A Guest requested to change reservation after checked-in

[Tatyana70]

I had a mid-term guest for 3 months (first time), but after staying 2 months she told me that her job being cut short, she wants to change her reservation and now leaving one month earlier (32 days earlier). I have a strict cancellation policy. I rejected her request and told her that  I’m unable to accept the request due to the short notice, it’s not enough time to find booking replacement. I discounted the rates for her considering the length of the stay. She left, my house is empty now for the whole month and no one can book because the entire month shows booked. Is it any way I can open those booked days since the house is actually available and try to get some bookings? 

[Rebecca]

I see what you mean @Sandra856. The only thing I could suggest to do, is share your feedback with Airbnb.  Whilst they may not reply to your query directly, they read all feedback and will share with the relevant team. 😊

[Sandra856]

@Emilia42  They must be able to cancel somehow? Imagine a guest that booked under the flexible cancellation policy not being able to cancel and get refunded as they should be? 
I wish it was possible to see how it looks like. Unfortunately I don’t have any upcoming bookings myself so I can’t have a look and see what the current cancellation procedure looks like. 

[Helen3]

They just hit the cancellation button on their booking confirmation @Sandra856 

[Sandra856]

@Helen3 @Emilia42  says it is not an option - maybe Airbnb buried the option to cancel? It must be possible to cancel from the guest’s side otherwise a guest with a flexible cancellation policy wouldn’t get refunded. 

[Emilia42]

@Helen3 @Sandra856 My recent guest was unable to cancel once the reservation had begun. The only option (when pushing the cancel button) was to "Ask the host to change the reservation" which brought them to the request a date change page. 

[Sandra856]

@Emilia42  It says instead of cancelling- it gives the guest another option. But it doesn’t say it can’t be cancelled. 
It doesn’t make sense that a guest can’t cancel because the guest will then be reliable for the reservation even after the guest has left. Your guest maybe wasn’t used to the system and didn’t know what to do? A guest who booked under the flexible cancellation policy would then not be able to get refunded. It doesn’t make sense - it makes more sense that Airbnb has made it more difficult for the guest to cancel and are offering different options. 

[Emilia42]

@Sandra856 

It doesn't make sense, that is why it's frustrating. This is a seasoned Airbnb guest with over 30 stays. I told her to push the "Cancel Reservation" button and the picture I posted is the screen shot she received. There was no option to cancel after she actually pushed the cancel button. It only allowed her to "Make a Change." We both tried for a long time and couldn't find any why to officially cancel.

P.S. I have a moderate Cancellation policy so she still would have received a small refund if able to cancel.

[Sandra856]

This is Airbnb who explains how to cancel a reservation:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/169?_set_bev_on_new_domain=1717846948_ODRmZDk3MmE0NzZl

[Sandra856]

Maybe the mods can help us understand what have happened? 

[Emilia42]

@Sandra856 Honestly? Fat chance. We are never given answers to any of these technical questions from any official Airbnb person. We just have to guess or wait in limbo forever while they "pass along" the info. 

[Sandra856]

@Emilia42 It is quite a big change - that a guest is no longer able to cancel a reservation. A guest is still reliable for the place as long as the booking isn’t officially cancelled. The calendar will stay blocked and the guest won’t get refunded. I’m just fed up.  

[Sandra856]

Maybe @Bhumika or @Quincy could help us /explain the procedure if a guest needs to cancel? Are they no longer able to cancel from their side as they have been for the last 10 years I have been hosting?  

[Emilia42]

@Sandra856 I know how to cancel a reservation. A guest would need to click the cancel reservation button. That is exactly what my guest did. And the screen shot I posted is what happened next.

[Sandra856]

I know that @Emilia42 - Airbnb just doesn’t explain that it is no longer possible to cancel a reservation. They haven’t updated what to do if you need to cancel - they should write that it is no longer possible to cancel and to get a refund - if that is the case. What are they doing? I have blocked my calendar from mid July and will no longer take bookings. I feel so furious about the whole platform and how it treats us hosts. We are not informed of any changes. 

[Sandra856]

@Emilia42 What happened when you closed the pop up window (there is a cross in the right corner - if you press on the picture you will be able to see the pop up window in full including the cross)?