As other hosts have mentioned the process to get a booking has become drawn out due to guests simply stating "I want to stay with my wife at your place" or something similar. The booking request is missing ALL pertinent information that will assist any host in making an informed decision ie time of arrival, what brings you to my town and what time are you leaving. you know, standard information to get to know someone who is staying in my place for a few weeks. The guest seemed nice enough but he was new and was visiting. Thats all the information I could gather from the profile. Well after about two hours of delayed back and forth he books and all is right with the world. Unfortunately, I need an extra day or two to get the room ready due to previous guest leaving later than expected so I send them a monetary modification. Simple. Well the next morning they want to now cancel their reservation! What has changed in 24 hours? Well they have a family issue and I now have to spend MORE of my time helping them cancel after figuring out ALL this info about their stay. They say they will re-book at a later date.Its come to a point where I charge guests that immediately cancel after booking.
I charge them for two days for occupying my time, dealing with AirBnB and also blocking my calendar. Things change but that doesn't mean my time is free to play with. Guests seem to be under the impression rooms are just sitting empty like a hotel not realizing for many of us we use that money to pay bills. So they should be reminded to not haphazardly book a room as its up to the host if they receive any refund at all.
