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We just got (another) cancellation request for a reservation less than two weeks away. We’re on “strict” so, we didn’t have to give them a refund. But Air wrote to us and begged.
I told them I would not give a refund in this case because the guest mentioned she was going to cancel more than 3 weeks ago. I thought she had already - but turned out she never went through it. So, I told Air since it’s so close now, and since she had her chance - forget it.
So they wrote back and said, “If you fail to get any reservation on those dates we will cover it for you.”
Has anyone ever heard of that? They actually said they’ll pay us whatever we would have gotten from this guest after they cancelled, if we don’t get another reservation to cover it.
I thought that was pretty cool - so I told them go ahead and refund them. But I’ve never heard of them doing that before.
I hope Airbnb honour their commitment. I would have insisted on the other way around - you keep the money, let them have some back if you get a rebook! I have offered Airbnb this in phone conversations, they have never bothered to collect.
I’m wondering if it’s somehow Airbnb’s fault that the cancellation didn’t go through. I can’t think of another reason that Airbnb would make an offer like that.
Good of Airbnb if they keep their word, but I wouldn’t trust it. If they had offered me that deal, I’d have told them the same thing I tell people who cancel. If I get re-booked, I’ll refund the first guest. If no new booking happens, then Airbnb, with their much-deeper-than-mine pockets can refund the guest if they want.
That is new. I will be watching with interest in how it goes, and wishing you good luck. I had a heck of a time getting a payment for something that was their fault when they cancelled a reservation by mistake. Organizations like Airbnb are built to do things repetitively and when things are outside the norm it becomes a SNAFU. I work for a large Fortune 50 with millions of transactions daily and we are guilty of that, too. I hope they don’t make you chase down this promise…I spent far more time getting my money than I should have needed to.
Are we all seeing an increase in cancellations? I’ve had more cancellation this summer than in the prior 3 combined. I shop my market so I know my price is competitive with similar listings. I can’t (and won’t) compete with individual rooms, condos without a pool, and crazy super low rates ($250 a week for a 2 Br condo?)
I too would like to know how @JonYork ‘s situation ends
No. I’m not seeing any of the negatives others complain about (fewer bookings, worse guests, more cancellations, fewer reviews). I just have to keep going back to we all have very different listings.
It’s safe to assume that if we don’t hear from him, everything is fine.
This has happened to us several times. Guest cancels, Airbnb calls trying to see if we’ll eat it. I say no sorry we have the cancellation policy to protect us. They offer to cover half of reservation. I say no. They say if you do not get a booking for that time we’ll pay. I say ok. Didn’t get a booking and Airbnb paid. I think everyone here forgets, Airbnb needs us (hosts) or they no longer have a business…
I don’t think anyone forgets that. But it doesn’t need any single one of us. If a host is too costly they will be happy to let them walk away. Most of us would be easily replaced and they already have more hosts than they have demand.
Oh my gosh yes. I also have more cancellations the last 6 weeks than the last 3 years combined. It is absolutely crazy, and hard to deal with. You work with the guest, then they cancel, and you have to work with them or airbnb for refunds, AND try to scramble to re-rent to someone else!
I have said “NO” when they call, and 30 minutes later, airbnb does the cancellation anyway, totally against what I said in the phone call.
This is what we usually hear, that’s why I was surprised when @JonYork posted that they made this offer. He hasn’t returned to tell us what happened but if we assume they did cover the cancellation then that makes two hosts who have had that happen and countless hosts who have gotten shafted.
Alright so, today was supposed to be the first day of this cancelled guest’s visit and we did not have any bookings for tonight for that room. She was going to stay until the 27th. But we do have somebody checking in tomorrow who will be staying through the 29th.
So, we have one night that’s not covered. I’m going to wait until tomorrow or Sunday to contact Airbnb. I’m just curious if they’ll contact me first or possibly put the money into our account automatically.
If they do it automatically then that means they really have a system set up for this now. But if they don’t, it means they’re flying by the seat of their pants, which is what I expect.
Anyway, I’ll definitely let you guys know what happens.
Well, I’m honestly stunned! They actually paid it! They didn’t do it automatically though. And they didn’t contact me. I had to contact them. But it was very simple. I contacted them, told them the guest left us with one lost night and 3 days later I had to write them back because they hadn’t responded. But they just responded now. Here’s the essential part of their message:
“Since I can confirm that there is 1 night that was not booked, I have processed the 1 night accommodation equivalent which is $87. You will see the adjustment on your transaction history…”
Yes. I had a guest who didn’t show up because he booked two AirBnBs. Apparently you can have two accounts. I’m on a moderate cancellation policy. Air refunded him and eventually paid me for the unbooked nights. Nevermind that with a moderate cancellation policy I only keep 50% of the reservation after the first night if I cancel. They refunded me the full amount.
It took about a week to hear back though due to my case manager going in vacation. They really need to set out of office emails.
