BEWARE of "Guest requests that you cancel"

BEWARE of "Guest requests that you cancel"

It happened to me. And I'm seeing that there have been many others like me.

 

All hosts~ please be aware~

 

Upon receiving the message "GUEST requests that you cancel" you will be faced with 2 options (1) Cancel (2) Keep reservation.

 

Unless you DO want to be penalized for a host cancellation - DO NOT click on cancel.

 

Click on "keep reservation" because the guest does not need the host's consent or approval or agreement to cancel. This is just another ploy to TRICK hosts into taking the blame.

 

Guest requests that YOU cancel - the second you click CANCEL this will become a HOST CANCELLATION. 

 

This will negatively affect your commitment rate, and Airbnb will do nothing about it. They will say, you (host) agreed to cancel so this is a host cancellation - and you only have yourself to blame for agreeing to cancel. 

 

 

182 Replies 182

It was a 4 days stay, like you said if they don'tmake it " readily viewable to gests....."

 

this whole situation is very unplesant and not professional att all

I will just have to suck up my 500 euros lost

@Emerson26  Did you at least get back the 50%? Because that should have been automatic, and not subject to host approval. If you didn't get that, contact Airbnb through Twitter, which is said to get the best results. 

If the issue is that the host wasn't willing to refund the rest, even though they were able to rebook the dates, again, sorry you got a non-amenable host.

I am a host with a moderate cancelation policy so guest can cancel up to 48 hours, before they arrive and get a full refund .Airbnb has a policy in place for 30 days or more with no refund when canceled, wich is fair as this is usualy booked well in advance.

I recently found out when a guest canceled after her check in date, as the elderly dog she traveled with got sick,she wanted a full refund after tying up the space for 2 months in advance,and June being a slow month in Tucson due to the high temps being difficult to rent out.

She was offered a free place 2 hours north in Phoenix by a friend?

Airbnb sided with her as she wined and was extremly unpleasant to both airbnb rep and me.

I remain suspicious and feel that she should at least provide vet bills to substanciated her claim to me as welll as air bnb so far I am out of bulk I would normally get.

In the past I have let guest to a full refund but they only recently reserved not 2 months.

I am in the same shoes right now 

I am also have moderate policy. 

two month ago I received request for 29 days startingJune 1 and ending June 30

such request was ubrupetly superseded by Airbnb against inquiry from another guest during our email conversation on Airbnb platform !!!!

Airbnb canceled inquiry from guest who want to stay whole month from May 23 due to her daughter delivery

i was shocked and lady who placed inquiry was also shocked by cancellation of her inquiry 

i called Airbnb and ask why and they told me that at the time of exchanging inquiry questions they got request for 29 days and request is higher priority because money is right there.

i apologized to the lady and accept the guest with request for 29 days 

I am immidiately received notification such reservation is concidered long term and if I cancel I will loose my super host for one year, plus all the days from request will stay closed and monetary penalty’s  will apply 

Four days before reservation starts my guest told me if I can cancel his reservation because he found another permanent place to stay and no longer need mine and suggested to start looking for new guests and  reimburse him money

i answer to him to go to Airbnb and talk to them, not to me and I can’t reimburse anything because I don’t have his money

it all, the Airbnb does

He immediately replied , we will keep his  reservation 

All these conversations are on Airbnb platform 

I contacted Airbnb and tell them the situation 

the agent told me they don’t have any request for cancellation from his side and suggested not to worry about because if he will cancel he will loose all his money

Because the guest told me in writing they will keep the reservation I asked him at what approximate time he may arrive  on June 1 buthenever answered

Next day Airbnb send me e mail about upcoming guest and suggested to check with him if he need information about address and again if I check with him the time of arrival

i am immediately send to him very polite message to let me of approximate time of his arrival and , also if he had all the nessasary info how to get to my place and if he can tolerate all the complimentary food I stack in fridge for breakfast for about a week

i listed everything I left for him but he is not replied 

Not to hear from him I send another message on Airbnb platform yesterday and called Airbnb as well

The agent suggested to wait till noon and if he is not respond , they will contact him.

The agent also stays not any activity to skip the reservation 

Today around 10 Am I got message from Airbnb my guest canceled  his reservation 

i placed call to Airbnb and ask what is next, the agent told me they already opened calendar starting next Monday, not foday or tomorrow and promised that I will get money back except cleaning fee , taxes and something like their fees 

But 10 min ago I got another notification from Airbnb withvery tricky big red button “request full amount” , it’s absolutely unclear to whom it will go to me or to the guest who canceled ???

I decided to wait till tomorrow and see if any other notification will fallow

I Am reciding in San Francisco , this year is unbelievable slow due to the tourists unwilling to come and not any high tech convention anymore because City within horrible conditions due to caravan of illegals and homeless people

They terrible messing on the streets and people very unhappy 

I got in this year only couple of days per month occupation and of course I was happy to get full month of occupancy 

Butits not happening 

i spend money for cleaning more than I charge guests, spend about $50 for food , coffee, sweets and now The red button “request to full amount “ make wander what is going on?

 

@Bella18  That would be the guest asking for a full refund, I think. What a jerk to tie up your calendar that long and then think he should be entitled to a full refund. You should decline, for sure.

So how do you handle the angry customers that come to your home demanding a refund.

That's hard to answer without a little more context.

 

Why are they coming to your house angry? Do they have a good reason for demanding a refund?

 

None of my guests have shown up to the door angry and demanding a refund, but if it were something in my control I'd try to address their issue. If they're mad about something that was clearly laid out in my listing, like that I don't accept pets (and they brought one), or that I share the property with them, they're welcome to cancel under the terms they booked. You can contact CS to navigate that. Airbnb should handle it according to their terms:

 

https://www.airbnb.com/terms/guest_refund_policy

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/544/what-is-airbnb-s-guest-refund-policy-for-homes

It’s a huge problem, because as soon as they booked they have your address, phones , e mail, exact location....very scary in these days.

i think maybe call police if they stop to demand refund and call Airbnb as well, it’s criminal 

I have a situation with my Airbnb which hasn’t come up in eight years. By city ordinance I’m limited to so days or more and I may be confused about the cancellation policy, but it seems to me that a guest should not be able to book for a year and then want a cancellation in a few days. That sounds like it’s a hold on a reservation because the guest only has payment made at the beginning of each month.
I had this happen, but I was out of town when my long term guest requested a cancel. I agreed to it because I was away and thought there might be an emergency. I knew that my guest was looking for another place after 7 months here, but she was booked for 3 more months during a time that I usually get a lot of inquiries in the summer. Now I only have a few days to hope that someone will want a long term right away…..which is unlikely.
I am writing now because I think there is something wrong here. I would prefer to discuss it with an agent, but after trying HELP and Contact, it doesn’t seem possible to talk to a human.
Please help me,
Arlene 

"The Long Term cancellation policy automatically applies to all reservations of 28 nights or more" is what I read on the site, but since I am ONLY long term,  MY cancellation should not be the same as when I had short and long term (it was 5 days or flexible for shorter than 28 days.

Hi,I have been in same situation .Booked the house last week on Wednesday August 07 2019, I cancelled the reservation today on Monday August 12 for my family issues.The host declined pay refund.This is getting so ridiculous, just get ribbing off people. I will definitely file a complaint.

@Svitlana16  When you book a place, the cancellation policy is clear. You have a choice of places to book which have different cancellation policies. When you proceed to book, you are entering into a contract to abide by that cancellation policy. If you cancel, you'll be refunded automatically according to the terms of the cancellation policy. Some hosts may be willing to refund more, depending on whether they can manage to get those dates rebooked, but they are under no obligation to do so and if the cancellation is made within a few days of check-in, the host has little chance of rebooking.

If a situation falls under the extenuating circumstances policy and you can back that up with documentation, a guest may be able to get more of a refund.

You say you're being ripped off, but when guests cancel, the host is also being ripped off were the guest to receive a full refund with the host not having time to get those dates rebooked. If hosts were to refund guests everytime they changed their mind, their plans changed, or work or family matters interfered with their travel plans, no one would bother hosting at all, it would be a losing proposition.

Susan608
Level 3
Longs, SC

I just found out that if we cancel a guest, our listing doesn't show up as  instant book for quite such time as an additional punishment to the $100 fine and of course losing superhost status. If a similiar company as Airbnb opened up, I would jump ship. They are getting ridiculous to how they are treating hosts. When you charge  $20/night as I do, that a pretty hard slap on the wrist. 

Airbnb doesn't respect their hosts who earn them all their money. They even refund guests when they cancel on us when they are breaking A's rules and showing up as a third party on someone else's account, on drugs and causing a scene.

Bella18
Level 3
San Francisco, CA

Thanks Sarah for your suggestions ,you are right the  “USER” is a guest and Airbnb suggesting to release full refund to the USER by clicking the big red button “Isdue full refund” 

How dare they are, they don’t care to keep my calendar blocked for two month and they canceled inquiry from very nice lady from Japan, because that man send a request! Which he failed in the last minute! 

I am very skeptical they will issue the payment, let’s see what will happens tomorrow 

The Airbnb not disclosed the reason of his cancellation, they just informed me

Can he made credit card to stop payment?

Moh6
Level 1
Sakra, Indonesia

this is happend to me, the guest ask me to cancel but i stay silent, i dont do it