1st guest booked is a no show

[Susan5638]

Hi everyone I need some help please. I have my first booking I accepted from 2/1/24-2/6/24. Check in time was 10 this morning. I had written messages to the person with instructions on how to use the key pad on the door since I was going to be at work and to let him know I had two accounts by accident and was updating the one he requested the stay on and deleting the other one. He never responded and didn't show up. I texted his phone number this morning and no response.  Maybe he is still coming and maybe not??? It's stressful. I have flexible status as far as cancellations and no shows. Can anyone please guide me on this? I feel like I'm waiting around and then wondering if I am going to get paid for the day or the time frame he booked? Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me understand how this works. 

[Alicia753]

Hi @Susan5638 Try reaching out to the guest again through Airbnb's messaging platform. It's possible they missed your earlier messages or had an unexpected change of plans. If the guest continues to be unresponsive and you're concerned about the situation, consider contacting Airbnb support for assistance. They can provide guidance on how to handle the situation and may be able to reach out to the guest on your behalf. As a host, you may still receive your payout and any refunds will be based on your cancellation policy. It is still better if you contact Airbnb support about this for further assistance with your guest being unresponsive. Hope this helps! 

[Susan5638]

Thank you. My first messages were only through Airbnb because I remember reading it's smarter to have everything documented. The text was my last attempt. I think I am going to wait and see if he shows up or responds. If nothing changes I will check with Airbnb thank you. I was hoping someone had experience with this situation 

[Rebecca]

Hi there @Susan5638, 

What happened with this guest in the end? Did they show up or communicate with you? 

Looking forward to your reply, 

Rebecca

[Susan5638 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Rebecca. He didn't show up. I called Airbnb and they also tried to reach him and they got no response. They said an option would be to cancel and I would only be paid possibly for two days. I decided to not cancel and see if he showed and he didn't show or respond so the time ended and I got paid the full amount. I really was hoping he would get in touch and I would have worked with him on another stay equal to what he booked. It's so strange that he wouldn't respond and I hope nothing bad happened to him. 

[Susan5638]

Oh and I didn't give him a review because his prior ones were really good and either something happened or he has enough money that losing it doesn't matter???

[Rebecca]

How very odd! It sounds like you did everything you could to get in touch with them - a very easy first booking indeed! 

[Juan2984]

I had something similar happen to me once before, it was only for one night and I did end up getting a hold of them saying that they were not able to make it but they never asked for a refund. How I would handle your situation: You did your due diligence by contacting the guest multiple times, bare in mind that your cancellation policy is well honored by Airbnb so that being said if the guest comes back and demand a refund, Airbnb will honor your cancellation policy. If a guest becomes aggressive or demanding you can tell them to call airbnb because the cancellation policy is as such, they will call airbnb and ultimately they won't be able to fight their way into a full refund because airbnb will call you and you can tell them no. If anybody ever becomes aggressive or demanding and you do your part, airbnb will always back you up. General rule is to try to keep most communication in the airbnb app so everything is well documented. If a guest tries to retaliate by giving you a bad review you can also call airbnb, explain the situation and get the review removed. Hope that helps, that is definitely an odd way to start your host experience but I promise most bookings are normal experiences.