Host (me) and guest agrees to cancel, but I get penalty?

[Andreas-Ursin0]

Hi all

I have a guest and we had to arrange a different solution for this particular guest. We agreed to cancel the booking and he said he did. However Airbnb asked me to CONFIRM this cancellation. I did, and now it says in my stats that I CANCELLED his booking and will be punished if it happens again? I do not understand this solution as this was an agreement. Can someone from Airbnb maybe delete this penalty as it probably hurts my search results?

At the same time - it does not make sense that the cancelled date is blocked in my calendar. I understand it's to stop bad hosts from having too much power. But on the other hand it is annoying to be punished in the cases where host and guest find an agreeable solution.

Thank you for your understanding.

[Alexandra316]

@Andreas-Ursin0 Im sure your intentions were good, but never help a guest to cancel or accept their request to cancel. Guests can and should cancel on their own, if they want to. If they need help with it, direct them to Airbnb support.

At this point, I would contact Airbnb support yourself and explain the situation. They can remove the penalties. Hopefully you kept your contact with the guest to the Airbnb messenger so they can see what happened. 

[David126]

The solution was to let the guest cancel, the guest asked you to cancel and you did.

[Matthew285]

@Andreas-Ursin0 the situation you describe happens a lot; you are far from the only host to be caught by this.

While hosts understand there are

1. Guest cancellations, which are blamed on the guest, and
2. Host cancellations, which are blamed on the host.

hosts often do not understand there is also:

3. Guest requesting a host cancellation, which is blamed on the *host*.

Regardless of how much "agreement" there is between the host and guest, if the host is blamed for the cancellation, then the host cancellation penalties are applied.

I assume now you know that if the guest wants to cancel, that the guest must cancel.

On the other hand, if indeed you (the host) were the one who actually wanted the reservation cancelled, then the penalty is supposed to be applied to you, regardless of how must the guest "agreed" with your reasons for cancelling.

The test: if you had not wanted the reservation cancelled, would the guest have pressed for a cancellation even against your wishes?

It is NOT explained very well, which is why a lot of hosts get stuck in the same situation you are.

[Robin4]

@Andreas-Ursin0

Andreas, don't ever assist the guest to cancel a confirmed reservation.

What will happen here the guest has a problem with following through on a booking. You work out a solution with the guest and the guest agrees to cancel, and Airbnb informs them the only way they can have all their payment refunded is to get the host to accept responsibility for the cancellation!

You will receive an email that will look a bit  like this....

You think.....great, it is all sorted out and you don't have to do anything further, how good are Airbnb!.....'Wrong', if you do not respond to that email you will be deemed responsible for the cancellation and you will have to suffer the cancellation penalties.

You must always respond and say you are prepared to proceed with the reservation, and if the guest wishes to cancel, you will not accept any responsiblity of the cancellation.

That then forces it back on the guest to do the cancelling!

Your only other option is to contact Airbnb and tell them you are prepared to host the guest but it is they who do not wish to proceed and they would like the reservation cancelled on their end.

As a host Andreas, never cancel (or accept responsibility for the cancelling of) a confirmed guest reservation!

Cheers......Rob

[Matthew285]

@Robin4 I am not entirely sure it was the guest's idea to cancel.

If you read the posting, it honestly sounds like it was the host's idea to cancel.

He opens with "I have a guest and we had to arrange a different solution for this particular guest."

Does that sound like the guest wanted to cancel?

It sound more like the host had to work around a host problem, and managed to get the guest to agree to his solution.

When a guest wants to cancel, the host will usually just say "The guest wanted to cancel", not try to cover up a host cancellation with clever wording.

[Robin4]

@Matthew285

Possibly Matt but this sentence is the give away.....

"We agreed to cancel the booking and he said he did. However Airbnb asked me to CONFIRM this cancellation." ........he said he did and Airbnb asked me to confirm!

This has been going on for years Matt....If a guest cancels, they cancel....simple as that...they don't involve the host!

When a guest cancels but Airbnb asks the host to approve it, that means the guest wants the host to accept responsibility for the cancellation....once again, simple as that.

Cheers.....Rob

[Gail142]

My guest requested to cancel and I acceprted - now I have been gven a penmalty and my superhost status has been remobved. Hiw can this be resolved?

[Matthew285]

@Gail142 it sounds like the guest sent one of those confusing requests where the guest is requesting a host cancellation. When the host approves it, the host is the one cancelling and receives the punishment.

The only people who can fix this is Airbnb customer service. Contact them and explain what happened; if they feel the guest is the one who wanted the reservation cancelled, customer service can remove any penalties.