Last minute change: guest wants to check-out today!?

[Thais312]

Hello everyone,

I need some advice on how to proceed: my studio currently has a guest who was originally supposed to stay from Feb 18 to Mar 2, but they have requested to change the check-out date to today. I would lose payment for three nights.

My Airbnb has a moderate cancellation policy, but since this is an alteration, I would lose money because the platform does not treat it as a cancellation.

What can I do? How should I respond to the guest without taking a financial loss or risking a negative review?

Has anyone experienced this situation before?

[Guy991]

Hello @Thais312 ,

I have been dealing with a similar situation lately and I can tell you the following:

The bottom line is: be as positive as possible to the guest. Hide your disappointment and tell them that you understand and they can change their checkout date to today.

If you ask the guest for cancellation money, they will almost certainly leave a negative review, and Airbnb will not remove it. Even if a guest's review is one big lie, they won't take it down.

On the other hand, Airbnb won’t offer you the cancellation fee either. There is no cooperation from Airbnb customer service these days; expect a cold shoulder.

In my opinion, your only option is to smile and suffer the loss to make sure the guest won’t write a bad review.

[Helen3]

I don't agree on this one @Guy991 

I would advise the guest that I can't accept last minute change but if they want to cancel and I get the dates rebooked I would be happy to refund the guest fee once any new booking is completed. 

[Thais312]

Hi @Guy991 , thank you for sharing your experience!

Yes, I'm afraid that was the only possible scenario... I'm in contact with the Airbnb support team and waiting for guidance. When I have more information on what to do, I can share it here.

[Esther-Chukwu0]

Hi @Thais312 

This situation comes up more often than people expect, so you’re not alone.

First, your payout depends entirely on your cancellation policy. If you’re on a Strict or Moderate policy, the guest usually won’t be refunded automatically for unused nights unless you approve it. If you’re on Flexible, Airbnb may refund them.

That said, here are the best options to protect your income:

1. Do NOT approve the date change immediately
   If you accept the alteration, Airbnb will automatically recalculate and you’ll lose those 3 nights. Instead, ask the guest the reason for early departure and keep communication on the platform.

2. Offer a conditional refund
   You can tell the guest you’ll refund only the nights you are able to rebook. This is fair and commonly accepted.
   Example:
   “I’m happy to refund any nights that get rebooked, but I can’t guarantee a full refund due to the short notice.”

3. Contact Airbnb Support before agreeing
   Explain that the guest is leaving early but you are holding the calendar for them. Airbnb sometimes supports the host if it’s not a documented emergency.

How are other hosts handling this? Curious to hear different approaches.

[Helen3]

I see you're not a host @Esther-Chukwu0  so wondering what your advice is based on. Is it based on AI feedback? 

I would never advise contacting Airbnb about situations like this . 

[Thais312]

Thank you all, I'm talking to Airbnb support team, and waiting for instructions. 

[Elisa]

Hi @Thais312 😊, 

Thank you for sharing this situation here. It’s always great to double-check with our hosts.

What did you end up doing after reading our hosts’ suggestions and advice?

Looking forward to hearing from you!