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Category: Guest Communication
By: Brittany Simmons
Reply by Kevin O'Brien:
**Never, EVER cancel on behalf of the guest.** I cannot stress this enough. Here's my exact response: "I'm sorry your plans changed! Unfortunately I'm not able to cancel on my end without receiving a significant penalty from Airbnb (loss of Superhost status and blocked calendar dates). The best path for you is to cancel through the Airbnb app — depending on the cancellation policy, you may be eligible for a partial or full refund. You can also contact Airbnb Support and explain the situation; they sometimes offer travel credits. If you'd like, I'm happy to help you rebook for a different date!" This is factual, empathetic, and firm. Most guests understand. The few who push back? I just repeat the same message and suggest they call Airbnb directly.
Reply by David Okafor:
To add to this — if the guest's reason is a genuine emergency (death in family, medical emergency, natural disaster), tell them to file a claim through Airbnb's Extenuating Circumstances policy. Airbnb will handle the cancellation and neither of you gets penalized. But "plans changed" or "found a cheaper place"? That's on them. Your cancellation policy exists for a reason.
Reply by Lauren Fischer:
This is unfortunately a known manipulation tactic. Some guests do this because: 1. They booked a non-refundable rate and want their money back 2. They found a cheaper place/date 3. They don't realize the host gets penalized Three cancellations from the host side in a year and you lose Superhost. Plus Airbnb blocks your calendar for those dates. It's brutal. The review response generator at https://strspecialist.com/tools/review-response-generator can help if the guest leaves a negative review out of spite after you decline to cancel. Having a professional response ready is key.