Unfair cancellation fee

[Marcus73]

I am new to this platform of hosting and I tried to block certain dates, but the instant book feature is turned on and now I have a booking for dates that are not available. When I tried to turn instant book off it said I could remove bookings without any fuss, but I'm just trying to remove this booking and it says I will receive a $50 reduction from my next payout. This is very frustrating a) because the stupid little calender feature is fiddly, and b) because it said I could remove instant book if I wanted to. How can I remove this booking without being penalised as the instant book stuff said I could?

[Marzena4]

There are a lot of murky regulations on Airbnb, @Marcus73. To use that right (penalty free cancellations, you must contact Airbnb Customer Service - use Twitter or the form: https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us#/ - 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2022/how-do-penalty-free-cancellations-work-for-instant-book-hos...

[Tony1234]

I needed to cancel a booking and Im now being penalised $50 ?  This so unfair-unjust, I had 3 bookings cancel on me 2 weeks ago and i was not compensated.

[Stephanie1933]

@Tony1234 that is really frustrating but you should always get the guest to cancel. Contact Airbnb and explain your situation. Hopefully, it gets sorted for you. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tony1234 I assume your cancellation doesn't fall under the extenuating circumstances policy?