What if I book and then have to cancel a reservation?

[Jessica1]

If I book my reservation for a trip that would be two months from now and then something comes up, what do I do? The host doesn't get a payout until 24 hours after I check in right? So I should be able to cancel and receive the full amount I paid? 

[Deb0]

Your refund would depend upon the cancellation policy chosen by your host. Hosts can choose Strict, Moderate or Flexible. Each has different details that are described here: https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies. The listing will indicate which policy is being used.

I have a "Strict" policy on my listing. I will make an exception and refund if I am able to rebook the dates. Guests can help by letting hosts know as soon as possible when they need to modify the reservation. Since hosts count on your payment last minute cancellations can be hard on us if we have a cancellation that we cannot rebook

[Deborah0]

Ditto Deb.  It's a common gripe of hosts that "so and so booked with me, and knew I had strict cancellation policy when they booked, and now they have to cancel, and they want me to override the cancellation policy and are pressuring me to give them a full refund."  

Guests can and should get travel insurance to cover their costs if they have to cancel for some reason. 

Hosts vary in their willingness to work with guests on providing refunds.  THis might be one of the questions you want to ask a host before you book. Some hosts like Deb and I will sometimes provide guests a refund, over and above the cancellation policy, if we are able to rebook the cancelled dates to another guest.  But because a host can't guarantee that the dates will be rebooked, the guest can't really be promised a refund if they have to cancel.  Again, travel insurance comes in handy here.  

[Helga0]

You should consider a thing: a host offers his space because he likes people and because he needs the money. So for most hosts, a guest not coming for a long stay and deciding that on the last moment would create a problem. Hence the strict coancellation policy - and also the possibility that he offers to give a partial refund if he can find another guest for part of the cancelled stay.

Other hosts offer flexible or moderate conditions, for the simple reason that they will always rent the space again if it is cancelled. If someone is in a good location where he can always rent, even on the same day, then I'd suppose he will ask for higher prices.

So I would think it fair, if you know already that your plans may change to discuss that in advance and to take a travel insurance.

Your plane or train ticket will also cost less if it is fix and be more expensive if you take a ticket which can be changed or returned.

[Fiona-and-Keith-and-Fami0]

@Deb0 @Deborah0 If the guest says they'll be staying with us in the future, I tell them that's great and that I'll definitely give them a discount on their upcoming stay (they have to remind me, though, because I've got tons going on so not likely to remember on my own), but because the date was blocked off for their reservation we likely have missed any opportunities for someone else to book the space. I encourage them to go ahead and cancel their reservation (even for a single-night's stay) because the date opens up. We have had several last-minute requests. I give them a refund if we host someone else on the date.

[Deb0]

@Deborah0  I don't know too much about travel insurance. Does it cover things like: "sick dog", "made an error and chose the wrong dates" ( but didn't notice for 2 months...), "got busy at work", "art workshop was cancelled", etc. These are the reasons I've recieved recently for cancellation.

Do you have a list of travel insurance options by any chance? I'd like to provide this info for guests to help with prevention. I'll check out Allianz suggested by Fiona

So far I was able to rebook/refund all the dates except for 1 reservation. Because of the Airbnb Strict cancellation policy I received half payment for that reservation which was actually disappointing. I would love to see a super strict policy option again.

[Fiona-and-Keith-and-Fami0]

@Jessica1 Please consider the host has likely lost the opportunity to have someone else book a stay for the dates you were going to be there. This is particularly a concern when guests cancel with little notice. If you're concerned about something coming up, look for hosts with a 'FLEXIBLE' cancellation policy--you'll have up until 24 hours prior to check-in to cancel and receive a full refund minus the standard Airbnb fee. (When I travel, I usually look for listings with flexible cancellation policies because I can't always count on my plans going off without some kind of hitch that's beyond my control.) Also consider taking out travel insurance--it's relatively inexpensive and will cover certain costs (even a medivac back home in some cases) in the event you have to cancel because something comes up (see the various companies lists of covered events). I have used Allianz a few times: I'm not endorsing them--merely sharing who I used (they happen to be based in the same city where I live). A simple "travel insurance" search brings up a ton of hits.

[Lee103]

The answers I saw relative to cancelling a reservation were more of a short term situation.  What if If I book a place in March of 2018 and I cancel in October of 2017 would I get a full refund,  because I have 6 mos notice on the strict or moderate policies?

[Steve143]

Hello @Lee103,

The cancellation policy provisions can be seen here cancellation_policies. Click on "moderate", "strict" etc. to see them for each policy.

Unless your cancellation is one listed in Airbnb's extenuating circumstances policy or the listing is in Italy you never get the Airbnb fees back.

If the listing has a strict cancellation policy you never get back more than 50% of the accommodation charge.

You get any cleaning fee back if you do not stay.

So, with a strict policy and if you cancel 6 months in advance you get back the cleaning fee and 50% of the accommodation charge.

With a moderate policy you get back the cleaning fee and all of the accommodation charge.

Steve.

[Mariann4]

@Steve208

I think they have changed the Strict a bit. I was some loud discussions about it a while back. Now you get a full refund (except fees) more close to arrival. Not a good change for many hosts...

Mariann 🙂

*Edit. I see it is the timeframe that has changed, not the percentage. My bad