last minute cancellation, help please

[Jakob6]

Hello

I have just had some guests arrive and turn around and leave without even entering the door, due to the fact our cottage is further away from their work location than they thought. Also they arrived in 2 enormous trucks and were worried about getting stuck in our drive due to possible snow warning (even though we state 'parking for 2 cars' on our listing).

They were blaming me for being too far from their job and being too rural and nowhere near any eating establishments, ie they had not done their research about our place at all.

It is a 9 day booking and they just turned around and drove away and I have heard nothing. I have a strict cancellation policy, so how do I proceed now? I have not had this happen before.. Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Robert78]

Honestly, do nothing! Not your fault. Take a wait and see approach. DO NOT CANCEL the booking! 🙂

 And follow @Steve143 advice, too...

Great property (and great reviews) by the way. Gonna add you guys to my wishlist 😉

[Steve143 · Accepted solution]

As @Robert78 says don't cancel. They haven't cancelled. If they don't cancel you'll get paid.

You'll get a message from Airbnb saying that they have cancelled if they do cancel and Airbnb will follow your cancellation policy.

But BEWARE, if you get a message from Airbnb saying that the guest has asked for a cancellation DO NOT accept it. Reject it. If you accept then you will be deemed to have cancelled and will suffer the penalties. A sneeky one by Airbnb.

If they don't cancel but leave a review then contact Airbnb to have it removed, pointing out that the guests didn't stay.

[MicheleandLouw0]

@Steve143 Great advice! @Jakob6 I had a peep at your listing and it is  absolutely gorgious! I love it and you have great reviews. Don't let these unfriendly people kill you mojo! Great things are coming your way. Michele

[Jakob6]

Hi Steve

I hope you can help  me further. I have now had a request for a full refund from the group mentioned.

The reasons are completely untrue, and I have everything in writing (messages through airbnb) to prove that the lady who booked it is being slanderous.

They have still not cancelled their booking and obviosuly just trying to get a full refund even though they are still blocking out the reserved dates on the calendar.

I suppose I will have to raise a dispute with airbnb, but how do I do this? This lady and her group are being completely unreasonable in my opinion and if airbnb read the thread of communication they will certainly be on my side!

I even offered them a refund of around half the amount if they cancel today, but they are not even acknowledging that offer. I am slightly worried because they are clearly getting quite aggressive, what do you think I should do?

[Jack71]

Similar thing happened to me. If a guest cancels whay is that a ding against me?

[Jakob6]

Thank you all for your fantastic advice and lovely comments about our cottage! I feel much more confident in dealing with it now.. I actually emailed the group and outlined the unpleasant situation which occured and how I tried my best to accomodate them, so at least if there is a dispute I have tried my best to keep things clear and calm (the group were extremely unhappy!!), and so Air bnb can check that I have communicated in a positive manner.

Not sure if I did the right thing, but I said if they cancel today I would send them a refund for about half the full amount, and at least I might get some last minute bookings as it would clear them out of the calendar schedule. Cant be fairer than that huh!? Especially as I have a strict cancellation policy.. but not heard anything back yet at all.

[Steve143]

Hello @Jakob6,

Sorry, I didn't click the "Email me when someone replies" box when I responded before so didn't see your post addressed to me until today when I was looking through my "Community posts"

Hope it has worked out for you.

Steve.