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I have 3 reservations in April - 2 week-ends and 1 4 night stay. I have a request from someone who would like to rent my place for 2 1/2 months, but I would need to cancel those reservations. The income earned by the long term would be substantial.
I’m thinking I will cancel the guests but I feel bad about it, and am wondering if I should offer some compensation. Also, I’m not clear as to if the current bookings are more than 3 weeks away, will the guests be able to leave me bad reviews?
Seriously? No! It is not okay to cancel 3 reservations due to being greedy. You need to honor the reservations you have. How would you like it if you had a trip planned and your host cancelled your reservation a month before you were to arrive? Not only that, if airbnb found out they would likely boot you off the platform.
How come this has come through when you already have three bookings blocking your calendar? From outside of Airbnb/other sites you may be on? Don’t you synchronise?
It would be totally wrong to cancel these, both morally and putting yourself at risk of being thrown off the platform. This is lazy, as well as greedy. You will probably get more bookings to add to those three, including the 14 night one, but I suppose you might not wish to put the effort in?
Have you ever had such a long booking? Even off site, I bet they are a PITA eventually.
We’ve had an influx lately but this sounds legit. We’ve had other people post before with a similar dilemma. And having used Airbnb as a guest I’ve seen a lot of terrible listings with terrible hosts so they are definitely out there.
That is why Air is forcing hosts to be more like hotels: IB, flexible cancellation for guests and penalties if hosts cancel without good reason.
I only stay with Superhosts. I filter for SH and for instant book. The more reviews the better. I’m sure there are many nice hosts not using IB but after waiting a day to be turned down, I said never again. I did stay with an non-SH/IB in Ohio two years ago because there was nothing else in the neighborhood I wanted. But she had 7 5 star reviews and she was great. And if I see they have a cancellation on their listing anytime recently I click away.
No, it’s not okay to cancel those reservations. People are counting on you and the service you agreed to provide. You don’t accept bookings with the caveat “unless something better comes along.”
Oh @Beth it sounds as if you are a new host and haven’t invested the time to read up on how Airbnb works before your listing went live.
Have you looked at the Airbnb Help Centre?
Go and read through it, but first read up on Host Cancellations. Airbnb take host cancellations seriously, they will block the dates, fine you and if you cancel three on the trot as a new host they might even cancel your listing.
It would be highly unfair on your guests of you to do this. If you only want long term bookings - why not set your listing for a minimum of a months stay?
What would you do if you cancelled the bookings paid their airbnb fees and compensation in addition to their costs and then, the would be guest decided not to go ahead?
My suggestion is to do the decent thing and honour the bookings you have.
Guests could have booked flights, booked places to visit. I cancelled once as i had to stay in hospital for the night , but i found her alternative accommodation and air cancelled once i submitted my medical docs. Keep your original bookings and see u if can find the longer term guest alternative accommodation just for those days u have other guests. Treat people the way you would like to be treated
Yes, life is hard, but canceling on a guest if this is the reason is a real NO NO.
It has happened to us before, that a one nighter was in the way of someone with several nights. Bad luck! One time we were able to upgrade the first guest to our better room, so it was a win win for everyone.
Only if you can help them get a different comparable rental and additional compensation. For example, let’s say I can get $4000 for the 2.5 month rental and I really prefer it over many short rentals. I spend $1000 of that compensating the 3 cancelled guests in addition to the refunds they get.
If I were a guest and my host contacted me and was honest and I found out I could, in effect, stay somewhere else free? I’d jump on it. Just like I don’t mind getting bumped by the airline if they give me a $400 voucher and send me on my way on a different flight.
I understand your point, but in this case, where the host has to cancel 3 booking, I would be afraid of the ‘logistics’ of such an undertaking. The first two might accept, the third might not and then what do you do.
Also on AirBnB, it’s very hard to find something similar. People might even have booked our place because they like what they read in the reviews about us.
I’m not a troll, and I’m not a bad, evil person either. I thought this forum was a place to go to for help, not a place to be critized and ridiculed. That’s why I asked - I didn’t cancel anything, I asked for assistance. You (including all who were) don’t need to be so judgemental - what kind of support is that? Questions can be answered politely even if you don’t like the question.
To those who answered kindly with an honest opinion - thank you.
Beth, no offense intended but when I read your post, I thought you may be a troll because I can’t imagine that someone would consider cancelling 3 reservations to accommodate one booking that was more lengthy. Also, the only reason I can imagine someone doing this is because they were greedy, which you pretty much admitted to when you said you wanted to cancel three bookings to get more money from the longer booking. I didn’t consider you evil but you have to admit to the greedy part.
There are trolls out there that post on forums like this to illicit a reaction, stir the pot, so to speak. Apparently I was mistaken in this case so my apologies that you were offended.
I don’t think you’re a troll Beth, but the question is definitely one a newbie would ask. It’s never okay to do what you are thinking of doing. You’d have three auto notices of cancels and might even risk a delist from Air. You would need to explain yourself as to why you canceled on guests. So you are clearly new, and as such, forgiven for asking. ️
and then what do you do.
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