Refund after guest cancelled

[James--Pad-A-Terre-0]

A guest confirmed she wanted to cancel and per the cancellation policy was due a 50% refund.  She said she also wanted a refund of the non refundable amount.  When I refused she suggested she would then hold onto the reservation for as long as she possibly could which (4 months( at which point she could still cancel and get the same 50% back.  Facing a blocked calendar this forced me to negotiate with her and I agreed to refund her 50% of the non refundable rental amount.  Instead of paying her 50% of the rental amount then charging me a commission on the remaining amount, airbnb calculated my 100% payment due per the cancellation policy THEN deducted a commission on that full amount.  So in short I was paid €1415 - a commission of €509 (on 2 x 1415) and the guest got 1415 as agreed.

The value of the rental is now 1415 Euros so why have I been charged twice the commission on this equating to 36 %?  My payment was thus  €906 instead of what I believe should have been €1160.30.  

Doesn't seem right.  Can Airbnb possible make a commission on money refunded to a guest and why should I pay a commission on that money??!?!

Please advise.

thx

[Shelley159]

Hi @James--Pad-A-Terre-0 

Other hosts with experience in similar cancellation policies will be in a better position to comment on the calculation of the refund regarding the Airbnb commission.

Regarding your decision-making, I think you handled this in the best way to secure a good outcome. The guest did not want to stay, so the most important thing in this situation was to free up the calendar as soon as possible. I hope you manage to get the nights booked again soon. It sounds like the dates are still some time into the future, so hopefully you have enough time to get booked without the need to offer discount. If so, this should make up for any money lost.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@James--Pad-A-Terre-0 a better way of handling this would have been to say you would refund any of the remaining 50% paid if you are able to rebook. That way she has an incentive to cancel ASAP.

[Paula]

Hello @James--Pad-A-Terre-0, Two of our most experienced hosts have provided their advice. Please keep us posted when you have a chance to read it.

Regards,