cancelling a reservation made by guest

[Jessica889]

Hi, has anyone been in the same boat at all?

Guest submitted a stay and I accepted but realised today for the days they asked for I cant rent out the house because of a few things going on. what should I do ? 

[Alexandra316]

@Jessica889 if it wasn't an instant book, you're going to have to cancel and accept the penalties that go along with that... Not much else to be done in this situation, unless you can rearrange your schedule to accommodate the guest. 

[Jessica889]

Okay, what's the penalties ?

[Jessica889]

I have instant book on, so I just accepted. Can you tell my what the penalities are? 

[Terry15]

Be fair to them.  I had this happen to me last year - I gave them $200 for having to find another place.  I'm not suggesting any amount of many - just pointing out that someones vacation just got a little messed up and it should be handled with kindness.

[David126]

If you use IB then nothing was needed at your end, loss of Superhost status for a year, review on your listing that you cancelled and a financial penalty.

[Gillian19]

@Jessica889 And make sure you keep your availabilty in your calendar up to date. The reason Airbnb penalise hosts is that guests need to know that they have a confirmed booking and so it's on the host to make sure they manage their calendar properly.