Host left with no Booking.. as Guest is entitled to a Full Refund. Possible Loophole?

[Cian7]

This is a general question, regarding Guests cancelling their Reservation within their grace 24hr Cancellation Period.

Hypothetical scenario :
- Guest books this afternoon for to stay with us tomorrow night.
- Guest then cancels their reservation between this afternoon and tomorrow night
- Host is then unlikely to get the vacancy filled.

Is that Cancelling Guest (technically cancelling their Reservation within their 24hr grace Cancellation period) Are they still entitled to a Full Refund from the Host?

Thanks,

Cian

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Cian7 the 48 hr cancellation window does not apply if the stay is within 2 weeks. What you may be referring to is the situation where Airbnb waits 24 hrs to try to confirm identity or get payment fro a guest. In this case then the host's property is blocked and they may lose out.

[Cian7 · Accepted solution]

Error on my part - Mixed up the 48 Hour strict cancellation timeframe from the time a booking is made by a Guest..

But ok, that sorts that.. so in essence a last minute Guest who books, would then lose the right to freely Cancel (get a full refund) if their Booking date was within 14 days to their arrival.

 - Ok cool, understood 😉 

[Anthony223]

Hi Cian.  I also get confused by this one. I think it's pretty unfair for the host's property to get blocked for 24 hours. Fortunately it's a very rare scenario and I think it's only ever happened to us three times.  Best regards from Anthony

[Renee291]

Check out the various cancelation policies available for your listing.  

There is no policy that allows the scenario you describe. Be sure you are comfortable with your policy. 

As @Mike-And-Jane0 states, it sounds like the guest booked with an issue such as no ID, or no payment method and Airbnb gave them 24 hours to rectify, and they didn't.  I had something similar happen to me and I was not comfortable with it. My guest would have actually been able to check in within the window they gave. 

In this scenario your calendar is blocked and if they don't respond to Airbnb, the reservation is canceled, you are not paid, and there's little chance you'll rebook.

[Cian7]

Error on my part - Mixed up the 48 Hour strict cancellation timeframe from the time a booking is made by a Guest.