Flexible vs. Moderate Cancellation Policy?

Flexible vs. Moderate Cancellation Policy?

Hi Everyone,

 

I have used AirBnB as a traveller and generally I look for places that have a flexible cancellation policy, however I've now dived into the world of hosting and I'm wondering if I should stick with a flexible policy for my listing or if I should use moderate. I'm a bit torn because as a traveller I look for flexible cancellation so I understand the thought process behind it, but as a host I'm concerned about a guest booking a few weeks in advance blocking off my calendar and then possibly cancelling the day before check-in, which would mean no payment for me and most likely not enough time for someone else to book the room either.

 

I'd just like to get everyone's opinion and experience between the two cancellation policies. Do you notice any decrease in booking requests with a moderate cancellation policy? If your policy is flexible, do you get many people who cancel the day before so they get a full refund? Appreciate your sharing, thanks.

21 Replies 21
Gerry-And-Rashid0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Dan144

 

You need to base your decision on whether or not it matters to you if someone cancels very last minute and you get nothing, or whether it is a week out and you get something. Pesonally I think moderate is best as it still gives travellers plenty of time to cope with a change of plan a week out from travel. Flexiible and you may end up with people who are holding hotel rooms, etc until last minute before making their minds up.

@Gerry-And-Rashid0 That is one aspect of it for sure. Dan is in HK so I don't know much about the market there but for me it is about how busy I am. I get so many requests here in London that I wouldn't want someone booking and then cancelling as I would have lost umpteen others in the meantime. So possibly ironically I would use moderate or flexible if I wasn't busy to get more bookings and use strict when I am turning them away almost. People might prefer the flexibility and be more inclined to book. I have had no cancellations myself and would iffer them credit on another visit if I like them or thought their reason valid.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Dan144 

we have a flexible cancellation p. from the begining and very few cancelations, almost none. If our guests cancel they have a very good reason to do it because on Airbnb guests are charged the moment they book. So, if they cancel they will lose some money, at least ABB service fee.

 

At other platforms, for example booking.com every 1 of 2 bookings were canceled because there people can book and pay later . So they book few places and then decide where they would like to stay. That's bad. Very bad. I removed my listings from booking.com because of that (and few other reasons)

 

In the other hand, if your policy is moderate or strict guests will find a way to get their money back if they want to cancel. They can say they get sick or someone in their family died ( exceptional circumstances). Or the worst of all - they can check in and then ask for a refund saying that your place was dirty or something like that .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want people who are serious and wont waste my time. If I can commit to you then you should be able to commit to me. The more leeway you give people the more they will take advantage of it. I had one guest say his cousin died and he wanted to cancel. Well in order for him to get his money back he would have had to send in proof to AirBnB. Sorry but the rules are the rules. Ive had about 5 cancellations a year with the strict policy.

Understand your point, but the problem of AirBnb is that host with a Strict Policy can cancel last minute with minor consequence and presenting reasonable excuses, if the Guest cancels, he looses 50% of the money. I don't think the level of committment is fair and even.

Superhosts will get their status taken away for a year if they cancel a reservation.  So for hosts who care highly about their reviews and status, there are consequences.  On the flip side, if a guest cancels their reservation, the host now has to scramble to fill those dates that have been blocked- often for weeks or months.  The need for a guest to cancel on occasion is understandable, but some fees held by airbnb (hosts get none of those) help prevent guests from changing their mind flippantly.  

On the contrary David in New York, I am a host in Oklahoma, I also utilize Airbnb Services as a guest when I travel and upon inquiry as a guest I found that if a host has a "strict" cancellation policy and cancels "last minute" there are  consequences. Their first cancellation will cost them $50 and thereafter subsequent cancellations will cost them $100. In addition to this they will not be eligible for the title of "super host" if however they don't already have that designation.  I tend to think that Airbnb could very well possibly pull the 'super-host' status of repeated offenders.

 

AirBnB offers an awesome service and thus they mess that is standard are very strict in their policies. I believe this is because they want to protect the interest of both their guests and their hosts. And, least we not forget, the host has the option of going into their dashboard and either requesting additional funds from the guest as well as returning funds to I guest.

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Dan144

 

I used to have strict, and in the couple of years I'd been hosting I only had a few bookings cancelled due to illness or other reason.

I fairly chose to refund those guests - either fully or minus at least a prepping  charge if a day in advance. Or the one time it had been booked and off the market for ages, then cancelled a week or so in advance I offered refund for any nights I managed to get rebooked on such short notice (which I did an hour later!).

With that experience I switched strict to moderate end last summer to test it. However, bookings since then have for me been quite slow to nonexistant, so can't say yet if it makes much of a difference.

However, in my experience and with Amsterdam an expensive tourist city, guests would only cancel due to a real problem, considering that it's difficult to get a fair-priced accommodation during main season plus they lose out on their booking fee.

And with my always try to be fair regarding refunds, I think that moderate won't really make much of a difference to me personally.

 

Towards the end of the year with bookings falling off I decided to give 'flexible' a try to hopefully entice guests, and I'm sure it  was a positive move towards any potential guests if there had been any, but there too like most hosts outside the touristic old center the terribly slow booking season hardly got me a booking at all. So again no statistics to show there either  😉

 

With the spring looming I've turned it back to 'moderate'. Test is ongoing!

Lyndsey2
Level 10
Stonington, CT

I switched from flexible to moderate and did not see a significant change in bookings. I honestly wouldn't be too put out if someone cancelled last minute, and cancellations have rarely happened-- but I figure that as long as it's not affecting my bookings, why not choose the option that encourages a bit more resposibility 

Peter395
Level 1
Caloocan, Philippines

Careful there s a whole lot of travellers out there who bet on different horses. They would book different places to stay for the same dates. Airbnb should design a cancel policy that discourages travellers like them. 

That has been my experience Peter.  I recently had 3 bookings at the same time.  I chose to host the person staying the longest (4 days) and declined the other two offers.  She never accepted and when I replied to her stating that my place was available she told me she had found another place.  So, I lost out on the other 2 bookings - one for one night and the other for two nights.  Very frustrating experience.  

 

I've had two more similar experiences in the two months that I returned to hosting so I've switched to the moderate cancellation policy.

Does anyone know if you can set different cancellation policies for different times of the year? My dilemma; I have a cottage that I rent all year long. For summer months I book solid by the February prior for the most part. However, winters are low, low demand. I do Strict for summer bookings even 5 months in advance. Can I do Flexible or Moderate for winters? Both policies need to be listed at the same time. 

 

Thanks, Laurie

Hi Laurie, Lori Beth here in Sonoma California. I would love it if Airbnb would allow us to set different policies for different times of the year. There is a place to give them feedback on the site if not call them...I think the only work around would be to go to settings and then choose to allow reservations to be made only 6 or 3 months out and make a setting for that then when the time is up change the policy but of course the problem with that is that you would miss out on your folks who like to plan way in advance....I think it would be great if we could micro set dates to cover big holidays...

 

Best,

Lori Beth

This would be a GREAT feature. Same scenario for me. I would hate to change to Flexible for summer then have people cancel during high season.