Refund a Guest After Cancelation Period

[Russ474]

Greetings;

I have a guest who was due to check in tomorrow, but now cannot because of an emergency. I'm sympathetic to his situation and want to refund his reservation despite it being within the "no refund" window.  I'm confused reading the help topics as to the best way to do this.

If they cancel the reservation, will I have the option to issue a refund to him when he does that? Will one (or both of us) be out fees?

Thank you,

Russ

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Russ474 Whatever you do do not cancel yourself. Get the guest to cancel and then get them to call Airbnb with a sob story. Then when Airbnb ask you for a full refund agree to give it to the guest. That way the guest should get 100% of what they have paid returned to them.

[Russ474]

.@Mike-And-Jane0 Thanks for the answer. Yes, I know better than to cancel it myself. I was just wondering if I'll get an automatic option to approve or decline the refund, or if the guest has to contact AirBnB to get that started. 

[Alicia753 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Russ474 as an Airbnb host, you have the flexibility to issue a refund to a guest who cancels their reservation due to an emergency, even if your cancellation policy would typically not allow for a full refund. 

Ensure that the guest has already canceled their reservation. This can be verified in your booking history or reservations list. Since it's your guest who needs to cancel, wait for them to initiate the cancellation from their side, that way, you won't have any cancellation penalties as a Host.

In the Resolution Center, choose the reservation for which you want to issue a refund. You may need to enter the booking details or select it from a list of reservations. Select the option to 'Send Money' to the guest. This is typically used for issuing refunds. 

Specify the amount you want to refund. You can choose to issue a full or partial refund based on the situation. Also, you will need to provide a reason for the refund. Be clear and concise, for instance, "Refunding due to guest's emergency cancellation".

Once you're sure about the details, submit your refund request. Airbnb will process the refund, and the amount will be deducted from your account and credited back to the guest’s original payment method.

[Russ474]

Thank you so much for the information and clear instructions. We really appreciate it!

[Breanna]

Some really detailed info from @Alicia753 there! Please let us know if you were able to refund this guest using those steps @Russ474  😊

[Russ474]

 Hi @Breanna ;

What's confusing me at the moment is the process.  The total amount of the reservation is about $606. Today is check in, so of course I haven't received any money to refund. When I go to the resolution center, it says I can refund "up to" $47.47.  I wasn't expecting to have to send them money from my bank account, rather simply tell AirBnB that I don't want their money. Where does the $47 come from, and why and I expected to send money when I haven't received any?

[Breanna]

It should definitely be handled through Airbnb. Have you reached out to support? You can message them over in the Help Center. 

[Russ474]

.@Breanna  Thank you again for the response. To be honest, I'm taking the track that this is the guest's problem, and I'm not going to make it my problem. I asked them to reach out to support and request the refund and I would support their request when AirBnB asked me.  Maybe that's harsh? I just feel like I've struggled with this for too long for just trying to be considerate. 

[Breanna]

That doesn't sound harsh to me if the guest is the one canceling! And that's what @Mike-And-Jane0 suggested as well 😊

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Russ474 Not harsh at all. The guest needs to play a part in getting their money back. If they don't then I guess they want you to keep the money.