Had to cancel because guest didn't disclose infant during booking process

[Stephanie1019]

Hello, our listing rules strictly state "home not suitable for infants."

Someone booked our home (instant book) and didn't disclose the infant -  they actually booked with 1 guest, not 3 guests (including the infant).  She messaged and said she has having "issues" changing the number of guests.  After a few messages, we discovered they were bringing actually an infant (not a child), we had to cancel the booking.  We canceled the same day they booked - 28 days in advance.  

Now, it's appears this will likely count against our superhost status.  We are new and we were well on our way to superhost status, now it seems this cancellation will count against - even though it was the guest failed to book correctly. 

Any help on what we can do in this situation? Who should we contact?

Thanks!

[Carol777]

You should have asked her to cancel instead of you.  But I would complain about having the mark against your record.

[Stephanie1019]

She was being argumentative about the baby.  Who should I contact about this?

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie1019   You should contact Airbnb and ask this to be one of your 3 IB penalty -free cancellations, based on ther guest not adhering to your not suitable for infants rule.

That's what you should have done in the first place, not cancel it yourself. A host cancellation will not only prevent you from being eligible for Superhost for a year, your calendar will be blocked by Airbnb so those dates can't be booked by anyone else.

[David715]

i've had similar experiences but I have found Airbnb staff helpful in these situations as they can see all your communications with guests and all booking details so are able to make a fair decision based on the facts i.e. in your case the booking simply couldn't go ahead as it was not valid according to your rules. Give Airbnb a call is my advice and I hope it gets resolved withouy a mark against your record.