Unblock Automatic Calendar Blocking

Brion0
Level 1
Santa Cruz, CA

Unblock Automatic Calendar Blocking

If I receive a request for  3 nights (example: Sept 1,2,3) and I only have Sept 1 & 2 available I will decline the offer and when AIRBNB asks why I click "Because the dates are not available."  Then AIRBNB will automatically block off those three nights even thoughj 2 out of the 3 nights are actually still available.  When I go to the calendar I can't unblock those two nights and I miss bookings.  Any way to fix this?

17 Replies 17

Yes I need the same answer! We accidently cancelled a booking and need to unblock the dates that are now unavailable!

@Alison74, you can't. Cancelling means a fine (after the first time) and a permanently blocked calendar amongst other things.

@Brion0, best to block the unavailable dates BEFORE doing anything else, that way you will have control.

I did the same. It's my first time. How can I get it unblocked? Or what's another option? Thank you 

How can I unblock the dates that Airbnb blocked? This is ridiculous. It was an error. 

RobandAnna0
Level 3
Boston, MA

You need to block off the day/days that you are not available. Any time that we do not want to host anyone we block off those dates.
Good luck,
Anna
Annette33
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

is this a hypothetical case you are wondering about? I don't think it can happen that way: declining a guest happens BEFORE you accepted the request and the booking is confirmed. No penalties, no block out dates. Airbnb may ask why you declined, but no consequences to you. Cancelling a booking is another matter, you will be penalized and those dates will get blocked out on your calendar. but that only happens AFTER you had accepted a request and it got confirmed. To truly have a request go through as a confirmed booking, all dates must be availabe, so if the third day is not available on your calendar, the booking simply cant happen and you are protected.

 

I am in conversation with someone who is requesting to book. We are in the process of discussing the terms of the reservation, so I allowed the 24-hour response period to pass without either accepting or declining. Now Airbnb has blocked off the dates she requested, because I did not "respond."  

I am actually in ongoing conversation with the potential guest, so I am in fact "responding."  However, as a result of the automatic blocking, now the guest could not book those dates, even if we decide to go ahead with the reservation.

This is simply unacceptable.  I would like to demand Airbnb unblock my calendar, since I am prevented from correcting it myself. Anyone know how to initiate a conversation with someone at Airbnb to address this problem? 

One reason I must discuss the request with the guest is that Airbnb was showing an incorrect price--the weekly price appeared as the monthly price, for some unknown reason. I have rectified that myself, but it is not the first time that has happened.

Again, given the circumstances, it is wrong for Airbnb to "punish" me financially when I have done nothing wrong. 

Best wishes,
Stephanie

John451
Level 2
Toronto, Canada

I was asked about a booking for two dates which messed up the holiday booking schedule. I asked if they were willing to make it three nights. They replied that they would then responded that they'd found something else. They never booked, I never cancelled but the two dates are blocked on my callendar, stopping me from renting them or dates on either side of them. How do I fix this? John

not sure what you mean with "i was asked about a booking" : I suspect it was a booking request, which you needed to either accept or decline withing 24 hours. so perhaps you enterd into negotiations with those potential guests, all the while the clock was ticking and you missed the 24 hour deadline to respond with either a accept or decline. that is the only thing that makes sense to me. thus you got penalized by Airbnb for not making your decision in time. only thing you can do now is call them up and plead ignorance, so perhaps they will unblock those dates on your calendar. find the phone numbers by googling airbnb support or using the search function here. Good luck! 

ps: why not increase the minimum stay to 3 nights during those times, then all is understood  by the guests before they book.

In other words, if you get a booking request and need to discuss the matter with the guest, you are expected to "decline" the request.

I do not want to "reject" a requester because if I decline, the days are then blocked as unavailable. So if one neither declines nor approves, the dates also get blocked. 

That is absurd. If Airbnb is going to penalize hosts financially for a procedural matter like this, there should be a very visible warning to hosts in big bold letters on the screen where you are asked to accept or decline.

So Airbnb actually plans to prevent me from renting a room out--for an entire month!--because I was still talking with the guest? Hard to believe.

That seems quite extreme. In fact, it strikes me as a hostile, punitive approach to hosts. Given the circumstances, I do not think it appropriate for me to be "pleading" with anyone to rectify it, because

1.  I was actively engaged in responding to the guest
2. Airbnb was displaying the weekly price as the montly price for some reason. I corrected it, but that has happened before.

Respectfully,
Stephanie

Em4
Level 10
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

RE ACCIDENTAL CANCELATION:

 

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/New-Hosts/New-Host-Canceled-an-IB-Guest-who-booked-for-1x-but-intend...

 

@Kara23  @Davis1  @Alison you'll see when you view this thread the only advice people gave was yeah well...you canceled and you deserve to be penalised.  good luck with that. 

 

however, there are extenuating curcumstances and airbnb accepts that this is the case.

@Em4 , when you suggest  in a "I know it better" tone that "well yeah..." is the only advice people gave here, you must have overlooked  what I clearly said above aBout calling Airbnb and pleading ignorance.... which is actually the advice you repeat in your next post. Of course that is a no brainer..

Sorry you are frustrated about this issue - a lot of us hosts here are actually frustrated with new hosts who are not aware of the ramifications of canceling and why dates get blocked. It comes up every day, over and over again, and just a very few of the original posters come back to achknowledge that people reacted and tried to help. I personally wish everybody who hosts on Airbnb would spend some time on studying these issues, then 90% of all these posts would be unnecessary.

Em4
Level 10
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

RE ANY ERROR THAT RESULTS IN BLOCKED DATES, where the error is obvious and there is an equally obvious explanation ie a system failure, which yours appears to be @Brion0, and also it is not difficult to imagine the situation happening to everyone.  I would ring Airbnb and sort it out.  Let us know how you got on.

Em4
Level 10
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

This is what I am talking about.  New hosts try not to be bulllied by others.  Instead of accepting what appears to be a fatalistic attitude and tone, as I've advised, being new is a good enough reason to have the cancelation consequences reversed.

 

With regard to this discrimination against New Hosts, I'm not wearing that either.  We all have to start somewhere.  A community forum is for just that as a New Host - to learn.

 

Re cancelation - actually I do not believe the information is near good enough quality for a New Host which is why I've tried to flesh this topic out in my own posts.  And this together with a public autoreview and blocked calendar dates, not to mention the song and dance routine required to find a contact phone number for Airbnb is why people become frustrated.

 

With regard to posting to New Hosts - you have a choice.  Don't.  Unless you've got something useful to add.

 

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/New-Host-Canceled-IB-Guest-who-booked-for-1x-but-tried-to/m-p/...