Process of refunding rebooked nights

1

I have a situation where I’m going to refund any nights we get booked for a cancellation. We have the Strict Policy and they cancelled more than 7 nights ahead of time, so I get 50% of the total.

I know to wait until after I get the money from AirBnB. I could just Zelle/Venmo the guest the refund (I’ve looked them up and they are legit), or I could go through AirBnB, I guess through the resolution center. But then they just withhold that amount from future payouts, right?

Thoughts? Better ways to do it? (This is so easy with Vrbo or direct bookings, where I control the payments…)

Edited to add: Let’s say the 50% refund is $1000, and my next booked amount is $2000. If I go through the resolution center to give the guest the $1000, does AirBnB withhold that from the $2000 then send me $970 (after their 3%), or do they withhold that from the $1940 payout, giving me $940?

2

For me they have always withheld it from the payout when I do it through the resolution center.

3

I can’t answer the question because I’ve no idea and this is going a bit off-topic…

I’ve never offered to refund on the condition of getting a new booking but for those who have, has it been a worthwhile thing for you to do?

Do guests who cancel and get a refund become repeat or regular visitors?

4

I have offered, and sent, a partial refund when I rebooked. I did it thru the resolution center.

5

What @PitonView is asking hasn’t been addressed, and I don’t know either, as I’ve never refunded a guest through the resolution center. If I understand correctly, she is asking if Airbnb is going to deduct another 3% in service fees if she refunds the other half of the guest payment.

@jaquo I’ve never refunded a guest if I got a replacement booking either, but ifI did, I wouldn’t do it with the thought that it would be valuable in terms of that guest becoming a regular or repeat visitor, I would just do it because the thought of double dipping, in most cases, doesn’t sit well with me. But I wouldn’t necessarily refund the full amount, because I think guests need to realize that hosts have usually spent time messaging with them, etc., and our time isn’t free, so I’d probably deduct $20 or so from a refund to account for that.

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6

I agree. By the time the guests have arrived and the house tour is done, for many hosts that’s 75% or more of their work finished.

Preparing for guests is a specialised job in itself, especially if the host does it themselves. Even if they employ people to do the bulk of the work, it’s ultimately the host’s responsibility - which can be hard work.

We have prepared the rental, kept the garden, pool, stairways, parking areas and so on clean and tidy, we’ve taken time to shop for treats / breakfasts / bottle of wine / fresh flowers as well as consumables like loo paper, paper towels, toiletries, etc.

Plus, as you say @muddy the messaging, answering questions, giving directions. agreeing to guests’ special requirements, offering recommendations, explaining about check-in time, explaining why they can’t bring their dog … and so on and so on and so on.

There will always be guests who are needy during the stay but in many cases, the host has little more to do after the guests have arrived - and we love those guests especially. :slight_smile:

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7

Answer to my own question after going through this:
If you refund a guest that cancelled after you’ve been paid for their stay, you have to go through the resolution center. You can only refund the amount you were paid - the resolution center won’t allow you to pay one cent more if you choose that you are refunding for a cancellation as the reason.

I have no idea what the guest actually gets, but I encourage the guests to call up and push to get the rest refunded since the host refunded 100%.