Cancellation

[Denny55]

If I cancel a reservation with a host one time, can they refuse to agree to a future reservation?  I have read that hosts cannot see my cancellation history, though I certainly can.  Under "my trips," first the actual trips completed are listed.  Then the ones cancelled, whether due to the host cancelling or the guest cancelling.  It's not made clear.

The reason I ask is that last summer I did cancel a reservation (before a penalty hit).  I contacted the host about six weeks ago to make an inquiry, but she never responded.

Secondly, I did cancel another reservation last summer (again, before the last stated day without a penalty) as I found something more suitable.  This summer, the latter does not appear to be renting.  In any case, I'm interested in the reservation I cancelled (not the one in the previous paragraph).

I've been on airbnb probably close to ten years and have no issues.  But now I'm wondering about the effect of cancellations on my finding places on airbnb.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Denny55 If I were the host whom you cancelled on because you found something better I would be somewhat miffed. Given the choice why would I take a future booking from you knowing you are likely to cancel if you then find something better? There is a law in physics saying every action has a reaction (OK it says slightly more but I paraphrase). Clearly this law applies in other elements of life as well as physics.

[Denny55]

 Hosts state a cancellation policy and decide the time frame therein to cover risks and inconvenience. 

Previous hosts of mine have tightened their cancellation time frame from, for example, a week, to a month (without my having had anything to do with this).

The security net for the host is, analogous to a deposit for a landlord, is the cancellation policy.  If they think they will have any difficulty finding a new guest, they will and they do change their policy to reflect that concern.

Because of travel revenge, it's become necessary in many cases for guests to book at least half a year in advance, especially for the "star" hosts.

A lot can happen within half a year.  Plans change for many different reasons.

I will be going to Italy in a month.  The apartment I'll be staying in for three weeks I found through booking.com, which has no limitation on cancellations.  The financial penalty of canceling at the last minute, or even weeks before, is sufficient, apparently.

I have had hosts cancel on me, for various reasons, one of which is that they decide they want only a six-month rental rather than the 7 or 10 days I had reserved with them. 

On another platform, the host had "made a mistake" and, so she said, had someone already booked for the apartment.  She wrote me this on the day before I was to arrive at her place.  I had to scramble to find a place to stay.

It is the ratio of cancelled bookings to actual trips taken (or places stayed at) that is relevant.  A guest who travels 4-6 times a year is going to rack up more cancellations than a guest who travels only once a year.

It is a competitive situation for both hosts and guests.  I usually book with a host that has around a 4.6 star rating or above.  Star hosts seem to never have trouble finding customers, as I've almost always noted in the week or two after a past cancellation.  Their places are snapped up really quickly (San Francisco, Paris, among others, are places I go to frequently).

[Denny55]

But come to think of it, Airbnb is known for no longer being clearly competitive with hotels or platforms such as booking.com (which does not have a penalty based on the number of cancellations within a year).

Airbnb tries to justify its steep service fee by enumerating all the benefits it brings to guests who make reservations through its widely known platform.

But I am beginning to see the arbitrary number of cancellations policy to be just another way for Airbnb to increase its already generous profit margin, i.e., a way to make as much money and squeeze out of the guest.

I know there are hosts as well who are unhappy with airbnb's take-no-prisoners profits-at-all-costs (are they imitating amazon.com or have they come up with their ingenious modus operandi)?

In places like Venice and Paris, airbnb does not have a good reputation locally.  It turns neighborhoods into a collection of two-night stand motels and destroys the sense of community.

I think both hosts and guests are up against a behemoth whose sole raison-d'etre is to squeeze profits to a maximum.

I hope there will be a breaking point soon.  Hiring people in the Philipines who can barely speak English to serve as telephone representatives (mixed in with occasional Americans) is shocking.  I bet they get paid peanuts.  And talking over the phone is really an ordeal, as they're reading from a script and have no concrete idea what it is like to be a customer of this mega-business or the actual problems.  As a result, they are as often unhelpful as they are...

It wasn't this way even five years ago.

I'm hoping for an alternative to Airbnb, but that may be somewhat like hoping there will be an alternative to Amazon.  But Uber is no longer the only...in its field, so maybe...?

[Denny55]

There are many reasons why a guest would have to cancel.  How would you know that a guest had found a better "something better"?  Six or more months in advance of an actual visit:   Health concerns pop up.  Travel plans change.  A host may make changes.  New reviews make make clear that there are problems that were glossed over.  These are probably only just some of the reasons why a guest might cancel.

In the digital world, these changes take place without the host having to do much.  The digital calendar changes and new spots open up for those looking.  It's a boon for them, especially if it's a place at is usually sold out.

I constantly look for changes in booking, keeping my fingers crossed, of a place that was reserved before I could get to doing it.

This is the last time I will post to this forum, as I don't think neutrality and a spirit of wanting to really help others exists. 

It's a waste of  time.    I urge guests not to post here, as many if not most of the reponses may, in fact, come from NOT disinterested parties.

It is very upsetting to have a chorus of "naysayers" who refuse to even acknowledge, in the slightest, well-founded, well reasoned arguments.

There is little rational discussion, or an attempt to see "both sides of the coin."  (Many if not most Internet forums, I concede, are like this).

The intent of the original posting was to get clarity and information from actual other guests, as Airbnb reps were simpy coping and pasting (regurgitating) Airbnb policy paragraphs (that I had already read, anyway) without responding to, much less provide an answer, specific points I was asking about.

Amen.

[Helen3]

Hosts can block guests if they have concerns about a guest because of their communications with them or experience of hosting a guest.

If a guest told me they were cancelling because they had found a better deal I wouldn't accept a new booking from them @Denny55 

[Debbie210]

It’s definitely hard on us who are hosting, to accept your reservation, block out our rental for those dates to other guests, while you are locked in, then you are looking for better deals. 

[Mary5479]

with all my years as guest and then host with Airbnb, the only single thing i really learned is don’t cancel if Host isn’t into it. 

As @Debbie210 said, cancellation is very hard on Airbnb host since we don’t have a way to get a replacement booking. 

From a guest point of view, you probably don’t have full knowledge of the listing and your cancellation could always subject you to cancellation charges. 

Don’t cancel and just ask for a refund nicely if you think your price was high. and tell hosts you will be 100% happy.

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for participating in this thread. I've noticed that recent comments on this thread have derailed from the original concern that was posted and the conversation has gone off-topic; as such we're closing this thread.

For more information please read the Community Center Guidelines

Thanks,

Quincy