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Okay so I have a question regarding when a guest makes a reservation request…
We received a reservation request today from a guest who stated in his message to us that he “might need to cancel and would like to do so at no penalty”. We have our cancellation policy set to strict so if he did cancel at less than seven days notice he would lose his AirBnB fees and 50% of the cost of the reservation. I sent a message to him telling him this. (I think somebody entered their card details and didn’t bother to read any of the booking small print…!)
I have availability to accept the reservation but if I do so he will be bound to the strict cancellation policy if I decline his reservation then this affects my ranking on the AirBnB site. Any advice?
I say go ahead and take the reservation. He’s just telling you he might cancel and would hope that you can refund his money. You do have the ability to do this if you want to but you are under no obligation to do so. Now that I’ve been doing this five years, I take a hard line on cancellations. I’ve heard quite a few sob stories but realize I have been played for a fool. No more Ms. nice guy! I mean, really, if they have to cancel due to death in the family and such, I want to see proof… I require a death certificate. They have tied me up with their reservation so I couldn’t take other bookings and change their mind and want their money back? Sorry Charlie! I think you should accept it and let the chips fall where they may. He can’t leave you a bad review for not refunding his money. He’s really kind of a dummy for telling you he will need his money back. I hope he does cancel and you get to keep it!
If it would bug you to cancel and refund all his money then wait for another reservation from someone else. You can override your strict cancellation policy. I know, since I’ve done it to refund someone who had accidentally booked when I had a Moderate policy set. Declining doesn’t affect your ranking unless you do it frequently. Or, do what Koko says if you find it unlikely you’ll get another booking this good for a while.
