Guest changes booking dates, what date is used for cancellation policy, original or new one?

[Dave52]

If a guest changes their dates (and host accepts), will original check in date or new check-in date will be used for the cancellation policy. 

Example:  guest books 1/29-1/31,

On 1/28 guest requests to change to 2/15-2/17, host accepts the change. 

Listing has a Moderate cancellation policy (cancel up to 5 days before check in).

Guest cancels on 2/1. 

->Airbnb support tells me in this case the guest won't get a full refund.  Can someone confirm this?  

[Ann72]

@Dave52  Cancellation policies are tied to the original date of booking, no matter how often the guest changes the reservation dates.  Guests don't always realize this and some try to game the system by changing the date and then cancelling within 48 hours in the hopes of getting a refund.  

[Susan1188]

On VRBO this is how it works, if you agree to a date change the cancellation delay is reset to the new dates and guest can cancel for free.

[Ann72]

@Susan1188  Uugghhh!  Well, we've just uncovered one item that Airbnb does better than VRBO, anyway 🙂

[Emiel1]

@Dave52 

Not sure if Airbnb CS is right

As I always do changes myself (as a host). Then the cancellation policy will apply on the new dates.

As a host how do i make a change to a confirmed reservation

But in your case the guest performed the change, so maybe then it is different ?

It is not mentioned in the HELP for the guest:

How do i change a reservation for a place to stay

So i am also curious....

[Ann72]

@Emiel1  As noted above, the reservation is always tied to the date of booking, no matter how often the guest changes it.  I have experienced this more than once and have three reservations for this summer that were made in January 2020 for Summer 2020 and changed to Summer 2021 when the pandemic began.  All three retain their original date of booking of January 2020.

[Dave52]

@Ann72 Sorry for the confusion, I wasn't correct about the terminology in my question.  To be clear,  I meant to say the check-in date changes, not Booking date and I agree with you Booking date does not change because it is the date the booking is made, but this is different than the check-in date. 

Yet Moderate cancellation policy is tied to check-in date.  So if the check-in date changes, is the cancellation policy tied by the new or the original check-in date?

Airbnb told me it gets tied to the original check-in date but the Help section says nothing about it.  

[Debra300]

@Dave52,

Here are the Airbnb pages about reservations changes:

1. It's not recommended that host's initiate reservation changes, because it will update the reservation to the current cancellation policy.  Depending upon when policy that's in effect, there may be an opportunity for a guest to cancel for a full refund: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/50/as-a-host-how-do-i-make-a-change-to-a-confirmed-reservation
2. The more amenable method of reservation change for hosts is to have the guest make the change.  The reservation will retain the original cancellation policy, even if the host has changed policies:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1504/how-does-it-work-if-a-guest-wants-to-change-their-reservati...

[Emilia42]

@Debra300 good info. @Ann72 Do you remember if you or the guest made the change? I always initiate a change when a guest asks about it .... perhaps I shouldn't be doing this.

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  The guest made the change, because he was trying to game the system:  he hoped that a new reservation would be tied to the date he made the change so he could cancel penalty-free within 48 hours.  He was wrong.

In researching the subject I came across this in help:  "Please don’t cancel or change reservations on behalf of guests. Instead, ask guests to follow these instructions for canceling or changing their reservation. They can also find a link to modify their reservation in their confirmation email."

So it would appear Airbnb wants us to retain the original booking settings, because they are what cancellation policy is based on.

[Debra300]

@Ann72,

I have seen that same bit of advice from Airbnb to hosts about reservation changes.  @Emilia42, I also have a moderate cancellation policy for my Atlanta apartment, and I would only offer to make the change for a guest if the new arrival date will be within five days of the date of change.  

[Ann72]

@Dave52  No, I am sorry for my misunderstanding!  But although I'm not familiar with the moderate cancellation policy, I think it amounts to the same thing:  reservations are tied to the original dates of booking and check-in for the purpose of applying the cancellation policy.  Otherwise it leaves the whole system open to corruption by guests.  So - do I hear a collective gasp? - in this case, Airbnb has our back.

[Anthony223]

@Dave52   I'm sure glad I read this post, Dave, because I have been doing things the wrong way and sometimes making the change on behalf of the guest.

I have had several guests try to game the system by changing the dates and then trying to cancel for a full refund.  I did a bit of research online about this and some people were helping guests to game the system.  Seems like their advice was totally wrong.

In future I will make all guests change the dates themselves

[John7151]

Hi Everyone - I just spoke with CS with regards to this specific question.

They told me:

If a guest requests a change of dates for a later set of dates - if the request came during the no refund window of your cancellation policy - if you accepted the change  - then the cancellation policy will reset to the new dates as if it is a new reservation.

So if after reserving the new dates the guest later decides to cancel - they will receive a refund (or not) based on your cancellation policy relative to the new dates.

So this is a way that a guest can cancel without paying any penalty - working around your cancellation policy.  

Be wary of accepting a change request  like this which can expose you to a double loss.  The guest can  cancel the revised reservation just before the no refund window opens and in doing so have caused you to miss other guests reservations for BOTH the original and revised reservation periods.

[Esther824]

In such a case, I found it best to ask CS to change the dates as non-refundable. I do offer a non-refundable booking option. Albeit, the change would not have a discount  I also communicate this to the guest prior to accepting a change. No problems so far.