Guest contacted AirBNB who have cancelled on my behalf?

[Abigail5]

Hello, I'm a bit upset really as I am new to AirBNB and was looking forward to welcoming my first guest this Friday for one night. I have been in contact all week about any additional requirements and have offered early check in and a (rare and sort after) parking permit as I want to build my profile and get some lovely reviews.

However, last night, after me requesting the number of guests he said two couples and the confirmed that the property had one double bed and two single beds (always has been and the pictures are on the listing clear as day). Anyway. I have just received a message from AirBNB saying that :

:I am contacting you in regard of your reservation with guest [personal information hidden]. He got in touch with us about the cancellation of this reservation, I wanted to get in touch with you to inform that the reservation will now be canceled on your behalf. Therefore, I removed the penalties you received for canceling reservation, as I know you are new Host in our community.

For future reference, if you'd like to cancel a reservation, you'll need to do so from your account. A host cancellation normally indicates that the host can no longer accommodate you for your trip. Because of the inconvenience this can cause, hosts are subject to various penalties every time they cancel a reservation, including a possible permanent removal from Airbnb. In order to prevent your host from receiving these penalties, it's important for you to cancel the reservation.

Learn about canceling reservations in our Help Center: www.airbnb.com/help/question/166

I see you had some issues with your listing`s description, please let me know if you need my help to improve it and avoid new issues with your potential Guests, and if you have any additional questions."

But I now, because of my 'preparation period' its too late for me to get another booking and clearly I wont be paid, although I set the cancellation policy to moderate.

This is such a shame for my first experience. I feel cheated and as you all know its taken a lot of hard work to get everything ready.

Any advice? Or just some nice stories to make me feel better.

Thank you Abi. xx

[David126]

Sounds like tthey cancelled on behalf of the guest because there was a difference between what your listing said and the conversation you had? Somewhat confusing I know.

[Lisa36]

I just checked your listing and it seems fine - your place looks lovely and it seems quite clear that there is only one double bed.  I'm guessing the guests had good reviews and had been booking places for a while so had some credibility when they rang Aribnb with their story.  You are new so.....    I'm not sure what happened but don't feel disheartened.  Your place will get more booking and you just need that first review! 

[Abigail5]

Thank you Lisa, thats exactly what I needed to hear. Just one bad experience that hopefully will be few and far between. Doesnt seem that they are regular guests So I have gone back to AirBNB and also its all on my messages feed. So just want an acknowledgement that I havent done anything wrong really. Thanks again for your kinds words. Means a lot. A. x

[Mala0]

Abi, sod them!.. just one day....  They did not read your listing and then someone LUCKY to have reached airbnb and made up some rubbish as to you saying something different to what you listed!.

Sorry you wont get paid.

But for the record just write back to Airbnb and ask for reason  that they mailed airbnb and highlight strongly the conversation you had with them was to confirm EXACTLY what was listed and that is why you believe they wanted to cancel and get back all their money. ordinarily if they cancel at that stage they would have to lose some or all of their money!..

But seriously no biggie, you will have longer stays and many more people come and go, good and not so great!.

my first was amazing review, my second was a horrid creature who single handed made me have to get constant 5/4 star overalls experiences for months to climb back up the ladder.  Dont fret the reviews, just do what you are doing and i am positive it will be great.

Enjoy it all..

Mala x

[Abigail5]

Thanks Mala. Onwards and upwards. I've got three more bookings so fingers crossed this will be forgotten soon enough. x

[Abigail5]

Thanks David. Thats my issue. The listing is titled as 'Family friendly' and has always been listed as one double and two single beds. I dont see any vaguarities at all...

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

You don't want that guest anyway.  It appears he wanted to cancel because he didn't understand the number and type of beds until after he booked.  I'd guess he contacted AirBnB and lied  to them and implied that he was mislead or that your listing was inaccurate so that they would cancel for YOU and he wouldn't lose any money.  Someone who would make the effort to call (not easy to do) and then lie in order to get all their money back from a one night booking because of a misunderstanding that was entirely their mistake- you don't want them.  So breathe a sigh of relief, admire your clean home and beautiful space and wait for your first guest to be someone nicer.  Our first guests were two little old ladies (cousins) on a road trip.  They were sweet as pie but not internet savvy and did not leave a review until too late but they sent me a nice email thanking us.

[Abigail5]

Good point. Probably had a lucky escape! Thanks for taking the time respond. Needed a lift! x

[Christine1]

@Abigail5, This is a disappointing experience for you, sorry about that.

It sounds as if you are all set up to do a great job as a host and congratulations on getting your site/listing up and running.

Joining the forums is a good idea, by reading the experiences of other hosts you will learn a lot about guest behaviour and hear about management tips from a range of hosts.

The email you got was a little crypic, it sounds a bit generic/automated and at odds with some of what you have described. Has the guest told AirBnb support that the bedding provided was not suitable? and was there some uncertainty about the number of guests or their sleeping arrangements? is that why you were writing  to enquire about the number of guests? Normally the number of guests would be known prior to a pre-approval being sent out.

If you are a new host, was this booking an "instant book" reservation? is that why te guest numbers or configuration was uncertain? 

I am interested in trying to understand a little more about what went wrong, when everything seemed fine. 

you also mentioned: " I have been in contact all week about any additional requirements and have offered early check in and a (rare and sort after) parking".

What were the additional requirements? was it extra people? and I note that many hosts report the more they offer prior to check-in the more they are surprised by guest behaviour. So proceed with caution. 

I look forward to your response.

Regards, Christine,

You can send feedback to AirBnb if you feel that this matter has been mishandled.

[Abigail5]

Thanks Christine, I'm so glad I came on here. I feel so much better. I have responded to AirBNB and look forward to seeing what they say. It was me contacting the guest just see if there was anything I could do to make the whole experience as nice as possible for them - as I said before I am working hard to try and get some nice reviews. And then he came back with a message that said

"The sleeping situation is one double bed in the master and singles in the 2 other rooms? Is that correct?
Sorry should have clarified before booking, just noticed.
Brian

I said yes that is correct and now he has cancelled - or rather he has got AirBNB to cancel on my behalf! Very annoying. xx

[Helen3]

Abigail

Please change your setting from moderate to something higher so that if a guest cancels you will still get paid partially or in full.

Go back to BnB and confirm you didn't cancel the reservation the guest did because he misread your description (happens all the time).

Please don't go over the top accommodating guests with early check in etc - it seems the more you give, the more they ask.

Spend some time finding out about your guests and their plans to help make sure they are a good fit and always agree arrival and departure times with them before confirming any booking.

Best of luck.

Helen

I'm sure you will get some lovely guests soon.

[Abigail5]

Thanks Helen. Great advice. x

[Sandra126]

You will find that guests don't always read the info, but they should at least look at the pictures! In my view, that is not a good enough reason to cancel as it is not your fault and the guest admitted as much, saying ''sorry just noticed.''

Better luck next time.

[Christine1]

Thanks for this clarification. The text of the email you were sent was confusing and understandably upsetting after all your efforts. As you probably know by now, any refund would be dependent on your cancellation policy, so as others have said, consider if you want to adjust things. But definitely I believe you should ensure that this matter is not recorded as a cancellation by host, because that will be an injustice to you and may have some adverse effects. 

Because bedding is such a critical aspect of the accommodation, perhaps you might begin your description with a mention such as 1 Double bed and two single beds to accommodate a maximum of 4 persons.

If as a new member you have to work with "Instant Booking", then put a mention in to firm up the responsibility of the guest to check the details in your description/details.

eg. "Please ensure that you understand the terms of the "xyz" cancellation policy is xyz-and the facilities that are available at my listing." "If you are unsure or have any further questions please feel free to send me an email, and I will attempt to give you the information which you need." 

There is an opportunity for a pre-booking message with instant book and this is also an opportunity to remind the guests not to rush the decision, but double check the details before going ahead.

I have been using these types of phrases more frequently now when communicating with potential guests and maybe it has caused some to refrain from booking, but I prefer a tiny moment of disappointment to the more complicated upset if an unsuitable booking proceeds, only to be withdrawn and fixed up later. So I hope that the support and suggestions from other hosts will be helpful to you. 

Be cautious about sharing things like passes and parking permits if they have limited transfer rights. You don't want to upset your fellow residents. Just be upfront about the visitor parking situation and provide sound parking information/advice in your itinerary. 

Encourage guests to read and print their itinerary, so thay have it when traveling and while at the listing. It has all your contact details, directions, house rules and other essential information.

Happy Hosting, soon you will have a fresh and fabulous guest, so write back and tell us what a great time you had.

Regards, christine.