Guest chargeback? - Guest trying to override my cancellation policy prior to his arrival

[Kim-And-Hamid0]

Hello,

I have a guest that wants to cancel his reservation 1 day prior to arrival (he booked with us 3 months ago) as he has acknowledged he made a mistake on his scheduling dates. I have a strict cancellation policy and per my policy, he isnt entitled to any refunds. I offered him a 25% refund if he would cancel prior to arrival so that I could have a chance to find someone else to take part of his dates. However, the guest is very greedy and wants a full refund even though he has acknowledged he is at fault. Now, he is demanding that if I dont give him a full refund, he will be seeking a chargeback against Airbnb on his credit card. Is this something that guests can do and win on?

I was under the impression that Airbnb charges and collects the funds from the guests at the time of booking. If guests can do this, what is the point of Airbnb or having a cancellation policy?

[Lodge102]

@Kim-And-Hamid0 To address a guest's threat of a chargeback while trying to override your cancellation policy, the most practical approach is to maintain clear communication and stick to your established policy. Inform the guest politely but firmly that the cancellation policy was agreed upon at booking and must be upheld. Document all communications with the guest for evidence. Simultaneously, reach out to Airbnb support immediately, providing them with all relevant details of the situation, including the guest's acknowledgment of their mistake and your offered compromise. Airbnb's policies are designed to protect hosts in such situations, and their resolution center can help mediate and potentially prevent the chargeback. This approach ensures you adhere to your policy while seeking Airbnb’s support to resolve the dispute.
[Content generated by AI]

[Alicia753 · Accepted solution]

@Kim-And-Hamid0 Airbnb does indeed charge and collect funds from guests at the time of booking. The payment process is designed to protect both hosts and guests by holding the funds until after the check-in date to ensure both parties are satisfied. 

If your guest threatens that he will file a chargeback against Airbnb, most likely he will declare it as an unauthorized transaction, for him to win a chargeback, they would typically need to provide evidence to their credit card issuer that it was indeed an unauthorized transaction. 

Airbnb has policies and departments in place to handle disputes and chargebacks. They may represent the host in disputes, provide documentation of their cancellation policy, and attempt to show that the service was provided as agreed or that the cancellation policy was clear and agreed upon at the time of booking. In these kinds of cases, the Host's policies will still stand as it will be hard to file for a chargeback without valid documentation. Hope this helps!