Last minute cancellation advise

Jamie720
Level 2
Wisconsin, United States

Last minute cancellation advise

Hello everyone, 

 

This is my first post with this community, and I am a very new host! I have had my first last minute cancellation, and I was hoping I could receive some advise on how to handle the refund in this situation. My cancellation policy is moderate, and these guests cancelled tonight at 10pm, and their check in is tomorrow afternoon. Their reason for cancellation is the expected snow in our area on Thursday and Friday. There is supposed to be snow but it looks like only a few inches. 

 

Air bnb obviously sent me the customary email stating I would receive the payment for the booking minus the cleaning fee, and that give full refund button option is at the bottom. My guess is that the guests who cancelled will ask for a full refund, although they haven’t yet. I definitely will not be able to re-book the room tomorrow night.

 

I was hoping to learn how more experienced hosts handle these situations when they come up. 

Thank  you in advance! 

Jamie 

35 Replies 35

@Jamie720 If your communication with the guests has made you feel like you'd like to host them in the future, you could offer them a discount for a later date when snow does not occur in your region.

 

If they want to discuss refunds, you can advise them to submit their cancelation receipt to their travel insurance. There's no reason here for an exception to your polixy;  the fact that it's snowing in January is by no stretch of the imagination an Extenuating Circumstance. 

Jamie720
Level 2
Wisconsin, United States

@Anonymous Thanks for taking the time to respond! The discount is a great idea as a gesture of goodwill.

 

That is a good point that snow in Wisconsin is pretty much the norm.

 

Thanks for your advice I appreciate it! 

@Jamie720 

 

You have a moderate cancellation policy which means travellers are fully repaid if the cancel 5 days before arrival.

If they cancel less than 5 days before arrival, they are repaid of 50% and you receive 50%.

 

It takes 5 minutes to check the meteo on internet 7 - 14 days in advance.

They could come and do other things like relax and discover the area. 
They have better things to do. It is their choice.

 

Do as you like but they don't have the right to be fully repaid.
If you repay every time there is no sun , no snow, it rains, it's too cold, too hot blablabla, choose the flexible cancellation policy.

 

 

@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 I think you're definitely right about that! I switched to the moderate cancellation policy for a reason, so I definitely should stick to it when the cancellation is last minute for this type of reason. As you said, the couple inches of snow has been predicted for this weekend for a week now, so an earlier notice would have been possible.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to respond, it has been really helpful! 

Robbie54
Level 10
North Runcton, United Kingdom

@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0  "It takes 5 minutes to check the meteo on internet 7 - 14 days in advance." Wouldnt help at all in the UK or other places around the world, the Met office here could only give a best guess that way off in advance, then be wildly out. 

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

@Jamie720  The guest may not ask for refund at all, but the reason given for cancellation is not a valid extenuating circumstance. The guest is being held to the terms of the cancellation policy they agreed to at booking. You don’t owe them any refund, so you can just ignore the subliminal suggestion from Airbnb. 

Given the late cancellation notice and the reason, I would be disinclined to encourage the  guests to return by offering them a credit or discount for a future stay. What if it’s too hot next stay, or there’s more snow or rain in the forecast?

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie720
Level 2
Wisconsin, United States

Very true @Colleen253 

 

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate the advice! 

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Jamie720 

Personally, I would not refund. Since the cancelation was the night before check-in the guest cannot review you. 

 

If the guest asks for a refund: 

"I would be happy to refund you if I am able to rebook the dates. At this time, the cancelation policy that you agreed to when booking has been applied." 

 

Some guests are responsible adults who accept a contract when making decisions about whether or not to cancel.  Let's hope that is your guest 🙂

Jamie720
Level 2
Wisconsin, United States

@Emilia42 Thanks so much for the response! 

 

That is great wording; I saved that in case they do ask for a refund. I appreciate the advice! 

Michelle2475
Level 8
Massachusetts, United States

@Jamie720 I a very similar experience and am wondering how this worked out and whether anyone could give me some advice. I have a guest who wanted a change in her reservation to the following month.

I had given her a discount during a very busy week (ski season in VT) and she initially asked for clarification on my strict cancellation policy before booking - particularly asking how much she would get back if she cancelled. She made the request about one hour before the cutoff to get 50% back. She was claiming a “family emergency” but would not clarify. After talking to Airbnb and pondering my options- particularly it would open the door to being able to immediately cancel the reservation and get a full refund if I accept the date change. At this point the alarm bells went off that she knows how to play the game. 

I doubt I’ll be able to rebook next weekend at this late date especially given travel restrictions. I told her if she cancelled the reservation (yesterday afternoon) that I would give her a full refund if I rebooked. She, of course, called Airbnb and I explained the situation to them. I directed them to the conversation in January and the fact that she not only knew about the cancellation policy but also knew she exactly how to play the refund game. Airbnb stood on my side. 

She has not cancelled. My understanding is that she can instead do a no show and leave a bad review tanking my super host status. What should I do?  @Michelle1851 @Sarah977 @Colleen253 @Melodie-And-John0 

" I told her if she cancelled the reservation (yesterday afternoon) that I would give her a full refund if I rebooked". I think that is reasonable and fair @Michelle2475

 

If you're worried she is trying to game the system to work a free cancellation, I believe Airbnb closed that loophole, and nothing changes as far as the cancellation policy is concerned even with new dates. But a date change is still not ideal for you, on this short notice. It remains that the guest's reservation has been blocking the dates she wants to now abandon, and you are not confident of filling them at this late notice.  Having her cancel and you refund her your portion of the payout if you rebook is fair and doesn't leave you holding the short end of the stick. She can then rebook for later dates if she want, once her emergency is sorted. Tell her she really needs to cancel asap though, if she is not able to come, to open up those dates so you have at least a chance to rebook them. 

Michelle2475
Level 8
Massachusetts, United States

Update - I decided to call Airbnb and offer her the 50% refund with my previous offer of a full refund if rebooked (because she still had not cancelled). They called her directly and then she contacted me to say she was sorry about the previous back and forth. It was not her family emergency but the other couple’s. It seems they bailed on her and she could not afford it on her own. Kinda not my problem!  However, she found another couple (possibly two) to go and so now she’s keeping the reservation. I guess my instincts were correct. I’m hoping she ends up being a good guest!  She does have one positive review. 

@Jamie720   I always blame it on Airbnb. lol

 

Airbnb has their own set of policies and you definitely  can reach out to request assistance regarding that issue!

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Jamie720 It's rather pointless to have a cancellation policy if you are going to refund guests when they cancel for any reason. 

 

Most guests who cancel will think they should be refunded in full. Don't go there- just let guests know, politely but unapologetically that they are subject to your cancellation policy that they agreed to when they booked if they try to guilt you into a refund.

 

And as Colleen said, saying you'll be willing to refund if you manage to rebook the dates makes you sound fair and gets the point across that just leaving you with no income, after they have blocked up your calendar, isn't okay.