Anyone else noticed a major increase in cancellations?

[Alexandra316]

I never used to get cancellations: in my first year of hosting (approximately 150 completed stays), I had fewer than 5 cancellations. By contrast, this year has been brutal. Last week, I had 7 guests book and cancel at various points. Nothing has changed on my listing to speak of: reviews are still all 5 stars. Mostly they were cancellations due to changes of plans, but I also had two because people didn't read the listing: one didn't realize we don't allow cats, and the other because she didn't realize the apartment is located in our home. Is anyone else noticing this trend with their potential guests?

I'm also wondering if it's due to the changes to Airbnb's to the cancellation policies: it's now easier to cancel.  I've always had mine set to moderate, but I'm starting to rethink that given the large number of cancellations I'm seeing. I would no longer be part of the Work collection, but I'm not really sure that matters. 

[Alexandra316]

@Ann72 Interesting... I would think that people who are staying for work would be less likely to haggle because they're often not paying the bill. I get the occasional person who's in the area to work at a greenhouse or on the main power lines, but it's not common, and no discount requests so far (knock on wood).

I also don't have much competition in my area in the midrange (i.e. a private space with  cooking and laundry facilities, but not super fancy and expensive) so I'm not sure Work or Family are doing anything for me. There's just not much competition. We had a few, but they've all closed up shop since I started hosting. The choices are either a room in someone's home or traditional bed and breakfast, or higher-end homes that are $300+ per night.

[Ben551]

@Alexandra316 I haven’t seen any difference in this end of the world, we are still humming away. Last month of the high season though, so to be expected. I expect it’s the same for @Robin4 - different hemisphere to you, so I doubt calendar activity would align.

One thing I have noticed is the number of days in advance people are booking. After winter, I have bookings dropping into the calendar already for Spring (September to November spring). That’s 6 to 8 months in advance, which I wasn’t expecting. This is far earlier than last season, but then I didn’t open for bookings until close to Summer... hard to know if it’s different, but I was surprised by it.

[Alexandra316]

@Ben551 Yes true enough regarding your high and low seasons being opposite to ours. I'm booked throughout the summer, all the way into next fall, but interestingly, it's not the far out bookings that are being cancelled: it's all the more last-minute stuff. March is definitely a very low time for me.

[Ben551]

@Alexandra316 hrm... that implies something current is changing peoples travel plans... News related perhaps? I know Christchurch folk in NZ have had cancellations... 😞

[Alexandra316]

@Ben551 Not sure what it could be: most of my guests are local, from Ontario, and we don't have anything going on here. Maybe it's weather related, since it's still snowing here and people are expecting at least some hint of spring.

Last March was weird too, though: I had a two-week booking that cancelled the day they were supposed to check in. I feel like maybe March is just out to get me :-).

[Helen3]

Hi @Alexandra316 

I think a strict cancellation policy is the way to go. Haven't had a cancellation for ages now.

I still get business travellers booking even though I am not in the business traveller programme.

[Ben551]

@Alexandra316 A yeah it’s probably just as simple as that. March weather for you is being unpredictable. It might be something you see each year in that case.

[Alexandra316]

@Ben551 Last year's definitely wasn't weather: it was lack of communication. The person who booked was a wheelchair user, and the space isn't suitable for a wheelchair: there is no way to get into the bathroom with it, and there isn't sufficient space beside the bed. They didn't communicate at all before arrival, so I didn't know before the checked in or I would have been able to advise. Due to the last minute nature of the cancellation, I didn't get any rebookings, and I offered a full refund because of the circumstances.

This year, I had hikers who had booked for a week to hike the Bruce Trail, a famous hiking trail that goes all across the province. They cancelled because the wife hurt her foot, they said, but I think it was actually due to the weather.

Like I said, just feeling like March is cursed! Maybe next year I'll just block out the dates and hide under the bed!

[Mark116]

@Alexandra316  Yes, huge.  We have had more cancellations in the last 6 months than in the previous 2 years.  

[Alexandra316]

@Mark116 What are your guests' reasons for cancellation?

[Mark116]

@Alexandra316  They don't always give a reason, these days they don't always bother to send a message at all.  A couple of people have cancelled because they decided after booking and not reading the details of the location that it was too far from their airport of choice, most others just cancel.  I'm pretty sure its because airbnb now touts 'free cancellation' with all of the bookings, even though it's not really as 'free' as the marketing makes it seem....so you get a lot of people who book and then cancel, because there is no downside for them.

[Emilia42]

@Alexandra316, a few weeks ago I had two guests book the wrong dates in a matter of one week. First guest called me in route, in a panic, and I was able to accommodate her so that reservation was saved. Second guest tried to bust in on the current guest so that one ended in a cancellation. There is something strange in the air for sure. 

[Alexandra316]

@Emilia42 Wow, so odd... good that you were still able to accomodate, at least in one case! Hopefully your current guest was understanding regarding the other invasive guest!