Guest who booked but hasn't paid now our calendar is blocked for those dates

Mitch4
Level 1
North Melbourne, Australia

Guest who booked but hasn't paid now our calendar is blocked for those dates

We had a guest book yesterday for 3 nights. We accepted and are "awaiting payment". Guest had obviously changed their mind but our calendar is now blocked for those 3 nights and we can't change or cancel reservation. Have contacted guest via email (her number is blocked) but have had no response to either email. Any advice?

22 Replies 22

@Jim67. The way I understand it is that they have 24hours from when making that booking request to validate oatlent and/or provide ID validation (if you require it - and I highly recommend you do if you are not)

If they don't meet the deadline for updating thier reservation should be cancelled and the dates release.

Andrew - see community help guides for many great FAQ

Hi Mitch, this has just happened to us.  The time stated by Airbnb for the "guest to make payment or reservation will be cancelled", has already passed.  The message "....  has less than an hour to complete payment, or their reservation will be cancelled, penalty-free." is still appearing, and it is now over 12 hours past the expiry date.  Our calendar is still blocked.  And there is no tab to cancel this from our calendar, or cancel it through messages.  The guest appears to have verifications and reviews, but there is no visible contact phone number.  Guest not responding to message through Airbnb.  How do I get this bogus reservation off my calendar?

Kristen107
Level 1
El Segundo, CA

We have the same issue, but its worse because it was a short notice request in two days and we've received another request from another booking site and can't accept it becuase if the airbnb guest confirms payment we have to cancel. We called the airbnb superhost line and the agent kept saying there's nothing they can do and will not provide the specific section of the terms of service that stipulate my property dates get blocked for X hours while a guest confirms payment. The agent then disconnected from the called and refused to escalate to someone that could explain in more detail. I've reviewed the terms of service and payments and do not see any specific policies that block dates while a guest confirms payment. The dates should not be blocked from other guests that could confirm payment. We had this happen a couple of years ago and the agent was super helpful and unblocked the dates so someone else could confirm payment - unfortunately times are changing for airbnb as they prepare to go public...

This same thing has happened to me a number of times. They book the last min and do not add payment information. Now the days are blocked off my calendar from other guests. Has anyone found a way to fix this?

 

 
Chantal710
Level 2
Bloemfontein, ZA

I feel that Airbnb should make the booking void and cancelled if payment is not made on the same day of book-in. Now my night is reserved and there is no way for me to contact the guest, and if the guest doesn't show, I am the one losing a room that could've been booked. Airbnb should hold the guest responsible for the night's stay! 

Ugochukwu3
Level 2
Saskatoon, Canada

This is so unfair on hosts.

 

I just had this problem. The reservation is on "Awaiting Payment" and the date is now blocked on my calendar an AirBnb support has not been responding to me

We have this happen to us every now and then also. Very frustrating and as far as we know, you just have to wait til the dates are released.

Ugochukwu3
Level 2
Saskatoon, Canada

This is what I saw:

 

If you decide to pre-approve an inquiry and Instant Book isn’t on, those dates will automatically be held and blocked on your calendar either until the guest books or until the pre-approval expires after 24 hours—whichever comes first.

 

If you allow guests to book instantly

If you pre-approve an inquiry and allow guests to book instantly, you have the option to hold and block those dates either until the guest books or until the pre-approval expires after 24 hours—whichever comes first. This gives you the ability to ensure the guest who sent you an inquiry has a chance to book. You can change your mind at any time after pre-approving.

 

 

This is AirBnb's way of punishing hosts who do not have Instant booking on. Hosts who have instant booking on have options.