Cancellation - refund request

[Alison1333]

Hi! We’re new hosts and we have a flexible cancellation policy (full refund until 12 am the day of the reservation). Someone booked with us and immediately cancelled. She reached out to request a full refund and said she only got €20 (we’re in the US). We did receive an email but it’s inconsistent with what she said. Any advice? Thank you! 

[Vivek143]

Hi @Alison1333 

Welcome to AIRBNB hosting!

If your cancellation policy is set to Flexible, and the guest cancelled immediately after booking and before check-in, they should generally be eligible for a refund according to Airbnb's cancellation terms. However, hosts don't process refunds directly through messages, and the payout emails can sometimes be confusing because they may show estimated amounts, adjustments, or fees separately.

My suggestion is to review the reservation details in your Airbnb account and check the cancellation record there. The guest should also be able to see a breakdown of any refund issued on their side. If the amounts don't seem to match the policy, the best next step is for the guest (or you) to contact Airbnb Support so they can review the reservation and explain exactly how the refund was calculated.

As a host, it's usually best not to send any money outside of Airbnb and to let Airbnb handle the refund process according to the reservation terms.

Let me know if it helps 👍🏻👍🏻

[Alison1333]

Thank you! 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Alison1333 

Guests have a free 24 hour cooling period with a full refund but you don't mention the dates for this reservation.  Was it a same day check-in maybe?

Airbnb handle all the payment side so don't refund your end.  Before when guests cancelled, they would get the cleaning fee refunded.  This is no longer the case so if you felt generous, you could refund this part if you have a cleaning fee of course.

That 20€ refund sounds more like a refund of a tourist tax but am only guessing as I don't have much to go on😉

[Alison1333]

Thank you! It wasn’t a same day but this totally answered our question. Appreciate your help!

[Shelley159]

Definitely don't refund anything from your side through "Send money" until you've checked with Airbnb @Alison1333 - they should be the ones processing the refund.

Refunds are not necessarily instant (you can ask Support to check the timing) and often amounts paid out are reduced by amounts owed to Airbnb. If this guest owed Airbnb money for any reason on another booking (either as a guest or if they're also a host), it's deducted from their next payout. 

It's also possible that the guest simply misunderstood how much they were refunded.

Only Support will be able to see what's going on.

[Alison1333]

Thank you!