Airbnb's cancellation policy

[Nita1732]

I just had to cancel a reservation shortly after I accepted it because I forgot to block off time for the owner. I was fined a dollar amount which I think goes to the person that made the reservation. I will accept that. What I don't agree with is Airbnb will not open up the reservation. I only need a couple of days on the reservation and the rest of the days I could rent it out but they won't open it up. Airbnb is losing money. I called and I couldn't get anywhere. Anybody else have this problem? I talked to the party that made the reservation and they couldn't cancel on their end.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nita1732 Guests get very upset when hosts cancel. As such the penalty for cancellation needs to be quite severe. If hosts were allowed to open up dates then they could cancel and seek a higher paying guest for the same dates.

[Joan2709]

Hi @Nita1732 

Mistakes happen, but the blocking of the calendar is part of Airbnb's cancellation policies for the reasons  @Mike-And-Jane0 mention.

One option which might have been possible was to do a Reservation Alteration instead of cancelling the reservation, but of course we don't know the particulars of the reservation involved? Another option would be have the guest cancel and provide a full refund and then have them rebook other dates. That would have allowed your calendar to be open for other reservations instead of being blocked.