extending a long term guest but would require canceling another reservation

[Taryn45]

We have a travel nurse staying with us that was supposed to stay 4 months but just found out her contract got extended. We have only one other reservation during the time she'd like to extend (for 8 nights during Thanksgiving) and had hoped she would be understanding about checking out for those dates but she is not happy about doing that. We understand how much of a hassle that would be to her and are trying to be extra helpful to first responders (we gave her a very low nightly rate) but also hate to cancel the other family especially during a holiday. We are also hoping to be Super Hosts but it looks like you can't have any cancellations unless it's extenuating circumstances which we don't think this would qualify as being. Any advice?

Thank you,

Taryn Leverton

[Natalie294]

If you cancel on that family you will not be able to host this nurse anyways! Airbnb sets it up so that if you cancel on a guest they assume the house is on fire or flooded or completely uninhabitable, so they will block those dates from being booked by anyone else. 

If you are really determined to get them out you would have to convince them to cancel it themselves. I would suggest working with them to find an alternative listing nearby for about the same price and standard that you offer, but there is no guarantee they will cancel with you and switch somewhere else, so be prepared for that. 

[Taryn45]

Thank you for that info on not being able to book her during that time anyway...that makes the decision easy on my end and I'll just have to explain that to her. I appreciate the help!

[Huma0]

@Taryn45 

If the family cancels the stay from their end, I am not sure they will get their Airbnb fees refunded, so that's certainly a disincentive for them. 

Can you try reasoning with your existing guest? Is there somewhere you can store some of her things for those eight days so she doesn't have to move it all out and back in? Is there any nearby accommodation at a similar price where she could stay? Ok, so it's really inconvenient for her and those eight days may be more expensive for her, but you are giving her a great rate and she is the one whose plans have changed.

Have you tried explaining to her that if you cancel the other guests, you will not only lose your chance of being a Superhost for a year, but be financially penalised by Airbnb and automatically have a black mark on your reviews?

[Taryn45]

I had found a similar Airbnb nearby and we do have some storage we can offer her for her things. Thank you for your response and suggestions - I am going to tell her she will have to check out for those dates, however inconvenient for her. I appreciate the info!

[Colleen253]

@Taryn45  This nurse should be thanking her lucky stars she found such a giving and caring host. She should get smart, thank you for your efforts and go along with the plan, regardless of any short term inconvenience to her. Good luck, let us know how it all turns out.

[Helen3]

I had guests who decided to extend their stay who moved out twice because I had other guests who had already booking during the period they wanted to extend. I kept their main luggage and helped them find alternative accommodation. 

Your nurse should be grateful you are working with her to accommodate her changed  plans.

Personally I would never cancel a guest over a key holiday prriod for a current guest who wanted to change their plans.  

[Taryn45]

Thank you for your input!

[Debra300]

@Taryn45,

You have a lovely space.  I know that you want to help a frontline worker, but it may be better to let her go elsewhere if after telling her the penalties you will incur for cancelling the other reservation she  is unwilling to make arrangements for ten days (you will need a minimum of one day before and after the 8-day reservation for cleaning).  

Your weekly discount 20% is already pretty low for what you offer.  If you are giving the nurse an even larger discount, she is getting a great bargain, and unlikely to find a similar space for the same rate.  I think this is a primary factor, besides packing up her stuff, in her reluctance to find alternate accommodations.  How long does she want to extend her stay with you?

[Taryn45]

Yes, she is getting an incredible deal for the weekly rate plus an introductory offer which we had when we first opened our door (and she snatched that right up!). She's looking to stay an additional 6 weeks longer than she initially thought. Based on what you and other hosts kind enough to respond have said, we are going to honor the other guest's reservation and tell our nurse she'll have to find someplace else and hope she comes back. Thanks for your advice!

[Emilia42]

@Taryn45 

If you cancel the Thanksgiving guests those 8 nights in November will be blocked (an Airbnb penalty for canceling.) This means the traveling nurse will either have to pay you outside of Airbnb or you will be giving her the 8 nights for free. Do you trust her to do that?

I always try to work on a first come first serve basis with little emotion attached. You were already booked for Thanksgiving before her plans changed. She will have to find another place to stay. I would be a little put off that "she is not happy about doing that." She doesn't have much of a choice. Someone else got to the dates before she did. If she wants to continue with this great deal then she can work around your existing reservations. 

[Taryn45]

I wouldn't want to go outside Airbnb and didn't realize that our space would be blacked out if we canceled the other reservation, which I really didn't want to do anyway since it's not fair to that guest. We have decided tot tell the nurse that she will have to check out for that time and hope that she decides to come back afterwords. Thank you for the advice- I appreciate it!

[Linda108]

Leading with your heart, @Taryn45 might not be the best business perspective in this situation.  Kudos to you for caring but you do have a business.  In this case you probably also have a personal relationship with the guest so perhaps having an open conversation with her so she understands all the elements that come to play would allow her creativity in developing a workable solution.

[Taryn45]

You are absolutely correct that I was going above and beyond for the nurse but didn't feel right about cancelling the other guest's reservation. We have decided, based on responses from you and other hosts, that we need to honor the other reservation and hope the nurse understands and will come back. Thank you for your advice!

[Fred13]

@Taryn45 She should understand that it won't be fair to bump the family that booked your place before her;  if she doesn't, specially after you have gone through great length to find her another place reducing her mere inconvenience to a bare minimum, then that speaks volumes about her.