Last minute cancelation

[Julie6402]

Hello!

Hoping for some guidance. New host here  - about 1 month to be exact. I have a unique situation. Our property and surrounding area were spared from Hurricane Helene though parts of nearby Asheville were flooded. 

A client, who I've been keeping in close contact with since the storms regarding travel routes, power outages, etc. has just requested to cancel their planned stay starting tomorrow. Background: she and husband were to attend a wedding scheduled for the following weekend in a nearby (unaffected) mountain town. They found out today that the wedding has been canceled and they no longer wish to travel.

Guest is asking to invoke the Major Disasterous Events policy, though it clearly doesn't apply. My cancellation policy is 7 days. 

Travel to/from my area is unimpeded and I cannot re- rent my unit on such short notice. This is also our busiest time of year and we count on this revenue to get through the winter months.

I don't want to risk a bad review if we don't refund them. Should I decline the refund? Is offering a credit for future booking an option?

Thanks,

Julie

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Julie6402 

This is a regional disaster, for sure. I cannot advise you, just share that my personal decision would be easy. Full refund, no questions asked. It is the better business decision imho, as well as what the golden rule tells me about life and relationships. For me, this is a people business, and for me it is very long term. No matter what I am selling, for me it all boils down to service, and relationships. I'd give the guest a refund, assure them that I understand the situation and hope to welcome them at another time, perhaps when the wedding is rescheduled.  Putting myself in the guests' shoes, I'd be more inclined to return to your home at another time, and to recommend you to friends as a gracious host. Just my version of this story.... The decision is yours, and do let us all know what you decide. 

[Matthew-And-Karen0]

Full refund. We are doing this for a guest who had to cancel (Sylva area). We've refunded in full many guests who've canceled for other reasons not nearly as catastrophic. 

Then consider adding your space on airbnb.ORG which is the charitable arm of airbnb, and allows you to offer reduced rate or free stays to first responders and displaced residents. Airbnb waives their fees, and you still get their full insurance coverage for anyone staying. I just got off the phone with airbnb asking about this as there was nothing that popped up in the app regarding this option, despite our listing obviously being in the affected area. Go to airbnb.org and click through the prompts to set it up. Once enrolled you control pricing/availability from the app as normal, and can turn the .org availability on/off as well.

[Shelley159]

@Julie6402 

You could unofficially offer them credit on a future booking (in other words deny the refund now and later, when the wedding does take place, send a special offer for the new dates, taking the amount already paid for this reservation into account). The guests will, however, have no guarantee that you will honour this arrangement and there's a chance your place may be booked by the time the new wedding date is set. Also, if you deny the refund, there's a small risk that the guests may show up and stay (somewhat against their will) and perhaps leave a negative review.

You say that it is your busiest time of year: are you sure you cannot re-rent at short notice? Many hosts tell guests that they will refund nights that end up being booked by another guest.

[Julie6402]

Thank you to all for your suggestions and feedback.

Prior to responding to the guest, I explained that I meeded to seek assistance regarding the request and would get back to this later today. I tried reaching out to the guest to open a dialog, but they had already canceled.  

What do I do now? Is a refund even possible at this point?

Thank you so much!

Julie

[Matthew-And-Karen0]

You can manually refund their payment. Go to the reservation Details page and scroll to the bottom.

Here's my protocol: Call Airbnb support first.  Ask if any portion of the guest payment has already been refunded, if so in what amount, and tell them I'll be refunding part/all of the host payout from my side. That way it's at least all in their ear. Then I message the guest with all the details including amounts to be refunded from both myself and Airbnb so there's another redundancy in the paper trail. It's a CYA move and worth the few minutes imho.

[Julie6402]

Thank you!

[Lorina14]

@Julie6402 

You got some great advice here from the other hosts. I would refund them completely and wish them the best. If you put yourself into their shoes, I would hope the host has some compassion for the situation as the wedding got cancelled and what has happened. They will appreciate your kindness and would likely book your space in the future. However a bad review hurts hosts a lot more than some lost revenue from a stay. You have to wager what you feel is the best from a business/personal point of view. 

Another possibility is to apologize for the situation, advise on your cancellation policy, and say that you are happy to refund any nights that are covered with another booking but at this time their booking blocked your calendar during the busiest season. I’ve had to do this for someone who on the day of the reservation cancelled as they booked a ticket for the wrong month and didn’t double check before the day of. Luckily someone booked that day late in the afternoon and I refunded the guest their entire stay. 

You can call Airbnb customer support and ask for assistance in refunding the guest so they receive the refund you agreed to/you decide to give them.