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" What happened is they asked to rebook at a peak period but got it at the same nightly rate as the original low season reservation. "
Thank you for sharing this, I can’t say that I realized that this happens. This seems like onrof those guest hacks.
Something that happened to me ONCE is a guest asked to change their reservation from 4 nights to one night and THEN cancelled, this only losing one night fee (I had a strict cancelation policy). They pulled a fast one on me!
So my takeaway on discussions regarding modifying existing reservations is, generally, not to accept them. Someone here made an excellent point that even if someone is adding people to the reservation that increases your exposure to a cancelation due to extenuating circumstances.
I think my approach now if someone wanted to add someone to the reservation will be: “Our policy is not to agree to modify reservations before guests have checked in. Once these guests have arrived at the property please message me to that effect on the platform so the reservation can then be modified.”
If they wanted to come earlier or extend their stay, or come earlier, I’d permit that as I don’t see a material risk with that.
But I think all other requests would be “Our policy is generally not to accept modifications to the reservation. If you do cancel with Airbnb and we’re able to re-book the property, then in our sole discretion we may choose to reimburse you for the amount we actually received for your booked days, less any fees or costs associated with the re-booked stay.”
Well, I think I would still point out the behavior. But, thank you for correcting me on this so I can be accurate.
So does this work for you?
“Guest did not follow cancellation policy (requested later starting date on reservation’s day of arrival). This guest did/did not respect the property and kept/did not keep it reasonably clean. Complained of smell of curry though property has been unoccupied for 17 days and disinfected. Would/Would not host again.”
As I think about this I’m not sure that I am right to mention the guest complaint about the smell unless I feel for sure [but how do I know?] that it’s bogus and a pretense for refund or a low rating.
Maybe the guest smelled something (the cinnamon disinfectant?) and couldn’t accurately name it. Some people have a more accurate sense of smell than others do. I was just reading in The Washington Post this article (gifted: https://wapo.st/3EUw6H8).
It says, in part, “While polyester works well for activewear because of its moisture wicking properties, the material is “oleophilic,” or oil-loving, attracting oil from skin that can contribute to body odor. To make matters worse, research has shown that sweaty-smelling compounds can cling to polyester fibers and not wash out completely, leading to a buildup of odors over time.”
So, could someone have eaten curry 18 days ago, that curry smell excreted through sweat glands and adhered to some fabric in the room(s) in question?
A guest requesting a later start date is not “did not follow cancellation policy”. There is nothing in any of the cancellation policies that says a guest can’t request a date change.
Did you say that you are in-house hosting? If so, in our experience you need to be a bit flexible if you are ‘living with’ the guest during their stay.
We have always had a flexible cancellation policy so that if, for whatever reason, a guest would prefer not to stay with us we would rather that they didn’t.
Maintaining a happy household is more important to us. Over hundreds of bookings I could count on one hand the number of last minute cancellations that we’ve experienced. Not to mention rarely needed to talk with Customer Support.
I had a request this week to change a reservation for one week later from this past Saturday to this coming Saturday. It’s just a one night stay and the guest has 16 previous reviews and a 5 star average. He said he got the flu and had to change his plans. If he had canceled he wouldn’t be entitled to a refund because he made the request the day before arrival and I use the moderate policy which requries 5 days notice. I accepted the request and he is now in the new 5 day window. If he were to make another request for a change or cancel with refund I’d refuse.
I wasn’t able to book the Saturday which he’d had booked for a couple of weeks and it was a holiday weekend. He may have cost me a booking since I’m booked most Saturdays. But it’s one day, not a week at a holiday location. Also he had the good track record. Like everything else, the right decision is on a case by case basis.
I understand. That’s why I put that word ‘generally’ to cover such situations, though I’m guessing that most Hosts would not have accepted the change because it very likely cost you that booking.
I’m one of those hosts who sees my Airbnb as more than just a business/financial transaction. I see treating others the way I’d like to be treated as part of it. On my recent trip I had to cancel several Airbnb bookings due to having covid and half the hosts fully refunded. I also got paid for a guest who didn’t stay last week so I’m just paying it forward. I fully understand that there are many hosts who simply can’t follow my rainbows and unicorns business methods.
I think it definitely makes hosting less stressful if you can be a bit flexible and understanding. And if a guest isn’t just scamming, allowing them to cancel and get some refund, or alter the dates could mean the difference between them booking with you again and recommending you to friends or the opposite.
Not saying that hosts shouldn’t uphold their policies or cave to demanding guests, just that not being hard-nosed can have its advantages.
Great comment re airing frustrations and yes, it helps me clarify my hosting needs too. The guest has not responsed to the message in the airbnb messages above (sorry it was not an email) but did leave a review on departure day. After quite a lot of reflection and great comments from hosts on this forum, I decided to consider the message sent to guest as my review in a less public capacity and to not review the guest on the system, therefore avoiding any further potential sulleness. This guest had such good reviews from hosts that I wondered if a substitute guest had arrived for the booking and noticed that on departure evening, the person had changed their profile pic twice, first to a cat, then a sheep!! LOL!
No, certainly would not have that type of guest stay in outside of airbnb.
There were several real time messages but the guest appeared set with an expectation to bypass all this. An important thing in this scenario is the system would not allow a click to accept a date change on the day of arrival, THEREFORE guest was referred back to CS and who knows what slippage occurs in the story then. For eg. a guest could easily interpret a referral to CS that the host was agreeing to the change and asking for intervention etc etc.
Re the long message, it’s my style and guarantees that I do not continue to languish with unsatisfactory experiences that might make me give up hosting. Most of my guests are fabulous and responsible.
I now add a note when accepting new reservations - pls be aware my cancellation policy is strict and if you need travel flexibility you may need to consider other booking options. This will cover me in the event guests have not read through listing requirements or are newbies. A scenario such as this guest enacted would then be less prone to time consuming overriding of policies.
My message to the guest is now the guests private review and I am not writing a review in the public space as an intentional closure to this incident.
Not going to do a review in the public space. Guest has been invited to respond via the airbnb message to me, chose not to. So giving guest last word on a review is not my preference.
Same. Except I have a moderate policy. I don’t want to spend time cleaning for a guest to then cancel last minute. Between the dust, bugs and gecko poop where I live, it’s not like I can just close the door and the room stays clean for the next guest. I’d have to clean it again.
Have had maybe 3 or 4 guests ever who cancelled. Most weeks before, only one past the full cancellation date, and that was understandable- a close family member had died, she wasvery apologetic about cancelling, and never asked for a refund beyond what she was due, so obviously not scamming.
And beyond a couple times I asked CS to try to contact a guest who wasn’t responding to messages, I have never contacted CS about anything at all regarding a guest.
No, it has always been like that. All reviews get published regardless of whether both parties leave a review. It’s possible you just missed seeing it, as reviews are not always in chronological order. Usually when someone says that, when others tell them to look again, in depth, they find it.
Flexible system got used and abused by a minority of guests so its now strict. I do sometimes ask guests to change dates eg I live in an area declared a disaster zone a couple of times this year, power goes off, cant cook, keep warm etc. but that is a different story.
About 4 deaths this year from falling rocks and landslides so my hosting is on the proactive side for guest safety.
