The guest wrote to me when they realized they needed to change the reservation at 3pm, 5 days before check in, and the check in time is 5pm. I was out of the country in a time zone 9 hours ahead, so I was asleep at the time. When I read the note, enough time had past, that she would not cancel in time to get full refund. I recommended she cancel or request a booking modification to change the date. She was upset that the new date for the following weekend was no longer available. She sent me a bit of a "threat" saying she hopes I will work with her.
Here is what she said:
"Jen, I'm disappointed you couldn't;t work with me and give e a little extra time to figure this out. I tried to reach you at 3:15, please note, the reservation cancellation says 5 days PRIOR to check in time, which in your case is 5:00pm, not 3:00pm, so I was still within range and should have not been charged the first nights fee. Please resolve this, and arrange to refund that fee. I would prefer to do it graciously with you instead of contacting AirBNB.
I also had looked the it appeared the next weekend was open, so I would have switched to then while trying to work with my son."
I wasn't able to get a new boooking for that weekend with the short notice. She had told me she was not able to come because the local business that contracted with them to do a photo shoot was pushing the date back a week or two. It is not listed in Airbnb's exceptional reasons to cancel. In her first message to me, she wasn't even sure when it would be rescheduled. My town is not a tourist town, and people generally book weeks in advance. I had the place cleaned for their arrival and left the heat on while I was away for 2 weeks, which I would not have done.
Do I refund her?