Had to refund, but airbnb kept my discount and fees

[Bethel12]

I didn't realize my settings were on "instant booking" instead of "message me first" and I had to refund a guests stay because I wasn't ready to host that night. Is it possible to get the rest of my money back from airbnb for a stay that never happened?

[Bethel12]

Just to clarify, I lost out on the fee and 17% discount, which was kept by the platform

[Hello6]

Hi @Bethel12 

Best bet is to write them directly and / or contact Airbnb and ask them.

When we first started, we had same day bookings, sometimes we would be out for an evening and have to race home to make space. 

We have kept:

 - instant booking;

We have adjusted, for better control and work / life balance:

 - no same day bookings;

 - previous day booking for next day cut-off time set at 1500;

 - flexible check-in based on pre-booked check-in time based on host available hours with host greeting guests in person;

- self checkout with a fixed time limit of 12 noon latest checkout;

- 3 night minimum and 31 night maximum;

- flexible Cancellation;

- timed messages and stock information messages repeating address and contact number in each message;

Good luck.

[Bethel12]

Thank you! great info

[Trude0]

Welcome! 

I very much doubt you will be able to get the money back from Airbnb, I wouldn’t even waste time trying. 

Airbnb are really pushing Instant Booking, and I think it is the default setting for new listings. When (if) you turn it off, they will make you think you are making the dumbest mistake ever…😏 But do it anyway. 

If you are not ready to host/if there are nights you don’t want to host, your calendar should not be open - even if you switch to Request to Book, declining several requests can hurt your rank in searches. 

I suggest you check your settings, and think carefully about which settings suit you. I would recommend:

- Don’t use Instant Booking

- Don’t use Smart Pricing

- For the calendar/availability, choose ”Dates unavailable by default”, and manually open only dates you are sure you want to host

- Don’t accept same-day bookings, as you will want to have time to vet the guests before accepting/declining. I have a 2-day lead-time (there is a setting for this).

- Don’t do same-day turnovers (check out and check in on the same day) - can be very stressful, especially if a guest is late checking out, or leaves the place needing more cleaning than usual (there is a setting that automatically blocks days before/after bookings)

- Carefully consider if you want to accept 1-night bookings - is there a risk of attracting the wrong kind of guests? 

- If you are considering accepting long term stays, read up on the warnings here. 

- Scammers target new hosts. You might be contacted by ”guests” with no reviews, inquiring about longer stays, and asking you to send more photos/films off platform (cannot be sent via Airbnb chat). Never communicate off platform. Reply to the message, then click to report the profile to Airbnb.

- Read up on the difference between inquiries and requests to book - with inquiries you don’t need to pre-aporove/decline, only answer with a message. 

Good luck!