish authorities to get his case.

If I accept 4 days I might struggle finding another guest. I told him that and I was told I was business minded and could not see his situation. He was questioning my qualities as a host. Lots of emails are going back and forth. Even if the booking goes ahead I have an angry customer.

Out of spitefulnes he could cancel the week before and keep the dates blocked so I can't find anyone else. I set the cancellation policy not to strict.

I can't see anything about the contractual validity of minimum stays at the time of booking.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Arthur35

I would imagine that when a change to a reservation takes place, you enter into a new contract at the date of the change and thus your new minimum stay requirement would be valid for the new contract.  It is a bit of a grey zone though - so I am not sure.  

I would decline his change request, then ask him to contact airbnb to see if they could make a transfer to another property or let him cancel penaly free.  

Or perhaps be proactive and contact airbnb yourself - claiming you are not comfortable with this guest.  

[Arthur35]

I will contact AirBnB and get some clarification.

[Fred13]

Regardless of how terms change after, those at the time of the booking apply. This guest is already a confrontation; best to do everything to get rid of him altogether.

[Elaine-and-Duane0]

Guest threatens you with going to authorities! !! - contact airbnb and have them cancel. This guest not worth the stress. No more back and forth. Get rid of him and sleep well tonight. If you accept, he may retaliate with bad review, demand a refund or any number of bullying tactics. 

[Julia66]

@Arthur35  If a guest changes his reservation, Airbnb Help says that the pricing in force at the time of the change will apply.  Minimum stay doesn't come under Pricing in the Listing Management, but this just shows that not all of the original settings apply at the time of the change.

[Bob43]

Since you don't have a strict cancellation policy, I would go for the practical solution. With the practical solution I mean either allow him the 4 days, or cancel his reservation and take your penalties. You indeed run the risk he'll be cancellng his reservation just one week before his planned arrival since he might feel treated badly.

You should ask yourself how big chances are you still will be abel to rent out the space for three nights to someone else. Not everyone will have the luxury of a 7 days ski trip :).