The guest didnt cancell the reservation in the system

[Veronica2]

The guest, just cancelled a reservation one day and a half previous to his and his family  arrival, with no reason, just saying sorry.

BUT, he just cancelled it, writting an email trough airbnb, he didnt cancelled on the system. And now that i open that message, airbnb, shows a botton with the word, cancel the reservation or accept it.. so  it leaves to me all responsability to cancel it, which I don´t think its fair, cause i fullfilled my word, the guest didn´t, even though we had already prepared the rooms for their whole family to come.

The reservation is still opens. Please help with this. It seems treaky that the guest just cancel the reservation by an inbox message and then dissapearing, letting the host, to cancel a reservation which is not the truth, that the host was the one provoking that cancellation.

[Linda0]

DO NOT CANCEL. If you have already responded previously before he said he would cancel, you can ignore the accept or cancel because you responded within the 24 hour timeframe. I would archive the message.

[Clare0]

@Veronica2 If Airbnb is asking you to accept or decline a reservation, then that means that the reservation was pending all this time.  Go to your dashboard and see if this was a confirmed reservation.  You should read this article:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/28/what-do-i-do-after-i-receive-a-reservation-request-from-a-gue...

[Linda0]

@Veronica - can you share if it was a confirmed reservation and then guest stated he wants to cancel or was only request and you did not confirm yet and then he decided to not come? If you never ACCEPTed his request then you can freely decline. Let us know what you've done. If you need more guidance call Airbnb customer service and they will help you.
The best!

[Veronica2]

Thank you Linda to assist me. I really appreciate it. And it is confirmed. I pressed the bottom confirm when he requested it and until now the status is as accepted. The day is blocked because they have their reservation open for them and also I received yesterday a message from Airbnb telling me, are you exciting to receive your guest? Here are some tips to prepare for its arrival, therefore for Airbnb I'm suppose still to receive this person and his family.

If you have any ideas on what to do, please help me. I don't like the way the things have been managed. Why he doesn't cancel it and waits me to cancel it?

[Linda0]

When he does not cancel he may have to pay a portion of the rental per your policy. If he goes ahead a cancel thru Airbnb he could arrange for smaller payout to you but will still have to pay Airbnb service fee. But if you cancel he will not have to pay his fees to Airbnb. DO NOT CANCEL because you will be dinged a penalty and your calendar will still blocked keeping you from getting another guest. You should call Airbnb and explain and let them know he emailed you off-line. Only communicate with guest via email established by Airbnb. The good news is that even if he cancels it will give your listing a boost and you will probably get another request quickly. Good job, when you are uncertain these forums are the place to get additional advice.

[Veronica2]

Thank you everyone for all your advices. I mailed back right away to him and his family, asking him to cancel it, as soon as I got his email but he didn't until tonight. So I guess Airbnb is charging them. I'm sorry for them if that is so. But I guess this is how Airbnb works. I'm new and still got to learn few things. So I appreciate all your advice. 🙂 ❤️

[Clare0]

If it is a confirmed reservation and he doesn't show up, then you get the money.  If he wants to cancel, he needs to do it, not you.  He needs to read this help section:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/90/cancel-a-reservation-request

You can't send this link by the Airbnb message system, but you can read it and walk him through the steps he needs to take.  Or, simply refer him to the Help section and have him type in How do I cancel a reservation. That's all you can do.  The ball is in his court to take action.  

Under no circumstances should you cancel as you will be penalized monitariy and in status. 

[Carrie1]

Yes, as everyone else said, it is the guest's responsibility to cancel. Sometimes, guests don't understand that they have to cancel "officially" through Airbnb - they think that the message to you cancels the reservation. I always tell guests that they'll have to cancel through Airbnb, so that there's no confusion.

[Veronica2]

Thank you Carrie, yes I did exactly that right after he sent me the mail and He just cancelled tonight and his arrival was tomorrow. Will Airbnb give a refund for that?

[Veronica2]

Thank you Clare to answer so quick. Unfortunately that is not the case, because it is still the reservation as accepted. I pressed the bottom to confirm the reservation and the day is still blocked because that person booked and in accepted. That's why I think it's treacky that I just received an internal message saying sorry with no explanation and not cancelling the reservation