Guest-initiated cancellation request for the host to cancel is NOT the same as a host cancelling!

Guest-initiated cancellation request for the host to cancel is NOT the same as a host cancelling!

I never knew this features even existed, but I'm co-host for a friend and she just lost Superhost status because of the following. 

 

I know about guest cancellations and how they work. I know about guests wanting to cancel but putting it in as a 'booking change' with 'today' as the check-out date as a faux-cancellation with more refund and bypassing the cancellation polcy. 

 

But the following process just seems wrong, or broken: 

 

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So this is the GUEST requesting that the HOST cancels.   

 

Do people understand that this is not the same as the host deciding to go on holiday or whatever and cancelling a booking, leaving the guest in difficulty?   Clearly that sort of cancellation by a host warrants a penalty and loss of Superhost status.   But why is a guest changing his mind and requesting that the host cancels considered the same thing when the host doesn't accept (and doesn't respond to) the cancel request?

 

Again: if you don't accept that cancellation and don't actively deny it then it will expire, and it will come up as a HOST cancellation, along with full loss of income, penalites and loss of superhost status.  You could argue that a host shouldn't every let any request expire, but either way, why is this guest-initiated cancellation request treated the same as a host cancelling on a guest who still wants to stay? 

 

If anythign the host would be doing the guest an huge favor by allowing the cancellation and full refund, yet she is penalized.

 

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8 Comments
Jiw0
Level 10

Additional thought:  I really hope I didn't miss something in all this..

 

(Like some other cancellation that my friend may have made, although she says this case is the only one, a guest-initiated cancellation request.)

 

But if this process is really this broken and a guest request to the host to cancel is not treated as a fundamentally different process as the host cancelling on a guest, then where do I submit my resume for a Business Systems Analyst / Process Consultant position at AirBnB?  🙂

Oh wow, this is so messed up.  I'm assuming that the only reason guests should be able to use this feature when the place is not as advertised, they don't feel safe etc. and if they can prove all these claims so that Airbnb can avoid those who'd like to cheat the system. Unfortunately, there will always be people who will try to cheat the system. 

 

A friend told me that Airbnb is always on guest's side no matter what happens and at first I didn't believe him but now I think differently. It's strange because they wouldn't make any money if hosts didn't provide a place to stay for the guests. I just wish they treated everyone (hosts & guests) equally given that each party can prove their claims. 

Helga0
Level 10

That realy is a tricky feature. I read about it a few times, when host fell into the trap. If a guests tells you they want to cancel and then sends this request, a host may just click Accept quickly, believing it’s what was discussed. 

I believethis feature should not exist. If there is a problem, the guest should call airbnb - if he gets the number on the booking confirmation. 

 

Sean119
Level 10

Guests need to cancel throught ABB, plain and simple.  Otherwise host gets dinged.

Ange2
Level 10
Call airbnb they have been known to reverse this, many hosts do it, the message from Airbnb is disingenuous.

This also just happened to me!  Very frustrating when stressed out guest booked a date in January and was trying to book in December. She was "unable to find the place to cancel" and asked for help. Going beyond the usual, I tried to help her - and found out on January 1 that I had lost my three year "superhost" rating by helping this non-tech literate guest.  I will send the message thread to airbnb for review as I did NOT cancel but was helping a guest!!

Bummer process.

Gaz--Gary-0
Level 3

I have strict cancellation policy and have had a guest book 12m in advance, they had to cancel with over a years notice, I was fine with it but had to trigger the cancellation as they couldn’t.  A shame to get dinged for being an nice guy.

Pia8
Level 4

I just had the same thing happen to me. A guest booked for 2 guests but was a family of four. When I sent him back an amendment showing the price for the extra guests, he no longer wanted to stay and asked me to cancel his booking. I naively did this and was penalised, despite the guest being in the wrong. This is just so unfair! I phoned Airbnb when I realised it was showing on my listing that I had cancelled the guest and they were able to read my messages with the guest and see that it wasn’t my fault.

It would be good if there was a 24 hour period whereby the guest or the host could cancel without being penalised. I also didn’t want to see that guest lose any money over a mistake. This would solve that problem.