guest cancellations

[Daniela2458]

Greetings, everyone!

 I've encountered a situation I'd like to discuss. Over the past few months, I've experienced some last-minute cancellations from guests, prompting me to reevaluate my cancellation policy. I've decided to shift from a flexible policy (full refund 1 day prior to arrival) to a moderate one (full refund 5 days prior to arrival).

Recently, I had a guest who fell under the moderate cancellation policy but canceled approximately four and half days before their scheduled arrival, missing the cutoff by just two hours. This guest argued that I should refund them due to the proximity to the cutoff time.

I'd appreciate your insights and advice on how you would handle a situation like this.

[Breanna]

It's always tough when you have to enforce your policies @Daniela2458 

@Helen3 or @Lorna170 might be able to advise on what they would do in this situation. 

[Helen3]

It's up to you @Daniela2458 as to whether you chose to provide more of a refund than the guest is entitled to.

why did they want to cancel? 

In most cases. I would tell the guest that any cancellation would need to be processed under the policy they booked under - and that if they wanted a full refund they could have cancelled a couple of hours earlier .

So far did the guest expect you to go would they have argued the same if it was seven, ten or twelve hours outside of the cut off point?

I have had a strict cancellation policy since I started eight years ago and have only once been asked to voluntarily refund a booking when the guest wanted to cancel. 

I always suggest if a guest has to cancel unexpectedly they look to claim on their travel insurance. 

you can offer to refund if you get a replacement booking (of the host fee).