Cancellation / Change of Reservation

1

Hello

a new member here and hope it is okay to ask this question.

a little tricky situation…
moderate cancellation policy
3pm today would have been the dealline for the gust to cancel without any penalty
the guest messaged in the morning about my cancellation policy (i believe it is stated in my profile or the guest’ booking?)
after replying in the afternoon, the guest sent change of reservation tonight.

now, original booking payout would be $650
if the guest cancelled it before 3pm today, no penalty for the guest and no payout for me
if the guest cancels now, my payout would be $450
if I accept the change of reservation, my new payout be $400
but also if i accept the change of reservation, then the guest would still have until 3pm tomorrow to cancel without any penalty

from the money perspective, i have nothing to gain and everything to lose
that being said, i am not sure what’s the right thing to do as i understand people’s travel plan changes

PS. lower payout for the change of reservation is due to lower rate i posted after this booking (and most of Sep being booked) - as i wanted to lower the rate for OCT and also have lower rate shown with my listing.

thoughts? comments? please

2

Change to strict cancellation now. Cut future losses. Eat this one. Sorry. The guest played you because you weren’t strict, as was her right. Change now to strict.

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3

I agree with Kona. I have “strict” and it doesn’t seem to hurt my booking rate. However, as we all know, if the guest comes up with even so much as a sore throat even a day before the reservation, Air will let them skate and you will be out the money.

4

I wouldn’t accept his alteration request. He is free to cancel and receive any refund according to Air’s cancellation policy.

You are saying if you accept the alteration, then he now has till 3 p.m. tomorrow and can get a full refund. No way, Jose. Don’t let him do it. This is common with guests who miss a hotel deadline to cancel. They will call the hotel front desk and ask to change their reservation. Then later they call to cancel it (as it is within the new deadline) - not sure how successful this is, since changes are on record. But I was reading about this one day, and it seems a lot of guests do this.

Plus, even if you did accept the alteration…this guy blocked the others days from being booked. That’s like him taking two reservations for the price of one.

Let us know what you do.

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5

update.

Thanks for all the inputs. :slight_smile:

I ended up communicating with the guest and rebooked their stay according to their schedule (change of dates) but at the original rate.
I didn’t really feel comfortable charging for the night they are not staying (even though I will be losing a night’s worth because it is right in between 2 bookings)
oh well, at least i didn’t lose out more (due to lower rate now posted)

ps. they just sent me an message now asking for an early check-in on the new check-in date! lol

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6

This is in the “give an inch and they take a mile” category. Tell him no.

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7

You’re playing nice now, but you’ll harden up in time.

Next time someone submits a change - even with weeks to go - and it will mean that you LOSE A NIGHT because of a gap they created, don’t give in. You can even tell them they’re leaving a night you can’t book, if you like, and suggest they split the cost, if you feel generous. But it’s not about whether you feel you can charge when they don’t stay - it’s whether you, the innocent party, should lose the money.

By losing that gap day and agreeing to the change, you just handed a complete stranger a nights’ booking in cash. Think of it that way and whether you would hand that money to a random person on the street.

5 Likes