Cancellation

[Tracey708]

Hi so looking for some advice. 
I had a booking yesterday for Monday to Friday and the guest wanted to cancel after check in time as we are on an island and he stated he didn’t realise this. 
So update is that I asked him to cancel through Airbnb I documented this on my messages with him also stating I was happy with him having a refund.

 
Today it looks like he hasn’t bothered to do this. I’m still showing hosting and obviously no one can book with us due to this. He’s not replied to my messages where I asked him to contact Airbnb and cancel. 
is there anything else I should do ?

[Shelley159]

At this point I would message the guest on their phone number @Tracey708 and ask them to please log on to Airbnb and cancel, as your calendar is blocked.

Do this only to get the guest's attention (as they're not reading the Airbnb message), then try to move the conversation back to the Airbnb app.

In your exchanges with the guest, keep in mind that a cancellation after check-in day can still review you, despite not actually checking in ...

[Shelley159]

@Tracey708 most important thing here - you need to prevent this from happening again. 

I looked at your listing and - as someone who doesn't know the area - could've made the same mistake as your guest. It looks like you have the "show approximate location until after booking" feature turned on?

For me the map seems to show you on the mainland. 

You can leave the setting that way if you want to, but to avoid misunderstandings you'll need to make it very clear in your listing and your initial messages that you're on an island. 

[Tracey708]

Thank you very much I’ve remained polite and I’ll look at the location settings to see if I can improve this. 
thanks again. 

[Alex]

Hi @Tracey708, 

Did the guest replied yet? Or are you still waiting for his answer? Let us know if you have any questions while following Shelley's instructions. 

Best, 

Alex

[Tracey708]

Hi Alex do he didn’t even attempt to cancel until yesterday evening when I explained those dates were still held for him and it was showing I was hosting. Then he cancelled. 
he then messaged saying thanks very much it should of been me that cancelled and that he had lost money because he had to cancel it. 
I apologised again. Finding it all a bit stressful actually. He said he had screenshots of our conversations but I replied that I was merely helping him with his cancellation. 
I even offered to try to refund any money that came to me which I thought was fair as he didn’t stay.  Wasn’t sure even about that when he seemed to be holding off with the cancellation and those dates were obviously not available for people to see that may if booked my apartment in this lovely weather. 
Anyway he has cancelled now and I have been asked to write a review for him which I’m not sure what to write. 
I’m also stressed wondering what he will write for my review as it says he will write one also.