Guest Leaves early

[Melissa2577]

I have a guest who booked for 7 days.  They have 2 more nights before they check out. They just messaged me and said they had an emergency and had to leave this morning.  They asked about getting some money back.  There is no time for me to rent it for those 2 days as I have another guest coming in.  Is the guest entitled to a refund?  I have never had this come up and I want to make sure I handle correctly. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Melissa2577 Unless you have a flexible cancellation policy AND the guest has actually cancelled the stay then you do not need to refund anything. I would reply nicely explaining as you cannot now rent those days then you are sorry but cannot refund them.

[Alicia753]

@Melissa2577 This is something at your discretion, but I won't recommend refunding the guest for the unspent nights as you won't be able to rent those nights last minute. Whatever your decision, communicate it clearly and kindly to your guest. If you decide to offer a refund, explain how and when they should expect it. If not, gently remind them of your cancellation policy and express empathy for their situation. Remember, if you're unsure about how to proceed, you can always contact Airbnb support for guidance on handling these situations. Hope this helps! 

[Kia272]

@Melissa2577  Whatever you decide, I don't recommend "you can always contact Airbnb support for guidance on handling these situations." as the other poster suggested. 

The customer support reps are neither well trained nor objective, and their go-to response would be for you to refund the guest, because AirBnB is blatantly guest-centric, and wants guests to be happy all of the time, regardless of the circumstances. They hand out refunds right and left without consulting hosts, and frequently without regard to AirBnB's own policies. 

Whatever you decide, you should handle it on your own. Good luck.