Smart Pricing Fail, Host Cancellation and SuperHost

[Holly388]

We are brand new to Airbnb and hosting.  We just bought and renovated a place in Mammoth Lakes, CA.  As I was setting up the calendar to over ride the smart pricing it did not save.  Now I have confirmed booking in the high peak season (new years week) that is 1/5 the normal price.  I reached out the guest to see if we can negotiate a change in price.  Now I am trying to weigh cancelling the reservation as host and how that might impact superhost status.  It would likely be a $1500-$2000 difference if I rent it out at the usual rate.  Any suggestions?

Thank you,

Justin and Holly

[Sarah977]

@Holly388 Absolutely do not cancel the reservation yourself. As far as Superhost, this will knock you out of the running for a year, and the first thing that will appear on your review page will be "Host cancelled ths reservation XX days before arrival" which is a REALLY bad look and will make guests wary of booking with you at all.

This just happened to another host (there's a lengthy thread about it), except they got 10 Instant Books at the wrong price immediately, which left them with a huge mess to deal with.Their case a was different in that they didn't understand how to set Smart pricing to get the price they wanted, not that it didn't save.

First of all, if the pricing is still wrong, turn off IB immediately if you're using it so you don't get more bookings at the low price. Then contact Airbnb, explain what happened, that you are new, that the smart pricing didn't save. Maybe they will let you cancel this one booking without penalties. If they won't, I would take the booking and chalk it up to a learning curve. I realize it's over the holidays and you could have gotten a lot more, but it's only one booking and you'll get lots more.

[Cormac0]

@Holly388 

If super host status means that much to you? suck it up

Additionally, be prepared that these guest are going to be very high maintenance if empirical evidence is anything to go by.

[Yadira22]

@Holly388 Also if you cancelled this booking- the dates will become blocked from your calendar and you will not be able to rent them out on Airbnb! Please follow the instructions/suggestions above. Thanks 🙂

[Susan17]

@Holly388 

This is just one of many long-term, known glitches in the Airbnb system (do a search here and you'll find countless similar threads)

Call Airbnb, tell them that you're aware that this is a known glitch, and that you'd like the booking to be cancelled by Airbnb, with no penalty to yourself. The customer service agent will most likely try to convince you that it was your error, but stand your ground and if necessary, send them some links to threads here in the Community Centre discussing the issue. 

You're a brand new host and Airbnb will want to keep you sweet, so it's unlikely you'll meet with much resistance. They should cancel the booking for you, penalty-free, pretty easily. ($1500 - $2K is way too much for any host to lose out on, for any reason!)  Best of luck! 

[Jennifer311]

I revised my settings to not use price tips once on my phone. It didn’t “take”. We’d been hosting a while already and  when we got a short booking at this mistakenly-low price. Air BnB made up the difference. But in your case asking for penalty-free cancellation is probably best.  

*Please let let us know what happens.*

I couldn’t imagine taking a loss like that and you’re setting yourself up for a disappointing experience to host at that rate. It’s important to be encouraged about hosting, not defeated like this.

[Jennifer311]

Also, this guest will give you a bad review (or at least mention it) for having asked to raise price after it was booked. 

If you dont get help from 1st person you speak to (best to call during California business hours) 

call back to work with someone else or get it “escalated”.

maybe someone has a customer service tip for her?