Current guest (who’s also a host!) booked for one night. Went down at 11am (checkout time after not seeing the car since 8:30am) to clean. All their stuff is still there. Eventually get in touch with him and he meant to book for two nights. That’s fine, the space is available for tonight. Tried to change the reservation but Airbnb says the reservation is not active. Contacted Airbnb support and they say the only thing to do is ask the guest to make a new/another reservation for tonight. Is there any other way to do this? (Not to mention this seems like a pretty common use case Airbnb should support - guest wanting to extend their stay post-checkout time).
Just take cash. Reservation is done with Air, this is your guest now.
RR
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It is common and it’s been discussed here multiple times. It’s frustrating but Airbnb doesn’t seem to be working on correcting the issue.
I would only accept cash from this guest if I felt comfortable with them and was confident in the review and this host/guest’s attitudes. I usually don’t convert first time guests to cash. I don’t know them well enough and in this case I wouldn’t want them complaining to Airbnb that I asked for cash or mentioning it in the review.
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I’d message the guest telling them they need to book a new reservation by (something like) 4pm. If they haven’t done so by then I’d call Airbnb back and treat it as an overstay, where the rate is 2x your regular nightly per TOS:
8.2.2 You agree to leave the Accommodation no later than the checkout time that the Host specifies in the Listing or such other time as mutually agreed upon between you and the Host. If you stay past the agreed upon checkout time without the Host’s consent (“Overstay”), you no longer have a license to stay in the Accommodation and the Host is entitled to make you leave in a manner consistent with applicable law. In addition, you agree to pay, if requested by the Host, for each twenty-four (24) hour period (or any portion thereof) that you Overstay, an additional nightly fee of up to two (2) times the average nightly Listing Fee originally paid by you to cover the inconvenience suffered by the Host, plus all applicable Guest Fees, Taxes, and any legal expenses incurred by the Host to make you leave (collectively, “Overstay Fees”). Overstay Fees for late checkouts on the checkout date that do not impact upcoming bookings may be limited to the additional costs incurred by the Host as a result of such Overstay. If you Overstay at an Accommodation, you authorize Airbnb (via Airbnb Payments) to charge you to collect Overstay Fees. A Security Deposit, if required by a Host, may be applied to any Overstay Fees due for a Guest’s Overstay
River Rock is going to tell you that seems like a good way to get a nasty review. LOL. I could absorb it given my current ratings but I don’t think it would be worth it for about $50. OTOH, if I was in the same situation and had a guest booked in for tonight I’d be extremely annoyed at this guest.
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If you want to keep it on Air send a special offer for tonight, less the cleaning fee if you charge one and call her and tell her to accept it.
RR
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It would invite a bad review, I would be more interested in accommodating the guest and getting tonight sorted out. I do not see any real issue here that cannot be handled with good communication.
RR
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Speaking of special offers and the hazards of taking cash direct I have a situation now in that category. A woman who has stayed with me 3 or 4 previous times was just here in late November. As we were talking I told her she could just pay direct in the future and save fees. We exchanged business cards and I entered her number on my contacts list. Today she messaged me via Airbnb and asked if she could stay tomorrow and also said she couldn’t find my number to call directly. This is strange because she’s called directly in the past.
So I sent a special offer for tomorrow on Airbnb and also raised the price for tomorrow. I tried to call her but no answer. Because she inquired on Airbnb I want her to book on Airbnb. And I’m thinking she might not be in the mental state required to do bookings direct. It’s not worth it to take a risk with a client that’s going to continue to use the platform to contact you.
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I like this, but I think it requires the guest to send an inquiry first. The system won’t let you send a special offer in response to a reservation that has ended.
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I think it will if you ask the guest to send you a message. The guest I referenced above sent me a message that was attached to a recent stay in Nov.
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Hmmm, OK. I couldn’t find a way to send a previous guest a special offer back in November when she messaged me via a 8-months-old reservation. If it’s possible, I’d like to know how in case it happens again.
Sorry I’m not more helpful. I can’t grab a screen shot now because this guest accepted the offer I sent. I know it had a Nov date and the words “not possible” on the inquiry.
I had this in the past, so I asked them to make another reservation and refunded the cleaning fee since it’s been two continuous nights.
I’ve done this a few times also, but the problem is the service fee does not go down nor do the taxes charged so the guest is actually charged more for the extra night.
I gave him three options: make a new reservation, bill him via Airbnb as a payment request or cash. He took the cash route. My wallet is fatter and the IRS will never know 
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LOL. 
…
You just posted this on a public forum for your sake I hope they never know…
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