I had a guest make a reservation for a 30 day stay in March for the following January. About a month before check in I receive a message from Airbnb:
"The attempt to charge your guest, (guest name), for the amount due for reservation (reservation number) from (date range) was unsuccessful. The reservation is still active at this time, and we've sent (guest name) an email alert with a direct way to pay the balance.
If your guest doesn't successfully submit payment or if they cancel the reservation before making the payment, Airbnb isn't liable for issuing your host payout. If you prefer to cancel the reservation, you can cancel without penalty at any time before the trip begins."
More messages followed:
"However, if we are unable to collect the payment for this booking by (date about 3 weeks before check in ), we will have to cancel the reservation for lack of payment."
Another:
"Since the check-in date is (check in date), you may cancel the booking in your Airbnb account and open your calendar to someone else who can complete their payment."
How can this be? This is in violation of Airbnb's policy. I can not enforce my cancellation policy in this case. Support told me they did collect but that there was a mix up with the credit cards. This makes no sense.
Any suggestions for how to avoid this in the future and how to bring this up formally with Airbnb?