guest cancellation

[Lucienne2]

My guest has cancelled with less than 2 days notice. This is due to a bereavement. My cancellation policy is 'strict' What will happen now and how soon will Airbnb unblock my calendar?..the booking is still active.

[Amaris0]

If the booking is still active then it would imply she has not actually cancelled it on the Airbnb platform. I’m guesting she has just informed you that she wishes to cancel. She will need to contact Airbnb who will confirm what type of evidence they required in order to override your strict cancellation policy. Without this evidence, the terms of your strict policy will be imposed on the guest. See cancellation policy - https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy

Whatever you do, do not cancel from you end as you will be penalised. Once the guest cancels, your calendar will become available again.

BW, Ama

[Lucienne2]

Hi, thanks for your response. I certainly haven't officially cancelled anything, merely replied to the guest with our condolences and encouraged him to consider booking with us again if he finds himself needing to work in the area in the future. I did then message him to alert him to our 'strict' cancellation policy and also that Airbnb's policies will cover this situation. The guest seems to think that it is me that has the control to open up my calendar for another booking whereas it appears that I must wait on AirBnB. If the guest leaves cancelling the booking for a longish period assuming he will get his money back due to the 'extenuating circumstances' then I will have effectively lost every chance of having another guest. Do you think I should message the guest and ask him to notify Airbnb as soon as possible?

Thanks

[Amaris0]

Yes, you should definitely message the guest and explain that you do not wish to continuously bother him at this difficult time but you really need him to cancel the booking from his end immediately.

Explain to him that Airbnb's policy covers him for a full refund so long as he contacts them within 14 days of the original check-in / after he has cancelled on the Airbnb platform - https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy 

Also explain to him that you are unable to cancel from your end as the penalties are severe for your as the host and that until he cancels from his end, your calendar remains blocked for the duration of his booking so nobody else can book. The penalties below would apply to you if you were to cancel this reservation yourself; you can copy and paste these in your message to him to the severity of you cancelling from your end

Within 7 days of check-in: Airbnb charges a $100 fee for any reservation cancelled within 7 days of check-in.

We'll automatically deduct any applicable cancellation fees from your next payout.

Other penalties

• Automated reviews: An automated review will be posted to your listing's profile indicating that you cancelled one of your reservations. These reviews can't be removed, but you can always write a public response to clarify why you needed to cancel.
• Unavailable/blocked calendar: Your calendar will stay blocked and you won't be able to accept another reservation for the same dates of the cancelled reservation.
• Loss of eligibility for Superhost status: You won't be eligible to earn Superhost status for one year after your most recent cancellation.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/990/how-do-host-cancellation-penalties-work

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy

If he does not cancel in the next 24 hours,  as might not be a priority to him right now, Would suggest you contact Airbnb directly and explain your predicament to them - If you cancel you get penalised, but as he has not cancelled you are being penalised as well because your dates remain closed and he will eventually get all the money back so you need them to intervene under the circumstances. They will be able to read your e-mails to the guest which will evidence the situation and so they should be able to offer some form of assistance

Should you need to speak to Airbnb, click on the link for contact options-  Contact Airbnb

Hope you get it sorted.

Ama

[Lucienne2]

Thank you Ama

I've done as you suggested and will contact Airbnb if I do not hear from this guest. I just hope I will suceed in contacting Airbnb without too much trouble  because it appears that they are notoriously difficult to get hold of! In such a situation as this it would be imperative to speak to someone at the company immediately. Thanks again for your help.

Lucienne

[Amaris0]

You are most welcome. The contact link I sent you has different contact options. Twitter and Facebook are very quick but I agree probably best to speak to someone re this one - 0203 318 1111; I've spoken to them twice in the last two weeks, once I held for approx 15 mins and the next time it was answered immediately, they were very helpful on both occasions and follow up with e-mail confirmations of the nature of the call and outcome. 

All the best, Ama