I’ve talked to more than 35 guests about their Airbnb cancellation experience. I’ve also spoken with more than 15 hosts. After talking with both hosts and guests, I found 14 reasons which could trigger a host to cancel your Airbnb reservation.
Reason 1: Breaking House Rules.
Every Airbnb comes with a few house rules. For example, no pets allowed or no smoking. If you show up at your Airbnb with your pet where a pet is not allowed; or the host charges extra for a pet, but you did not notify your host beforehand, the host may cancel your reservation. Moreover, if you smoke during your stay in a no-smoking Airbnb or throw a party in a no party Airbnb, your host would cancel your booking.
Reason 2: Show up early to inspect the Airbnb rentals.
Airbnb would provide you the rental property address upon booking confirmation. However, it would be best if you never showed up to the rental property before your check-in date and time to inspect the Airbnb property. If you do, it will make the host unsafe, uncomfortable, and angry. This behavior constitutes trespassing because you don’t have the right to visit the property until your agreed upon date and time. I’ve seen numerous cases where this happened, and the host canceled the reservation.
Reason 3: Bad Reviews.
When a guest books an Airbnb, they always look for well-reviewed hosts. The same goes for oppositely. Hosts also read reviews that other hosts left on your profile. If there are negative reviews by hosts on your profile, then a new host would hesitate to approve your booking or may cancel your reservation upon booking.
Reason 4: Book for someone else.
Airbnb verifies all guests before booking confirmation. As an Airbnb user, you should book for yourself. It’s safe, both for you and the host as all party knows each other. However, if you book for your friends or relatives, then it is disturbing for the host, as the host does not know your friend or relatives. This is a significant safety concern for hosts. In this case, a host will always cancel your reservation.
Reason 5: Visiting a place to party.
Hosts do not know whether you are visiting an area to party or not. But, if you are a group of young aged people, then the host becomes wary. According to Airbnb hosts, a group of young people always leaves a mess.
Reason 6: Rental property is not ready for the next guest.
Airbnb rental is like any other real property. A lot of guests are using the property, which takes a lot of abuse. It takes constant maintenance. On some occasions, a guest could damage the rental property, and it needs fixing before it could be rented out again. In these scenarios, a host could cancel your reservation to fix the rental property.
Reason 7: Exceeding Guest Number.
Every Airbnb rentals have guest number limitations. Hosts charge more for extra people on their property. If you indicate that you will stay at the rental property with exceeding guest number than allowed on the property, then the host may cancel your booking. Not only before your check-in, but also after your check-in, a host can cancel your reservation if your party number is more than allowed by the host.
Reason 8: Incomplete Guest Profile.
If you are new to Airbnb and don’t have an accurate profile picture, your name is in foreign character that the host can’t read (for example, in Chinese character), the host may grow wary. According to hosts, only those people who do not have an accurate profile picture is booking Airbnb for other people. This is a significant red signal for hosts.
Reason 9: Too Demanding Guest.
If, as a guest, you become too demanding, such as asking too many questions regarding the rental property, the host may become uncomfortable with your booking and may cancel your reservation. Airbnb is not a hotel. The host is not there for your room service. Annoying the host for little goodies during your stay would disturb your host. He/She will cancel your reservation during your visit and force you out of their rental property.
Reason 10: The Host having family problems.
There are scenarios where a host may cancel your reservation because of his / her family issues.
Reason 11: Natural Causes.
If there is a wildfire in the host’s area, or earthquake, or other inclement weather, a host can cancel your reservation. During the last COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world, a large number of Airbnb reservation was canceled by hosts.
Reason 12: Instant Booking.
Many hosts have instant booking turned-on on their Airbnb settings. Instant Book listings don’t require permission from your host before it can be booked. This instant booking creates some problems in some cases. For example, if guest books with an infant where the host does not have any settings for infants or guest books with too many people in their group.
Reason 13: Racism.
Believe me or not, racism still exists. It’s not apparent, but it’s subtle racism. Your host may cancel your reservation because of your race, religion, color, or nationality. The host will cancel your booking, stating that you make the host uncomfortable or have broken the House Rule. But actually, your body color, race, or religion makes the host uncomfortable, and your Airbnb cancellation is race-related.
Reason 14: Multiple Platform Listings.
Many times a host registers their same property on multiple platforms. If his property gets booked for the date from multiple platforms simultaneously, the host cancels the booking that gives them low earnings.
Conclusion:
Booking cancellation by the host is a great inconvenience for Airbnb guests, notably the last-minute cancellation. It gives a lot of hassle and mental pressure on the guests. But the hosts also get penalized if they cancel a reservation. Not only Airbnb penalizes the Host monetarily but also blocks the host from taking any guest for those canceled days. So, if a host cancels your reservation, always remember that there must be a good reason.
