Pricing Issue during Peak Event

[Carla1358]

Hello,

The University of Oregon in Eugene, OR, is hosting the World Athletic Championships in Track and Field July 14th--24th. I adjusted my pricing during these dates to be aligned with supply and demand, but was still a very good deal. I had a booking for 3 weeks from a traveling nurse during this time who wasn't even going to the event. She cancelled night before last. A young student from Belgium booked the next day July 13th-20th. Because he booked on the 13th, which didn't have the price adjustment, Airbnb, charged him a much lower rate for the whole week! I called Airbnb and they told me my options. One of which was to change my rate to the asking price for those dates starting July 1st. then ask the guest to cancel and rebook at the appropriate rate. The guest was responsive and said this: 

Would it be possible to just invoice me the remaining amount?
I think if I cancel I may not be able to immediately rebook as my credit card won't immediately get the amount I paid now back and I won't have enough left to rebook again (since I also paid my flights with this credit card). In Belgium there is a limit for students to be able to spend each month. Hence, I would have to wait for AirBnb to repay me and I am afraid that this booking will be gone by then.

Unwittingly, I gave him until June 3rd to make the payment. If I don't receive it by then, I will release the reservation. I asked him for his email address to request the payment via PayPal, but he hasn't responded. He has no reviews and only a WhatsApp phone number, no email on the reservation. I'm concerned this is not a good situation. What do you suggest? 

Thanks!

Carla 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Carla1358 I would move to a Strict cancellation policy and then you won't get these last minute cancellations.

[Carla1358]

Done! I opted for the Strict cancellation policy and Non-Refundable option with discount. In the last hour I just had another cancellation! Since I've been live in April I've had 4-5 cancellations. It sucks! Thanks for the advice. 

Carla 

[Emilia42]

@Carla1358 So this guest already has a confirmed reservation and is willing to pay more when you explained the situation? I am really confused why Airbnb Customer Service didn't advise you to request a reservation change with an updated price (using the Change/Cancel Button and following the prompts to increase the nightly rate.)

[Carla1358]

Hi Emilia,

Hmm. Of course, I haven't heard of this option. I'm pretty sure I spoke to someone in a call center in India. 

Thank you for the tip. 

I may do that now. It will likely raise his fees which may be another reason why he asked to be invoiced. 

Thank you so much!

Carla 

[Emiel1]

@Carla1358 

You are responsible for the correct pricing of your listing(s).  There are multiple ways to check if future bookings will reflect the amounts you expect. So once a booking is made, it is final. It is not common to ask guests for more money. I am suprised the guest will cooperate on this  and astonished  about the weird advise from Airbnb CS :

"I called Airbnb and they told me my options. One of which was to change my rate to the asking price for those dates starting July 1st. then ask the guest to cancel and rebook at the appropriate rate. "

if(!) the price must be changed, then ofcourse the advise from @Emilia42  is the only correct answer.

Airbnb CS should read this community more often to educate themself.

[Carla1358]

Thank you for your input; I appreciate it. 

If I attempt to do this, how long does he have to pay? And, if he refuses, what happens next? 

Carla 

[Carla1358]

Hello,

It is my understanding that I have the option to cancel up to 3 guests during a period of time (not sure how long). Is this correct? If I do this, I would need to go through the Airbnb call center to assure its done correctly. 

Thanks.