Issued refund instead of altering reservation

[Eliza4256]

I am a relatively new host and have had to deal with my first refund scenario. 

I had some lovely guests who encountered an issue with the refrigerator not functioning. As I couldn’t have it fixed ASAP I offered them a refund for the remaining nights and they booked a different accommodation. 

To start the refund I visited the help centre which directed me to the “send or request money” link on the reservation. 

The booking was for 7 nights, of which the guests stayed just 1.  I took the total amount paid by the guests, divided by seven nights to get the nightly amount they paid including taxes and fees and refunded them for 6 of the 7 nights. 

I received my payout a couple hours later from Airbnb but of course the host payout has had taxes and service fees deducted from the full 7 night reservation. 

I spoke on the phone with an Airbnb service supervisor who informed me that there is no way for me as the host to be refunded for the taxes and services fees for the 6 nights the guests didn’t stay.  My host payout was only $300 for the full reservation and I refunded the guests exactly what they paid, $500. I have lost $200 as a result 😐

Has anyone made this mistake and is there any recourse other than asking the guest for the money back and then changing the reservation dates in the app? Or do I just take the lesson ….. thanks 

[Emilie]

Hi @Eliza4256, 

The beginning of one's hosting journey is always full of learnings, however the community is here to help you along the way! I wanted to check in and see if you'd heard more from the Support team since your post here?

It would be great to know how everything unfolded in the end -if you'd still like some advice as well, perhaps some of our other experiences hosts like @Patricia2526 or @Shelley159 would have some nuggets of wisdom to share on how to approach these situations next time!

Thanks 🙂

Emilie

[Patricia2526]

Hi @Eliza4256 & @Emilie 

I’ll just treat it as a valuable lesson moving forward.

Guests can shorten their stay by modifying their reservation dates, before or during their trip, and Airbnb will automatically process the refund based on your cancellation policy and availability.

If the Guest Changes the Dates Themselves (Shortens Stay)

• The guest must go to their reservation → “Change reservation.”
• They can change the check-out date to leave earlier.
• You will receive a change request you must approve it.
  

Once you accept, Airbnb automatically recalculates the total cost, deducts unused nights, and refunds the guest directly, adjusting your payout accordingly.

Do not issue any refund until payout is complete

That way, you know your baseline and aren’t guessing. That way, you’re not paying back more than you earned, and you still show goodwill by refunding fairly for the nights not used.

[Joan2709]

@Eliza4256 

Be very cautious when receiving requests from guests to change dates on a reservation. There are several loopholes and scams. It is better to send the reservation alteration to the guest as the Host and have the guest accept it.

I sent you a Direct Message about this.