Nope - but my guess is there are more than four times the usual number of people looking to book. 
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Thank you for the advice.
We inadvertently didnāt realise our calendar had rolled on to December January the first year we hosted. Weād set an attractive pice for early reviews and then got a request for Xmas for four days. We realised this would normally attract at least twice the price, but having offered it and they legally accepted consideration, we had little opinion but to go ahead. That said morally we felt we should anyway.
Nearer the stay we received a request for a Christmas tree. Yes we provided a tree and dressed our barn.
Lesson learntš
Iāve been in this situation before. For me itās simply a question of ethics. And as someone who tries to do the right thing I would honour the booking.
I would make a note on the booking so Iād remember to bump the rate up should they cancel for some reason (and thatās one cancellation Iād be happy to take!).
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This. This has been discussed before, where a host wants to cancel a legitimate booking simply because they can make more money. Yes, you can do it, but itās pretty shitty behaviour to penalise a guest simply because you werenāt on the ball.
Weāre open twelve months ahead, sometimes fifteen months. If weāre unsure of exact dates to annual events then we block off the surrounding dates until they are confirmed.
JF
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This has happened to me too, a couple of times albeit for regional or small events. Weāve honoured the bookings both times - putting it down to experience. Like most, I would not cancel.
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I agree with the majority. We too have had the same experience and honoured the booking. Its a learning experience. Sometimes when you lose you win!
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You need to do the right thing and leave the reservation as is.
What goes around, comes around.
Gary
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Ouch! That does hurt but I agree with the majority of posts on hereā¦ it would be in poor taste to cancel. Also @Allison_H I love your idiot tax conceptā¦ I had the exact same thing and called it my āstupid billā (Fortunately for me the stupid bill has gone down considerably since I got engaged and drastically reduced my alcohol consumption)
One thing I can suggest is to make your far-in-the-future dates much more expensive by default, and then lower them as the dates draw nearer if they are still not booked. This is similar to the way airlines price tickets. This way, even if you donāt realize there is an event, you still get a higher price for people who book way in advance. People who book really far in advance typically are very inflexible or they know something you donāt, so you can do a bit of price discrimination on them.
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There are a lot a crappy hosts. Sorry that happened to you.
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It happened to me to. In September I had set smart pricing on, hopping to get better position in searches for October and November, and got a 7 days booking for July. At first I thought it was a Airbnb glitch sending old messages , than I saw it was next year, than I saw it was almost 1/3 of the price I would get for that week, and than I saw it was the weekend when we have the Ultra festivalā¦ I never had before a 7 days stay( usually 2 to 3 days, after I have set a 2 days minimum), they even got a 7 days discountā¦argghhh
I politely asked if this was a mistake. The lady replied it was a early planing, and I tought,: lucky you, you deserve it with so good organized lifeā¦
Immidiately turned smart pricing off for next year, and learned my lesson.
Anyway, if somebody from Airbnb stuff is reading this. Smart pricing should consider the season in some part of world, and not offer the minimum price set in that period, because there are, one year in advance, not many people looking at your listing
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Absolutely, I had the same experience in trying to book ab ABB for the first time. The host even told me āI hope you understand, being a fellow hostā but then declined us bc she wanted to book more than her two night minimum. As a guest, I didnāt get to say anything (or missed that opportunity if it was there) but she should have been told āNo. I do not understand. You are a greedy host.ā And her dates should have been blocked, but they werenāt. I hope the members of this forum wouldnāt be such opportunistic jerks.
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I believe most of us arenāt.
JF
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I donāt think thatās possible. Even the best algorithm in the world couldnāt do itā¦yet. And when/if they can, weāll all be minions in a computer driven universe so 
Was it a decline or a cancel?
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Rooky mistake: sadly you learn as you go if you are not fully engaged with your biz and the area whats available - key to be successful long term host - know your area whats on - whats great - make your place the go to place to stay for golf players - create your home as a golf theme -
take advantage of the opportunity
but dont cancel them - its not the host way
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I think people are being a little OTT here. The event is so far away, she didnāt know about it, and honestly it feels like AirBnb sets us up for these pitfalls in a lot of ways. If they were really thinking about us hosts (or guests) and not their own bottom line, I donāt think they would be allowing / encouraging bookings to be scheduled so far ahead of time. They seem to keep confusing us with hotels, and therefore our guests keep confusing us with them. I am not sure I would book an AirBnb that far ahead of time. Iām not saying āguest should have known betterā Iām just saying itās a bit much to expect your average host to know whatās going to be going on 8 months from now, or further! It sets an expectation thatās hard to live up to. Which seems to be AirBnbās specialty. I think we need to stand up to it more.
Youāre joking arenāt you? Iāve got no idea how the āaverage hostā runs their business, but a good host should certainly know when their peak periods are.
Itās like hosting 101, i.e. when can I increase my prices to cater for an increased demand.
JF
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8 months is not very far into the future for traveling. I have bookings as far out as May right now. I also tend to get better prices for dates booked further in advance.
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We control how far in advance people can book.
My window is 12 months. The local tourism board posts a calendar of events usually for the next 12 months but sometimes 18-24 months depending on how large the event is.
I usually goof up 1x a year and miss an income opportunity or accidentally underquote a special offer. Thatās on me and I honor the booking price. (@Allison_H is idiot tax is a perfect name for it)
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