I agree with you and @JJD ! What an interesting way to look at it!
Even outside of potential lost earnings for cancellations, I plan cleaning, repairs and renovations around when guests have booked.
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‘But you took that money off him and he got nothing in return’
I disagree 
By booking ages (six weeks) in advance like he did, he got to choose a listing from a really good number of places, therefore ensuring he would get the place that fitted his needs/ preferences the closest.
Had he waited until the day he’d cancelled to book, his options would have been quite restricted. It’s unlikely the room he booked would have been available and the competition would have also dwindled.
So what he got was the reassurance of having the room he wanted for the dates he wanted, should he need them.
He also got hours of my time in support with his booking and geographical info that he could have gotten himself, but which I was happy to supply. Because he was a paying guest, and concierge service is something I try to emulate, as best as I can, for my guests.
As you say, some bookings take no time, others the opposite. I guess we’ve all had this experience. But this isn’t me complaining about a guest taking my time. I’m just saying I should be paid for that time when we have got as far as Agreement stage.
If all hosts broke the agreements when asked to, guests would be booking up places all over the shop, just to get first dibs … on trips they aren’t sure they are going to make yet… ‘May as well book now, we can always cancel’ might be the attitude.
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I don’t think that hosts should exchange 33 messages for free, no way. And guests should never expect such a thing. That’s not the kind of situation where I would feel like giving any refund beyond what the cancellation policy states. Nor would I be inclined to refund a guest, regardless of whether the dates got rebooked, who harrassed me about refunding them.
I actually think there should be a policy where even if a guest cancels in time to qualify for a full refund, that they lose something like 10% for administrative fees.
That was not what I said or think. Saying that some hosts would feel is unethical to double dip doesn’t imply that I judge it unethical in general for all hosts to do so. That’s why I used the words “personal ethics”. I was originally just answering balivilla’s question as to why anyone would refund outside their cancellation policy. He made it sound like he thinks any host who would do so is a fool.
Just as with offering an early check-in, for me it depends on both my own situation, and the attitude of the guest. A guest who says they realize that XX time, when they are arriving in town, when asked for an ETA, is too early to check in, so they will find a cafe to hang out in until check-in time, is more likely to be offered an earlier check-in than a guest who tries to demand it.
I refunded a guest in full once, even though her cancellation was only 2 days before check-in (and I have a Moderate policy) because she apologized profusely for not answering my messages and cancelling so late, explaining that a close family member had died, and didn’t ask for any refund beyond what she was due.
One other comment about refunding or applying a credit to a new booking… note that they will receive the refund after the end of their stay, not when the rebooking is made. That way they can’t rebook two months out, then cancel and get a full refund.
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In limited areas Airbnb offers travel insurance at the time of booking. USA & Canada & soon (may have already started) parts of England & Australia. There’s a couple more areas but I don’t remember them.
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I don’t think guests will be any more inclined to buy travel insurance through the Airbnb site than they would otherwise be inclined to buy it, because their posted information about it doesn’t impress upon guests that it would be a good idea in case they need to cancel a booking and the cancellation policy of the listing means they would lose money.
The only example Airbnb gives in their travel insurance blurb concerns a host cancelling a guest’s booking and leaving them in the lurch.
I was offered travel insurance on my last booking, a couple of weeks ago. It was very prominent on the page. Like I had to scroll awhile to get past it prominent. So they are pushing it.
I didn’t buy it but I had also waited to book only a few days before the trip so was not really worried about it.
I would consider buying it for other stays and I think some guests will buy it. They make it super-easy and it’s a good reminder at the right moment.
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Still the more focus on alternative sources for all these guests to get their refunds the better, if only to redirect and put an end to the conversation. A large portion of my guests are staying here while they find their more permanent house/ flat shares, and often there’s a small overlap, as you’d expect, and I feel like I’m always being asked for refunds these days
If you get asked for refunds a lot in the situation a lot of your guests have, it might be a good idea to let guests know when they first request a booking, or state prominently in your listing, that no refunds will be given that contravenes the cancellation policy, even if guests find permanent housing before the check-out date on their booking.
We all have different issues to make clear to guests, depending on the nature of our listing, and why guests tend to book with us. In the case of a host who accepts longer term bookings, with many guests who are relocating to the area, making sure they are aware of how the long-term policy works might be wise.
I’m not even sure if travel insurance would address the situation you describe, in the case of a guest, say, deciding to leave in 21 days when they have booked the month and are therefore subject to the long-term policy. I think it may only cover the customer if the booking is cancelled before the stay starts, like if someone has to cancel their whole trip, they arrive but find the accommodation unacceptable, or the host cancels their booking.
I have a collection of sob stories saved as a “quick reply” to send to guests when I get a cancellation request.
Yes. My per-hour consulting rate is quite high, so I earn it by answering their refund request by sending a saved quick reply.
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In many industries, you are paid for being available and on call even if you don’t provide anything. Electric power, fire department, data centers.
The host was available to provide hospitality in this case. It is not the hosts’ fault that the guest decided not to use the services.
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Not especially long average a couple of weeks. Someone posted on here for me today the notice that Air give to my guests at the time of booking. It’s completely clear so I don’t think I need to repeat it. It’s true it might make it easier when/ if they ask, but downside I think it could be off putting in terms of tone
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The examples you give are not a good analogy. They provide emergency services or have a good reason to be on call in case anyone calls. Like my nurse friend who is an administrator for the home care program. When she works a shift where she has to be available to answer calls from the field workers or patients, she gets paid the same whether she gets 3 calls during a shift or 20. She has to be available, it’s an inherent part of the job.
A host doesn’t have to be available to bookings- hosts can block any dates they choose to. Being always available isn’t a requirement of the job.
It’s rather absurd to assert that a 5 day booking that costs $500 is all about being available. Hosts base their pricing on their expenses in terms of what guests actually use (the utilities and amenities) their own expenses in maintaining the property, the profit they need to make to consider hosting worthwhile, and what the market will bear. So if the guest that cancelled had stayed, part of the $500 they paid would have gone to pay for the utilities they used, the toilet paper, soap, and shampoo they used, the bedding and towels they used that have to be washed. By no stretch of the imagination is the guest’s payment just to cover “being available” to book.
That is a totally separate issue to whether a host chooses to refund a guest if they happen to fill the dates. That’s a decision for each host to decide to do or not. Some are hard line about the cancellation policy, some aren’t. And even if they decide to do it, they might reasonably decide to not refund the entire amount, because they might have spent a lot of time answering the guest’s questions, etc. and don’t feel that time should come for free.
But if dates are rebooked, to suggest that the $500 the original guest paid is a fair compensation for simply being available to book is a bizarre stretch. Fine to say you simply don’t refund beyond the terms of your cancellation policy because that is what the guest agreed to when they chose to book with you, but trying to justify it in the way you are is really digging, and doesn’t make any sense.
A host doesn’t need to try to justify why they would uphold the terms of their cancellation policy, nor justify why they they would refund if they got a replacement booking. Explaining or stating one’s point of view in that regard is different from trying to justify it.
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Much of what you say is common sense, but I do think it misses an important point made originally by @JJD and to which I will less incisively respond.
A Host by the reservation itself creates options and therefore value for the guest.
By the reservation itself the Host makes its property available for the guest’s use. All of us know the effort required to make that so. The appliances all must be working; the instructions in place; the Host or co-Host available, usually quite nearby. This reservation is an enterprise, an accomplishment, a feat whether actually partaken of it is there, made ready by the Host. THAT is value.
Your reply talks of expense. Expense of time and money IS incurred in making this option, this possibility available to the guest.
BUT, should the Host’s compensation be defined, limited or even elevated to the expense incurred? No. That is not the bargain entered into by the parties. If it were, to be sure the guest would pay less in some circumstances, but more in others. For the Host amortizes, spreads the costs over many expected reservations and bookings. Instead of a cost-centric approach the approach is contractual, of which the cancellation policy is at its center.
So I suggest the cancelation policy IS fair compensation; it IS what the parties agreed upon. Would it be more fair for the guest to pay for my time and expense in making the property fit and available – an expense far more in some circumstances than any guest could imagine??
The Host need not justify it. Here, in this forum, we are explaining to you and our fellow community members why it IS fair.
As I read further your reply, you agree!
It seems, as usual, that sometimes – often? – in this forum we seem to debate very small nuances that turn on so very little. @house_plants 's analogies seemed apt to me.
I disagree. That reservation created possibilities for the guest. That reservation created value. That reservation costs the Host, whether fulfilled or not. And if the Host fails to honor that reservation the Host will suffer penalties.
Is the difference in your view and @house_plants or mine really worth discussing?
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Explaining why it is fair is trying to justify it. It doesn’t require justification. I never asserted that a host sticking to their cancellation policy if they got another booking for those dates was unfair. Some others just interpreted it that way. What I actually said was that some hosts feel it’s unethical to double dip, in answer to a question asking why a host would refund simply because they refilled the dates. What someone personally feels is ethical or not may not be what someone else feels.
It’s like the abortion debate. Just because I don’t feel abortion is in any way wrong, doesn’t mean I don’t respect another person’s right to the belief that it is. They don’t have to justify it to me. If they feel it’s wrong or a sin, fine, they don’t have to ever have an abortion. None of my business. I just don’t think they have the right to dictate what others do.
If as a host I wouldn’t feel good about retaining a guest’s money if I got a replacement booking, that doesn’t mean I think other hosts should feel like I do. Nor that they need to explain to me why they feel it is fair to uphold their cancellation policy.
What is fair is for a guest not to expect to get refunded beyond the cancellation policy they agreed to. If a host chooses to refund, that’s up to them and would usually depend on the guest’s attitude, for me. As I mentioned before, if they were being demanding or rude or trying to lay a guilt trip on me, I wouldn’t be inclined to refund even if I got another booking. My personal ethics don’t extend to doing favors for nasty people.
If they said “I know I am bound by the cancellation policy I agreed to when I booked, but if you can fill the dates I am cancelling, would you consider some refund?” I personally would be inclined to do so.
It isn’t necessarily a matter of whether a host feels it’s fair or unfair to double dip, it can totally depend on the circumstances. Even a host who normally is hardline about their cancellation policy might possibly take pity on a guest who booked and was staying because their child needed to be hospitalized nearby, if the child ended up dying before the check-out date and the devastated guest wanted to leave and go home. Even if “I stick to my policy” host couldn’t rebook the dates.
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Agreed. I don’t need to justify it but sometimes explaining my POV to the guests helps. Some people might call my POV a sob story. And I have a lot of those handy.
A child died and the parent cares about the $500 refund? Not sure how many parents out there would care about harassing a host for a refund at such an emotional moment. I’d be inclined to put this into a “making up stories for a refund” category.
I do have some true sob stories from my life that I can send to such guests, but yes, if the guest is truly in this situation, it is worse than any of my sob stories.
I had a guest who claimed the death of a grandma and wanted a full refund. I refused. The guest came and stayed. She didn’t do any damage, and she didn’t leave me a review. I forgot to leave her a review.
I do find your perspective and that of others valuable because I know some guests feel this way. Some can be convinced using economics and contractual language. But that is too abstract for many. Other needs a concrete example in the form of a story, and then they can start seeing how unreasonable they were in expecting a refund.
I believe it is unethical and immoral of a guest to ask for a refund when they have agreed to the non-refundable policy in the booking.
You misunderstand me.
That wasn’t what I was saying. I meant that even a host who is always adamant about sticking to their cancellation policy might simply refund a guest, without the guest asking, if they felt it was a good thing to do. I was just pointing out that the “It’s just business” types and the “I wouldn’t feel okay about double dipping” types might both make an occasional exception, depending on circumstances. Because we are all human and only sociopaths have no empathy. And even those of us who feel it unethical in general to double dip might very well do so if a guest was being stroppy about it and trying to tell us we would be jerks if we get another booking and don’t refund them.
I wasn’t referring at all to refunding a guest because they give you some sob story.
As I said, I don’t think it is ever okay for a guest to demand or expect a refund they aren’t entitled to. But I don’t see anything wrong with them politely asking if you might be willing to refund if you got another booking for the dates they cancelled.
If the host says no, that should be the end of it, the guest needs to accept that answer, but many hosts might say “Sure. Just be aware that hosts don’t get paid until 24 hours after check-in, so if I do manage to rebook, I’ll let you know, but I’ll have nothing to refund until I get paid for the new guest.”
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I am a big ole softie when it comes to refunds except in this situation. The guest knowingly made this choice expecting me to honor it but now feeling like they don’t have to. Nope noppity nope nope nope . No refund
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Gender stereotype is BS on either side: it only shows personal bias. This statement is simply false.
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