WANT TO THANK YOU ALL HERE IN THE FORUMS

[Dee9]

I have learned numerous things from these forums that I would otherwise not have known (and perhaps would have fell victim too).

The things I have learned from you folks via this forum:

Never to cancel a booking

A list of penalties for cancelling

If a guest sends me a cancellation request - to say NO!

Things regarding Instant Book

A handful of Airbnb customer service numbers

Some good policy links to read

And a few good hosting tips for around the house!

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTE USEFUL INFORMATION!

[Annette33]

@Dee9 , and thank you for your contributions! How nice to see such  a friendly, uplifting post here!

[Andrew90]

@Dee9 Thank you!! Great to see someone take the time to post something positive and a little appreciation makes it all worth it. 

Andrew

[Robin4]

@Dee9.....And I thank you Diane, you have given lots of yourself to the rest of us.

I threatened to quit this forum once before, but I am glad I didn't, because people like you just keep on making people like me better!

Cheers....Rob

[Sandra126]

Absolutely! And often there is something completely new to ponder, or something to have a laugh about or cry over. It makes us better hosts for being on here I am sure.

[Lizzie]

Lovely post @Dee9. It is fantastic to have you part of it and it great to hear the other comments here. 🙂 

[Andrea9]

@Dee9

I nearly missed your lovely post after not checking as regularly this week if it weren't for the new CC feature that now brings older posts with new reactions back into the list of  recent postings.

It's great to see that there are hosts who use this platform as a learning experience. Makes those contributing feel that their time and energy spent is in fact of great advantage to others. I sometimes feel I should pry myself off the platform, but even I still discover new things and tricks I didn't know of!

Thanks too for your own input on threads!

[Karen-and-Brian0]

@Dee9 Thank you for this, Diane I completely agree - I've learned so much from the patient, kind and very informative posters on this forum. Required reading for all new hosts, ideally. 

[Lucy75]

I m looking to connect with co hosts in Montreal & would love to have the phone numbers yo refer to.

Many thanks

Lucy in Montreal

[Shalom-And-Vito0]

Although I haven't been to the Opening I feel confident that I offer the best service to guests; friendly greetings, non-judgement and wàrmth,  coffee, tea and often a light breakfast. The fact is that I like people a great deal which adds to the positive reviews I receive. I have had around 60 visits and all have been positive; not always the best fit but that's to be expected. Indifference to guests can make them feel like intruders.

Thanks to the host that feels insta-book the day before is unacceptable. I always indicate a two day notice.

If I have one complaint about AirBnB is that if an emergency arises from an accident that made  it valid to cancel I did not receive the understanding I hoped for. I am no longer a superhost; no problem, but I felt punished for the cancellation. Please consider a Host's history with the organization; the positive reviews, the quick responses to guests before making any changes.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be an AirBnB host; it helps with supplementing our income and best of all the experience of meeting folks from all over the world.

[Renata50]

Sorry, I'm a dumb newbie. Why do you always say no if a guest wants to cancel?

[Shalom-And-Vito0]

I cancelled a guest, a first in almost two years , and why because my husband and co-host was injured and I thought it would be unpleasant for the guest to be in our house.  There are circumstances in which we have to do that but Airbnb hopes it's rare.

[Dee9]

because you will be penalized

[Robin4]

@Renata50......Renata, you may be a 'newbie' but you are anything but dumb! The fact that you asked this question means that are indeed a smart person.

Host cancellations are regarded as a serious breach of faith by Airbnb! When a guest books accommodation, they no doubt book other things that will tie in with that accommodation, like Air fares or other travel cost if they are coming a considerable distance.

Originally some hosts abused the booking system by cancelling a confirmed booking to chase a more lucrative one....a longer stay or similar and an element of mis-trust crept into the platform.

Airbnb have now introduced measures that make sure it is not equitable for a host to cancel a booking.

If you cancel a confirmed guest booking the following will happen......

1/. An automated posting will appear on your reviews will say 'The host cancelled this reservation *** days before arrival' and that will have an impact on your future enquiries. Guests tend to steer clear of hosts who cancel confirmed bookings.

2/. Your calendar will be blocked for the duration of the booking you cancelled, and you will not be able to accept a request for that period. 

3/. A financial penalty (a fine if you like) will be taken from your future hostings and the size of that fine will depend on how close to the reservation you cancel!

4/. If you have Superhost status you will automatically loose it for a one year period from the date of the cancellation. If you do not have Superhost status you will not be eligible for that same one year period.

There are extenuating circumstances and if a serious enough event happens that will prevent you from following through with a reservation you MUST contact Airbnb, inform them of the event and ask them to relocate the guest. They are good at doing this and provided your reason for their intervention is sound enough you will be released without penalty!

But do not take it on yourself to cancel....it will cost you dearly if you do.

Good luck Renata.......and don't think of yourself as dumb.....ok

Cheers.....Rob

[Annette33]

Hi @Renata50 , so @Robin4 gave you the complete rundown on why not to cancel as a host. Great summary!

You asked "why to say no when a guest wants to cancel", that touches on a slightly different scenario: There are some guests that do not cancel themselves (they would forfeit their Airbnb service fee when doing so - but that kind of cancellation is the only one that will not carry any penalties for a host, thus okay), they go through Airbnb and you will get a request, something like "guest would like you to cancel...." : sounds innocent enough and you might think, sure, I'll just agree, and all is taken care of. Not so : when you agree, it gets turned around on you, as if you had cancelled, thus back to the penlties that Robin laid out for you.  I have not personally as a host dealt with this , but other  hosts repeatedly have warned all of us here about this, so I take it is true.

Guests may not know that this scenario  carries penalties for a host, but they would get their service fees refunded . You must say no to such a request!

Guest can still cancel, without your cooperation, but they won't get their fees  refunded and you as host will not get penalized. That is the only way you want a cancellation to go through.