My guest asked me if I could cancel her reservation.

[Debbie41]

Hi, I have a guest who desperately needs to cancel a week long booking in august because a family member has just been diagnosed terminally ill and has approx 3 months so they do not want to leave Holland this summer. However he has asked for my help to cancel as he says Airbnb have only offered him a 50% refund. Why would this be as my cancellation policy is full refund up to 7 days prior. And I note that I cannot cancel for him otherwise I will incur a financial penalty

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Do not cancel for them - they are the ones with extenuating circumstances. Just ask him to cancel - to be honest I smell a bit of rat in these circumstances and given your policy.

Just explain that your policy is flexible therefore they will recive all payments owning to you (minus any AirBnB service charge)

G

[Bruno31]

If they wish the cancel, they are resposible for clicking the buttom to cancel. If you would like to refund them 100% (except fees), its possible. If you need, call airbnb. But dont cancel yourself, cause you will get flagged for that

[Raymond-and-Elaine0]

@Debbie41   death or serious illness in a guest's family fall under extenuating circumstances so they will receive a full refund.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/540/extenuating-circumstances-for-guest-cancellations

If you , the host cancel you won't only have financial penalties but your calendar will be blocked for that week so noone else will be able to book with you.  see other penalties here

My advice, tell them to contact airbnb then cease communication with them in case they are just trying it on with a new host.

Also, why not include a security deposit in case of any damage to your property. It won't come out of the guest's bank account unless you make a claim within 48 hours.

[Debbie41]

Thankyou so much for your invaluable experience. I have only hosted for 3 months so it is a steep learing curve for me

[Serafina0]

Mark, your cancellation policy shows Strict on your listing; that's why your guests are being offered the 50% refund.

As others have said, your guests have two choices to get a mostly full refund (Airbnb will not refund its guest fees). They can cancel online and then connect with Airbnb to request a further refund based on the Extenuating Circumstances policy. Or they can cancel online and then send you a request for an additional refund through the Resolution Center. You will get a request online, which you can accept if you are so inclined.

If your guests call, Airbnb *might* transfer their guest fees toward a future booking, but that doesn't seem to be done systematically.