4 years and 6 months ago, we had to cancel two bookings on our listing in Alaksa as the person who was renting our home (and agreed to vacate for the two one week periods) became unwell. It was all arranged with both renter and two guests aware of the situation. The background is not relevant but all for good reasons. Having had to cancel, Air BnB duly charged me $50 per cancellation to be deducted from the next payout. There was never another payout as we simply kept the renter model very successfully. Then we sold up. Fast forward 4 years and 6 months and two weeks ago we list another property with instant success - 3 bookings in 10 days! It’s payout time…LESS $100 from the long forgotten cancellations. We are now in a negotiation with Air BnB to get them to refund the $100. (This, by the way, was after their booking system lost us our first guest in our new listing as it rejected the ID of the guest despite them being verified and with 5 star reviews).
We are in a beautiful part of the north of the UK in a small village on a famous “hiking trail” known as the Pennine Way, so we’re sure this rather rough start will smooth out and we will do well - but we still want our $100 back!!. So, beware, those cancellation fees are lurking, waiting for your next payout, no matter how far into the future it may be.
I’m impressed at Airbnb’s record keeping.
It is rather impressive, I must admit! Anyhow, after a few messages and a couple of calls, they have agreed to pay us the $100. So, worth asking.
I had 8 bookings coming up when an Airbnb guest didn’t report a shower leak that cost me $80k and I had to cancel the bookings and not take any new ones for months. Not only did Airbnb not reimburse me for any of the damage, they charged cancellation fees on every cancel. I fought it and they did eventually reimburse the fees. I’m a 10year Superhost with 300 reviews. No loyalty at all. Very disappointing. Thinking about moving to VRBO.
I’m interested to know what the guest did to a shower to cause 80k in damage.
And I’m interested to know why the STR insurance was (presumably) invalid.
I need to cancel a reservation as a host, within 48 hours of the acceptance of booking, and 15 days before reservation. The guest reserved for 5 nights. Two questions:
-I read through a post by Lodgify that Airbnb will not charge cancellation fees for 1 cancellation in a 6 month period. Has anyone found this to be true?
-I need to cancel because of my family needs. Can I have input about the best way to state reason for cancellation to a guest?
(FYI, I don’t use Airbnb much, I mostly use another platform or word of mouth - and also usually do mid-term rentals)
I’ve never heard of 1 free cancellation in 6 months, and nowhere is that said in Airbnb cancellation policies.
It used to be that hosts who used Instant Book got 3 free IB cancellations per year, but I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.
However, those free cancellations have to be based on something about the booking that is disturbing- the guest has bad reviews, they are indicating that they intend to break your house rules, they aren’t answering your messages, etc.
Airbnb isn’t going to give you a free cancellation because you neglected to block your calendar for some family issue.
Hosts can cancel Instant Book reservations penalty-free up to 3 times per year . After that, they may need to contact Airbnb’s support team for further cancellations. Valid reasons for cancellation include concerns about a guest breaking house rules, unfavorable reviews, or lack of profile information. Hosts must provide proof in some cases, such as photos or a doctor’s note for personal illness.
Thank you. And I’ve had a stroke of luck, the guests cancelled within the 48 hour period for the days I need!
Also, I want to say that I found the quick and thorough replies to my questions very helpful! Thank you again.