Guests cancelling trips is an inevitable part of being a host. Unfortunately, life happens for both guests and hosts. There are very different consequences for a host and a guest. That is what I will be discussing below.

For a host, cancelling a trip is the worse thing you can do! Yes, a large reason I say this is because you inconvenience your guest which is the last thing any good host wants to do. More importantly (in the eyes of a host) if that to become a superhost you cannot cancel any trips. If you ever cancel one trip, you will not be eligible to become a superhost for 365 days after the date of the cancelled trip. The is the hardest thing to try and overcome to become a superhost.

For a guest, cancellation is sometimes just inevitable. Between whether issues, delayed flights and life it cannot be avoided. It depends on the host as to a refund policy. The host gets to pick how flexible they are with refunds. There are four different types of cancellation policies.

1. Flexible: guests receive a full refund 24 hours before check in date. (This is the cancellation period that I have. Guests appreciate the flexibility even though I have only had a guest cancel once)
2. Moderate: guests receive a full refund 5 days before the check in date.
3. Strict: guests receive a 50% refund up until 1 week prior to check in date.

From a business stand point having a strict refund policy makes sense. This way if someone cancels you are not out the money. One suggestion I read was to make the cancellation policy moderate of flexible during the summer and a strict cancellation period during the winter. This is because the summer is busier and much more likely to have the days re-booked. In the winter, it is harder for dates to be re-booked. Let me know your opinions on cancellation policies!