Mattress and cancellation policy with airbnb

[Ann-And-Mad0]

I assumed when I  put a strict cancellation policy on my airbnb  rental    it could not be changed by airbnb

I have rented on airbnb for 5 years ... I have invested in   excellent mattress for bed.

Over 95% of all  our  guests   Over 200 guests   have enjoyed their stay with no complaints about mattresses.

I have a guest now that is not happy with mattress and wants to check out early and get a refund for nights not stayed.

I explained I have a strict cancellation policy so I did not have to get involved in negotiations around changing booking details.  

This guest wanted a softer mattress.  I explained the Mattress was of excellent quality and we could not  ensure that  our mattress were personalised to each guests needs.   ( please note our unit is a studio not 5 star hotel booking)

Airbnb have suggested I buy a topper of bed to suit this guests needs or I allow her to break the cancellation agreement..

I have asked airbnb  why one guests  need  for a softer mattress  cold override my cancellation policy ... Does this mean in the future all a guest needs to say is there are not happy with mattress if they wish to alter a booking?

This guest have no reviews on airbnb and I have over 300 great reviews.       

[Sarah977]

@Ann-And-Mad0  There have been a disturbing number of host reports on the forum in the last while regarding Airbnb overriding hosts' cancellation policies for trivial or bogus guest complaints.

Maybe try contacting Airbnb again to see if you can get a more helpful and clued-in CS rep. Contacting on Twitter is said to get the best results.

[Emily487]

@Ann-And-Mad0 

CS is ridiculous. You'd think they might have a handbook to which they can refer once in a while.

No, do not offer a refund for nights not spent. CS will talk to you in circular patterns for 30 minutes to ask you to authorize a refund but don't fall for it. Depending on how you read her in person, you can offer to go buy a topper but realize that since she is already unhappy, she will remain unhappy no matter what you do for her. Grumpy guests are like pi88ed-off toddlers....the more you try to appease them the worse it gets.