Suspicious refund request

[Carla2146]

Hello fellow hosts,

I have a bit of a strange situation that I’d love to hear your thoughts on. 

I got a fairly last-minute booking last week for a stay that begins on Jan.2. In the booker’s original message, she indicated that she was here due to a medical procedure that her husband was having (we live close to a hospital). She reached out two days ago and said that their situation has changed and that she needs to cancel, and that she purchased insurance. I explained to her that the first step was to cancel the reservation. She seems to have ignored that snd reached out to me again asking for a refund (we have a firm cancellation policy). 

this seems fishy to me for a few reasons: the last-minute nature of the booking, the pressure to refund the money despite not having cancelled the stay and the fact that she only created an Airbnb profile shortly before her booking. 

Thoughts?! I’ve been in touch with Airbnb support who have made it clear that I should not cancel or refund the booking; that it’s on her to do so. 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Carla2146 

Good advice from Customer Service - hosts should never cancel for guests and you can't refund this guest for funds you haven't received!  

I'm afraid you're going to have to tell this guest (again) that they have to cancel the reservation from their end and they will be refunded by Airbnb according to your cancellation policy and that you cannot do anything your end and as a result you have no chance of rebooking until they cancel.

She will then be able to claim from her insurance policy a refund for this cancelled stay.  They can't expect a refund from you and from her insurer!  

Good luck and keep us posted with how this turns out and sorry that you have to start the New Year with a cancellation😒

[Carla2146]

Thanks so much for your response, Joelle. 

Airbnb Support said more-or-less the same thing - that I shouldn’t cancel or refund the stay. 

I’ll let you know how it works out!

[Rebecca]

Thanks @Joelle43 for your support here. @Carla2146, do keep us updated and let us know how this develops. All the best! 

[Carla2146]

Hello all, 

After my final message to the guest urging her to cancel the reservation, she did. She hasn’t asked again for a refund and I told her about Airbnb’s clause for medical emergencies, so hopefully she can get some money back. 

thanks again for the support!

carla