Resolution centre

[Sarah6111]

Has anyone had to use the Resolution centre to sort out a problem with a guest? Ours was resolved before the centre even started investigating, and was a minor issue but we were charged £50 by Airbnb? We thought this service was included in the usual charge we pay them? Sarah 

[Joan2709]

@Sarah6111 

We need a bit more information in order to help you...

Airbnb doesn't charge Hosts when filing a damage claim through the Resolution Center? They do charge a penalty fee to Hosts if the Host cancels a reservation? Is that what happened? Also, if you authorized a refund to the guest this will be deducted from your payouts.

[Sarah6111]

@Joan2709 Thank you. I thought I'd replied to this, apologies. Yes that makes sense. We had an elderly guest who didn't understand how to cancel and we agreed to do it for him. We warned him we were having our drive resurfaced and though he still had somewhere to park, he decided to cancel. We were unable to reschedule the resurfacing due to weather constraints. Sarah 

[Shelley159]

Hi @Sarah6111 

It's kind of you to help the guest, but at the same time you should try to keep your own cancellations to a minimum. While it's fine for a guest to cancel, host cancellations are a serious issue for Airbnb, because it undermines the integrity of the booking system. Airbnb openly says that cancellation is one of the superhost criteria, but it's fair to assume that a high cancellation rate also affects search ranking and guest favourite status. If this is just a once-off cancellation from your side then all is well, but try to not make a habit of helping guests by doing a host cancellation (perhaps rather get Airbnb support involved to help them cancel).

[Sarah6111]

@Shelley159 Thank you. Yes fortunately it has only happened once. I'm glad I asked, thank you! Sarah 

[Trude0]

If you cancelled the booking, then the £50 is probably a fine/penalty. Hosts cannot cancel bookings, unless they have very good reasons. Like the listing burned to the ground… The fine is normally deducted from your next payout, I think. 

I suggest you try and challenge this fine, though, if you have documentation that the guest asked you to cancel for them, because they were not able to do it themselves? I’m not sure this will work, though; Airbnb may argue that you caused the situation (guest wanting to cancel) - but worth a try. 

[Elisa]

Hi @Sarah6111 😊,
Thank you so much for asking this question here!

I'm happy you found many hosts to discuss this with. ‌😍‌
Would you mind marking the 'Top Answer' if you find one particularly useful?

Warm regards ‌🌻‌,