Should we be punished if cancelled an instant booking from someone who is not going to be our guest?

[Ariane-and-Andrés0]

Hello community,

An Airbnb member instantly booked our listing for her son and his three friends. She stated in her message that she was just trying to book for them and promised us that they were going to behave, but she instantly booked before consulting with us. We believe the right thing to proceed would have been to reach us first instead of making an instant booking for someone else.

We were not comfortable with this and decided to cancel her reservation right away and explained this to her in a message. We believe her action bypassed our screening and it might have violated Airbnb rules... now Airbnb has punished us by blocking those dates and posting an automated cancellation message in our listing.

Any comments? 

Thank you!

[Dave-and-Deb0 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ariane-and-Andrés0,

You have absolutely nothing to worry about here. Contact Airbnb right away and they will fix this all up for you.  First of all, it is against their Terms and Conditions for third party bookings so she violated this.  Also, as a part of using Instant Booking, you get three free cancellations if the guest books using Instant Book AND you feel uncomfortable with them.  I would even push the issue that they should not count this as a cancellation on your part since the mother booking is not allowed to book for her son and her friends.  I would hope they would contact the guest and advice her that she can't do this as she will just book with someone else.

Here is Airbnb's part on Instant Book cancellations:

For Instant Book hosts only

Hosts who use Instant Book may be able to cancel up to 3 times, penalty-free, if they have concerns about a guest’s behavior. Calendar inaccuracy, confusion about pricing or availability, and extenuating circumstances are not covered by this policy.

If you're an Instant Book host and have concerns about a guest's behavior:

1. Go to Your Reservations and find the reservation you need to cancel
2. Click Change or Cancel
3. Select “I’m uncomfortable with the guest’s behavior”
4. Provide a reason for the cancellation

Once you complete these steps, the host cancellation penalties for this reservation will be waived, and we’ll help your guest find another place to stay for their trip.

If it's within 24 hours of check-in, contact us instead.

Note: Instant Book cancellation can be used a maximum of 3 times per year. This exception only applies to Instant Book reservations, and can't be used for any other cancellation reason.

I hope this helps.

Dave

[Ariane-and-Andrés0]

Hi Dave, 

Thank you very much for your quick response, we have just phoned Airbnb and they are going to follow up on our case and we were told that very likely the punishment will be removed!

Best regards,

Ariane & Andrés

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hello again @Ariane-and-Andrés0,

If they do not, call back and talk to someone else.  I cannot see why this would not be removed.  Also, make sure they remove the Automated review.

Dave

[Lol0]

To avoid the hassle of contacting Airbnb in these situations I ask the guest to cancel their booking.  I haven't had a guest refuse when I point out they have violated and the rules and its the only way they will get a refund.