Last minute cancellations

[Peter1360]

We have just had a last minute cancellation where the guest claims they didn't know we had a No Pet policy, I believe this guest knew all along that we had this policy and left it to the last day to inform us that they didn't know this and hope that we would have a change of mind knowing that we would have difficulty getting new guests at the last moment, here is a copy of my message to Airbnb. Have any of you experienced the same issue?

Message to Airbnb

"we have just had a cancellation, where the guests now only finds out we don't allow pets and asked us to make allowances for their pet.
I agree with the need for a cancellation policy but when we clearly stipulate that pets are not allowed one can only assume the guest knew this and waits for the last moment to say they didn't realize there was a no pet policy in the hope we would bend the rules. We are now our of a 3 night booking with little chance of filling this space at the last moment.
I don't think the guest should be refunded."

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Peter1360 Forget the pets thing - That is a red herring. The issue you have is that you have a Flexible cancellation policy so the guest can cancel up to the day before their booking and get a full refund. Having this policy means you will likely get more bookings BUT all of these bookings are at risk of cancellation. Guests can book your place and then, a few weeks or days before their stay they can see if something better/cheaper is available. If it is then they will cancel with you and book elsewhere. With oversupply of accommodation in many markets this is more and more likely to happen. I should also add that with your policy they can also cancel during the stay if, for example, the weather is bad!

But you do have a choice - Either accept the odd cancellation or change your policy to Strict of Firm for future bookings. We use Strict and accept we may lose a few people who don't book with us but can be fairly confident that those who do book will turn up!

[Peter1360]

Thanks for the response, I thoroughly agree with the red herring, as it is easier to tell us the gold fish died rather than saying they found a cheaper accommodation. We will decide whether to change it to "strict"

Best Wishes

Peter