Dear Fellow Hosts,
I need your experienced feedback, please. I have a strict cancellation policy and I recently had a one-month booking for the month of February. The guest gave some excuse about his boss cancelling his vacation and wants me to agree to refund the full amount. I told him I would agree to the full amount provided airbnb precluded him from booking any property during the period, whether the booking is for a week or a month – is my condition even possible, and if so, would airbnb honor it or I’m just delusional? What would you do?
No and you shouldn’t make threats you can’t enforce, it undermines your credibility. Just say you are following the policy stated on your listing.
If you want to do the right thing you can tell him you’ll give a partial refund if you get a replacement booking. Then raise your price a little to make up for the fact you will now have more work with multiple bookings. Between your slightly higher rate and charging him, in effect, a cancellation fee you should be able to make as much or more as you would with his booking.
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@KKC, Dusty, thank you for your insight and guidance. Oh no, I didn’t mean it as a threat at all but as a practical approach. It’s difficult to refer to enforcing the strict policy when airbnb simply tells the guest to reach out to me and request a full refund; I wish airbnb reinforced the strict policy as opposed to making me the “bad guy”…
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I understand. Maybe I shouldn’t use the word “threat.” It’s important to know what Airbnb policy is before you tell a guest something that is incorrect. I don’t think Air is trying to make you the bad guy. Simply stating that you can’t make exceptions to your policy doesn’t make you bad. It doesn’t hurt Air to ask and it doesn’t or shouldn’t hurt you to say NO. It sounds like he didn’t have it blocked off for long and you still have some time to get replacement bookings. Some people think you get a boost in search if you have a cancellation. Good luck.
@KKC. No, no, airbnb didn’t tell the guest that I, as a host, can’t make exceptions to my policy, instead, airbnb just told the guest to reach out to me to request me to agree to the full refund (the guest copied airbnb’s response to me).Instead, airbnb should have reinforced the terms of the strict policy…
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Just reply to the guest that you won’t be giving him a full refund because he blocked availability of your room during your high season. You can refund partially if you get replacement bookings if you feel that is the right thing to do (that’s what I would do but that’s just my belief system, yours may be different.)
Simply reply in a factual non emotional way, no one is the bad guy this is just the way it works. It’s the same when people get upset that someone asked for a discount. It doesn’t hurt to ask, just say no and move on.
We have a lot of wishes for Airbnb to do things differently but they are moving more and more towards a guest friendly policy so you have to be prepared to enforce your own policy, Air isn’t going to do it for you.
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I would try and mitigate my loss by granting the guest the partial refund (50%) as allowed under the Strict policy. I am assuming the reservation does not qualify for the Long Term cancellation policy (no refund for the “first” month) because there is no second month involved.
As a further show of goodwill and possibly getting more income, I would ask Air and the guest to allow the first two weeks of February to be left open so it can be re-sold. Then, if the same dates or any part of them are reserved, I would refund the guest one-half (or other percentage) of each night resold.
The guest and I would recoup a little more and Air would get another fee.
I would read up on the long term cancellation policy. There have been reports of changes/alterations to a reservation being auto-approved - as long as the request is done outside of 30 days before check in date.
Another thing…it wouldn’t even matter if Airbnb agreed to something like he doesn’t get to rebook during that time frame. There’s nothing stopping the guy from booking another place that isn’t listed on Air.
I don’t think Airbnb would do such thing but assuming what he’s saying is true, I’d give him only a partial refund of a week + the cleaning fee.
It’s a bit rude of his part asking for a full refund one. What about the time you lost for having other people book your place? You might give him a larger refund but have no one booking you place in such short notice.
If you do refund anything tell them it has to wait for their stay to happen first. Otherwise they dock any elective refund out of your next payout.
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Right! I’d wait 5 business days after Airbnb transferred the funds.
Can you clarify? This almost-a-guest is entitled to a 50% refund based on the Strict policy, I believe, but he wants a full refund? He will get the 50% without question. Doesn’t it make sense to state that if you can re-book, which seems very possible in February in Florida, you might increase the amount of the refund?
Or am I missing something?
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It hardly matters what you decide - because…
. Most likely ABB will refund guest anyway under some kind of “Extenuating Circumstances”…boss cancelled vacation. So for now, follow your policy; because you will likely get …
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I really hate how we all think Extenuating Circumstances is a a farse and cop out from ABB. It’s actually very hard to get an EC claim approved. We went through the process as a guests for an actually medical emergency and it was not as easy as many hosts think it is!
While I agree for flights/travel delays it sucks, I don’t think ABB simply over ride cancellation policy for cancelled flights there has to be a natura diseaster of some sort.
As a host we had a stay cancelled 2 days AFTER a terrorist attack in our city bc the idiot guest saw a way out. I was fuming but chalked it up to one shit incident in 7 years
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When a host has a large home…10 - 12 -14 guests, …there can be a medical emergency nearly all the time from extended family, or some kind of reason that is “extenuating”. I operate in fear of it.
I can not afford to eat bookings due to someone else’s medical emergency, and I encourage all guests to consider vacation coverage. I also don’t wish to be at the mercy of airlines, weather, or health.
This is strictly another guest centered policy, with no consideration to the owners income.
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I have had a few extenuating circumstances and know the back story to two of them, neither was justified.
Best to assume that your policy will not be upheld.
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Well you could wait until the day before it is set to payout. Then you don’t have to get docked. In the early days of Air, you could just refund and not have rigamarole. For instance, someone would book and realize they actually wanted Oahu, another island! I would always refund those for the poor people! Now I have to wait until the actual payout happens. Also make sure the three percent is deducted! You don’t want to spend MORE sending money back to the guest.
Never ever send the money early! You could have Another cancellation happen for all you know.
Once the person cancels they are no longer my customer. They can deal with Air.
UPDATE on my holiday cancellation, due to a supposed medical emergency.
I have heard nothing. The Air rep wrote, calling me “Rachel” and said she hoped her email found me well 
, but did say they were still waiting for documents from the guest and it has been five days. I know sometimes it can take a while to get documents but wouldn’t you be moving heaven and earth to get a doctors note if $1000 were on the line???
I’m not spending it yet, but if it does come through without protest I will enjoy my first guest free holiday in 9 years of hosting on Airbnb! 
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You couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present than that, Rachel… 
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