Last night I was fast asleep around 2:00AM when I hear knocks on my door. I ignore it at first because I live in an apartment building where people mistakenly knock on the wrong doors. A couple minutes later I hear the knock again and my doorbell goes off. I jump out of bed, look through the peep-hole and see no one. I glanced down at my phone only to see I have 3 missed calls in the past 5 minutes. I recognize the number as a guest I am expecting next weekend. I give them a call to see what's going on and they insist they are staying this weekend and cannot find the key. I quickly pull up the airbnb website and see that they have traveled through the night only to have booked the incorrect dates. I directed them to a hotel up the street that has pretty reasonable rates and all way well.
I do have a strict cancellation policy but this morning when I received the cancellation request I recieved a request from the resolutions center for a full refund. I understand that this mistake was human error on their part but on the other hand, I rely on the revenue from my listing to help me get through college. I am thinking about letting the guests know that I am willing to refund the full amount of their stay IF I am able to rent out next weekend. If I am unable to rent it out, then I will be unable to refund their money.
I am just wondering if that sounds like a fair approach to this situation. Please leave your comments and suggestions below!
