URGENT: Request for Review – Unauthorized Reservation Amendment & Income Loss – Case HMFF9PS2QZ

[Alex13994]

Hello Airbnb Community,

I’m a Superhost facing a difficult situation with a long-term guest (Reservation HMFF9PS2QZ). The guest booked for 90 days and later amended the booking to 60 days with proper notice. However, she left after only 28 days with just 2 days’ notice.

Despite my Firm Long-Term Cancellation Policy requiring 30 days’ notice, Airbnb support altered the booking without my approval, allowing the early departure and bypassing my cancellation policy. This has caused me a loss of R17,987.19 and left two months of last-minute vacancy.

The issue raised by the guest was that the standard prepaid electricity meter had run out. I provided electricity tokens and resolved the problem within half an hour.

I addressed the guest’s concerns promptly, but the cancellation was still approved without my consent. When I asked Airbnb Ambassadors for details on the policies that allowed this override, they refused to disclose them, which feels unfair and lacks transparency.

Has anyone else experienced this? How can I escalate this properly to get fair compensation and ensure my cancellation policies are respected?

Thanks in advance for any advice or support.

— Alex

[Joan2709]

@Alex13994 

Yes...this is one of the many issues that Host's face when accepting long-term bookings. Some reservations can be automatically cancelled without Host approval. Not clear from your post if the stay was cancelled by Airbnb due to the electrical issue, or the guest was able to cancel with refund according to long-term stay alterations.

Here is a Guide with information about long-term bookings on Airbnb and some cautions for Hosts:

Host Guide - Monthly Stays

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-guides/Monthly-Stays-on-Airbnb-Guide-Revised/m-p/2066547#M2...

Long Term Stays Reservation Alterations