** A wonderful result ** to the "Alteration Request" 4 days before stay

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The dress is black and blue.

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@LCL I would like to add my final 2 cents, and possibly this has been said and covered, but I have not finished reading the entire thread. I stopped when you said you gave back $500.
I suggest to you, AND TO EVERYONE , That a booking like this absolutely has to have a signed contract.

  1. I can not figure out, looking back and thinking back, why a neighbor / friend would reserve and pay a friend / relative at all through AirBnb or anyone onsite intermediary. Why would they want to pay a service fee, and why would you want to pay a service fee in this scenario.
  2. When dealing with a non-stranger, ( ie: coworker / relative / neighbor / friend ) …the payment should be made directly to you via cash or check, and a receipt should be given stating Final Sale / No Refunds.
  3. Then to top it all off, a fully blown contract should be signed, restating that you are offering a discounted family price, and therefore no refunds or alterations will be accepted.
  4. . Spell out every detail and expectation in the contract. Everything ! Time in / Time out. Damage policy. # of guests / # of vehicles and penalties for violations.
    If you are now accepting the alteration, go back to step #3, and create that contract and have it signed off, so there are no questions left. I hope the stay goes well.
    OK I will get off my soapbox and you have learned a costly lesson.
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Flakey fuckwits fudge their phoney er … reservation

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Looking back at my original message, it isn’t exactly clear what neighbor I was referring to. And that changes things. It was not a friend or family member.

We purchased the house in April and the neighbor in question is the neighbor at the rental house, that I had only met once before. There are issues in their lives that I won’t disclose here, but I figured ABB would be the best way to keep this professional. I asked her to reserve the house through ABB so that they could review the property and so we would all be protected in the event that there was a problem.

Thank you for your help!

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A similar scam to watch out for: guest altering the reservation to one person instead of the larger number they booked for, and then cancelling to make their cancellation fee lower.

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In these situations, it is best to stick to your strict cancellation policy guns, but to be very matter of fact about it.

“In order to change [the dates], you would need to cancel your existing reservation from your end, as hosts cannot facilitate that for you, and then make a new reservation with your preferred dates. please do this as soon as possible, to see if we can rebook the cancelled days.”

Then if they ask for a refund, tell them “we’d be happy to forward a refund if we are able to re-book the cancelled dates.”

The onus is on them, not you. You’re not obligated to change the dates, refund anything, or facilitate this for them. The guest has all the power to do that themselves.

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So many times we post for help from bad situations, and that is certainly how my post here started, but I thought it would be nice to share GOOD news too.

I’m sitting here chatting back and forth with the nicest guest I’ve had yet, and THIS is why I enjoy sharing my home, even if I have to remotely do so, for now.

The house rebooked almost immediately - good news but it’s the other details that make it even better … Keep going :wink:

The first group came and went and were thrilled with everything, especially finding the house at the last minute and being able to have a quick family trip.

My next group is there and are so appreciative of their last minute get away with their kids. I have given them hiking ideas, music ideas, waterfall places and favorite restaurant hints. They have been a joy to communicate with and, again, the mom just said how exciting it is to just escape, when they hadn’t planned to.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, if I hadn’t been so abruptly cancelled on, these two families wouldn’t be on a surprise vacation. I’m sitting here, thankful and happy, and I love that they are too.

Thanks for all the help with this post, and for sharing my journey. Have a great weekend everyone!

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