Current Guest wants to cancel due to having A BABY!

[Tami1]

My current guest who's been a challenge due to not disclosing her 3 children at the time of booking, just phoned me from the hospital where she just gave birth to child #4.   I couldn't tell she was expecting!   She wants to cancel the last 4 nights of her stay due to them having to keep her baby in the  NICU, therefore she is  also staying there.   This is another first in 10+ years of being a host!  

I am willing to refund her however all their "stuff" is still here.    I already messaged superb-host support but I wanted your opinions.  Thanks so much!  Tami

[Lorina14 · Accepted solution]

@Tami1

Wow! That is a first. Does she have family that can come and pack up her items in your Airbnb so you can clean it and make the space ready for new guest?

I understand the circumstances and say a partial refund is warranted but a full refund if all her stuff is still there and you are losing potential revenue? It makes sense a full refund if they vacate the premises. But if they left their stuff there then they are essentially occupying it and preventing you from receiving revenue. 

What did Airbnb support offer as a suggestion? Has there been other incidences of this on record? 

[Helen3]

Why would you want to refund the guests if their stuff is still there @Tami1 

Personally I would say to the guest that any cancellation will be processed under the cancellation policy they booked under, once they have checked out. 

they would have known there was a risk the baby would come early . Why should you be out of pocket ?

[Jennifer1897]

Having a baby is not exactly a surprise event, and I am sure she knew her expected due date and the probability that the baby could come early or late depending on that date. It's unfortunate that the baby has to stay in the NICU and I'm sure she didn't expect that, however as with most reservations (hotel, airbnb or otherwise) once the reservation has started a refund due to early departure is rare.

That being said, all her belongings are still in the home. It's not a case where she vacated early and left the place available where you could potentially get another reservation and offer her a refund based on that. Additionally, someone would have to take on the tasks of packing her things which some hosts are not comfortable with doing given the liability factor.

You mentioned she had 3 children at check in, is the rest of her family also staying at the hospital? or would there be someone who could return to officially get everything packed and picked up?

I know people will disagree with me, but I would not offer a refund unless I was able to rebook some of her dates.  I have sympathy for her, but Airbnb is also a needed source of income and livelihood for most hosts, and they should have the ability to uphold their cancellation policies 

[Rebecca]

Hey there @Tami1 👋 

What an interesting situation; what did you decide to do in the end? 

Looking forward to hearing from you, 

Rebecca 🌟