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Yes, you can “refund” without a penalty Cabin… but the guest will still pay Air their 12%. If YOU cancel, Cabin, then you will take the hit. They will also block your calendar and place you lower in the Search. Let them cancel! They will still have to pay the Air fees.
If they really have a story like this, send a death certificate, doctor’s note or other proof. They don’t have it. They just changed their mind and want to cancel.
Lol! Perfect use of the term KC! You are a fast learner of colloquialisms! They are definitely taking the piss. I don’t know what to say back to him, or even if I should respond, because it may encourage him to take out a case for extenuating circumstances.
My advice, Sandy… don’t answer these non-paying customers! Let them twist in the wind. Not your problem any longer!
Did you refund yet actually? Or just say you would? I wouldn’t! Don’t answer them anymore! You are too nice!
Speaking of ridiculous, and things that “make you wonder”… I wanted to share this with you guys. I received this email this morning… Air, asking me to “Book on the Big Island.” How on EARTH… with all the sophisticated algorithms and data Air has … HOW ON EARTH could they send a message to ME like this… someone who LIVES ON THE BIG ISLAND… and has been an Air host with them for five years!? Of course I got to check out my competition. 
(A word of advice… don’t go looking too hard at your competition… it may get you really depressed!)
So wait… I am confused… They sent him back to you via the resolution center? and didn’t require proof of the extenuating circumstance? Then you should do so! Ask him for proof! And you are right maybe he will make a trip to the ER, but even if he does and comes out “clean” you can still ask to see the report.
What a dumba**. Can you change your mind about refunding? Why should you??? He’s LYING!
Yes, airbnb said I don’t have to refund until he has proven his extenuating circumstances, after all, that’s why I offered the refund in the first place, because I was between a rock and a hard place - stuck between having a potentially (as if) ill person come stay if I didn’t offer the refund or shift the dates as requested, or just giving the refund so that I didn’t seem like I was evil and uncaring. Of course, that’s what you are relying on when you suddenly spin a tale of grievous illness or death in order to get out of something you have committed to, and that you know will cause great inconvenience or loss of income to them by canceling at a very late date. So it is only fair that they prove he is actually sick, and not just pulling one over. The way I responded to his last (remarkably recovered and quite concerned about funds for someone having heart issues serious enough to cancel out on a host) message was:
No problem at all Jesse. I spoke to airbnb, and they said they would take over and take care of the refund process. Feel better, Sandy
Oh yeah, they’ll take care of it alright. They’ll make sure you’ve got evidence, seeing as it’s easier for them to say ‘if you want a refund you need to provide a medical certificate that details your heart was checked as you said to your host as your reason for wanting to cancel’ than me. He won’t be expecting that, as I think he believes his little pretending to be his girlfriend act was sufficient evidence to provide the refund just a day and a half before check in day. But of course it’s totally fair. At this point it’s probably likely he’ll go to the doctor, complain about his heart, and get a certificate for the refund (hell being an optometrist, he might even get a friend to write one for him on his prescription pad! Ha). It’s lost income for me, but a. At least I didn’t have to put up with awful people in my home, and b. He’ll have at least some of the inconvenience he gave me. And .C, I might even get lucky and find the bugger was didn’t want to go through the hassle of trying to lie to a doctor either. That would be the best and I believe the fairest outcome.
But what I am thinking Sandy, that even if he goes through the charade of going to the doctor and hospital and all that, will his medical record statement show he had heart problems? And if so, yeah refund. If not Sorry Charlie! (I mean Jesse). Take the damned piss on some other host!
Yes the upside is that you are spared an idiot being in your home. Probably wrecking floors, breaking beds and leaving drink rings on the antiques.
I’ve gotten so cynical about guests it’s not even funny.
Yes, that’s correct, he may have a history of heart problems, which is why he may get the refund, That may be why he chose that particular thing. If it was genuine, I would be very surprised that he went through the charade of pretending to be the girlfriend logging in to email out of concern because Jesse was not well enough - and how came around pretty quick after the refund suggestion - in minutes.
The guests we’re actually super clean. Very fastidious and neurotic folks. Vegans, and not just your usual ones which we get lots of and were veges ourselves for s long time. These are really super neurotic vegans. Anxious, worried, and extremely picky.
As an update, we got the room rebooked for Labor Day weekend, and the next guests booked for three nights, so even better than Jesse’s booking which was only for two. I don’t mind what happens now. We are at our preferred max capacity of three rooms for 3 nights each, and everyone seems very nice as far as I can tell. We actually have five guest rooms on the second floor, but we never book to max, as we like people to have space, and we also don’t like to crowd the bathroom with more than two rooms sharing the main one. (There are only three full bathrooms and two half).
As we mainly have bookings on the weekends (great by us!), booking out two to three rooms each weekend earns us enough to cover all our living costs so that our real work which is sporadic but has picked up beautifully recently allows some breathing room. If I get better at helping people behave (which being here and picking up lots of tips has helped me to do) I will hopefully find it more enjoyable and less stressful too. I recently wrote more house rules, and filled more in the house manual to help guide the behaviors I am hoping for. I also added a security deposit to make it easier to get people to cough up when they damage things - or actually to deter them from doing so.
Hey sorry to be a colloquialism pedant but you would say “Take the damned piss out of some other host.”
Here’s a useful lexicon of the word piss in English/Australian/Irish English.
Pissed - angry, borrowed from our American cousins
Pissed - drunk
Pissed off - a little bit down
On the piss - getting drunk, usually quickly & loudly with friends
Having a piss - having a wee
Piss off - go away, can be aggressive, strangers etc or affectionate to friends
Pissing down - raining heavily
Piss your pants - find something hysterically funny
It was a piece of piss - really very, very easy thing to do
Doesn’t have a pot to piss in - very poor
Piss around - spending time doing stupid/unimportant things
Piss someone off - annoy someone
Piss on him/her/it - be completely contemptuous of him/her/it
Piss something up -screw it up
There must be more, but can’t think of them right now!!
So long as you’re not being pissy about it. (ha). An excellent list of ways to use this word!
There’s always ‘that’s a piss poor excuse’ for a stupid excuse for something.
oops, did I use the phrase wrong? Taking advantage of someone was one of the uses. 
How awesome! I did not know you did not charge a damage deposit Sandy! OMG, it’s an absolute must… even if it is just to create a psychological deterrent! They know that damage deposit is looming over their heads, so in theory it will make them much more careful. And also I think it may make Air more ready to side with you on issues, when it is in place. When you don’t have a deposit they will have to wonder if you are relying on them to cover damages, maybe? (Thinking out loud here) So when you have one in place, it’s easier for them to rule in your favor, I would think. They will pull damages out of the guest deposit before forking it over themselves… BRAVO for writing up guest behavior expectations!!! If you don’t tell them what you expect it can be a free-for-all! (like my elementary school classes, which I’ve used as an example here.)
It’s time for these damned guests to shape the hell up! It’s not worth your peace of mind… you cannot have them walking all over you… and your beautiful house.
Yeah. It’s hard though. We like to be laid back and cool with people and hope they’ll take that trust and do the right thing. But given it hasn’t been working, I had to do something. So now I have grandma rules. I ask guests to remove shoes in the rules, not to flush anything other than toilet paper, to close the doors by turning the doorknobs! And please no make up on the towels, we provide cotton pads and handmade washcloths (ps, you’ll be fined $20!) Hehe. And the kitchen isn’t shared but we have a lovely blah blah. Not the wording, but those are the rules.
BTW, Jesse did provide evidence of going to the doctor and air gave him a full refund. But seriously, it’s such a loophole. How easy is that? Anyone that’s made an expensive booking and wants to pull out can just go to the dr and claim they aren’t feeling well and get a dr’s cert. I even did this (it was real though) when I had to cancel a booking when I was not well enough to host. I was worried, because my doctor just wrote something illegible on his prescription pad, and airbnb said great! I was surprised. It didn’t say what if anything was wrong with me.
So he really did have a heart issue?
I think you will be so much happier with grandma rules in place. Most people expect it; they also expect the damage deposit! A hotel holds your credit card! You put down a deposit when renting long term… why not in someone’s gorgeous vintage home!
You cannot trust guests to behave on their own!!!
My great guests who checked out just left this… Over all good on the public page…Hmmmm… I just bought pillows! (Granted, from Target), and I have SIX regular pillows on the bed because of no headboard…And the bed is… well. It is an older Sealy… and the nightly price reflects that… I’ve never claimed to be the Grand Wailea.
Wow! What a great place to stay on a couples vacay! We couldn’t have asked for a better host. K has unrivaled knowledge of the big island and the long itinerary she provided helped a lot in planning our daily activities (snorkeling spots, best beaches, dining, etc). She gave us plenty of space, but was always accessible when needed. Her US Divers snorkel gear is also a huge plus!
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What Alex loved about your listing:
K’s vast knowledge of the big island and snorkel gear. The bottled water provided was also DELICIOUS! Big thank you.
What Alex thought you could improve about the experience:
Not too sure. Maybe higher quality bed/pillows? But we’re pretty picky 
August 2015
Hmm. I’m really picky about my bed and sleeping too. It’s nice they said that part at least. It would have been nice if it was private 
No, he didn’t have to prove a heart condition I don’t believe. He just had to go to the doctor and claim he was feeling worried about his heart I believe. This would prompt some basic testing as a heart is nothing to fool about with in males after 40. It’s a pretty good scam really. You know, it’s possible he has a heart issue, but given that he wasn’t THAT concerned, and wanted until that evening to decide, and especially the malarkey with pretending to be his girlfriend, I still think it was a pretty lame way to go about things. Air has just taken the idea that if someone even so much as goes to the doctor, they better not question it, or the PC police will be after them - especially if they got it wrong one time. Still, it’s a bit of a loop hole I think.
Sandy, I’m picky also… but because I can never compete with someone who’s got fancy bedding and stuff, I just tell it like it is in the listing. Maybe I could get a foam topper at some point? You never know. I do have some guests (not many) mention the bed… But Sandy… this part WAS in the private section. Only the first part shows publicly. He was a nice guy and promised a “stellar” review… So I am pretty happy with it!
I’ve never had a guest pull that on me… but as it turned out, the next bookings happened in your favor.
I just declined someone because they wanted to book 3 days the first of January. That is the prime season and I want to hold out for longer listings so I told them no. Empowering sometimes to do that! Just say no!
I keep hearing that people book so far ahead. In my case since the beginning no one ever booked with me so much ahead. Max was may be a week or 2. Usually it’s IB. Last minutes. I wonder why.
