Refunds for bookings cancelled by the host

Because cancellations are a cause of stress for guests and can cause them to no longer have confidence in the platform where they made their booking, the booking platforms normally apply penalties for cancellations made by hosts.

Refunds

For bookings paid online via Smily’s payment system

The guest will be refunded in full by Smily.*

Fees incurred due to the booking cancellation may be applied by the booking platform. For example, an alternative property may be offered to the guest for their booking and any price difference between the original booking and the alternative may be invoiced to you.

For bookings paid via Airbnb

Airbnb will refund the guest in full.

Airbnb may apply some penalties to you and your listing for the host cancellation:

Cancellation fees: a financial penalty will be deducted from the next transfer made to you after each cancellation. The amount of this penalty will depend on thereservation amount, when the booking was confirmed and how much time you left the guest to organise themself before the start of the booking. The minimum cancellation fee imposed by Airbnb is $50 USD and the maximum cancellation fee is $1,000 USD.

  • If the reservation is canceled 48 hours or less before check-in, or after check-in, the fee is 50% of the reservation amount for the nights not stayed
  • If the reservation is canceled more than 48 hours, and 30 days or less, before check-in, the fee is 25% of the reservation amount
  • If the reservation is canceled more than 30 days before check-in, the fee is 10% of the reservation amount

Automatic review: if you make a cancellation before the check-in date, a review will automatically be left on the profile page of your listing to indicate that you have cancelled one of your bookings. These reviews cannot be deleted, but you can reply publicly to explain the reason for the cancellation.

Guest reviews: if you cancel on the arrival day or later, guests can leave publuc reviews on your listing.

Calendar unavailable/blocked: your calendar will stay blocked and you won't be able to accept any bookings for the dates on which you cancelled a reservation.

Suspension of your account: if you cancel 3 bookings or more in a year, Airbnb can deactivate your listing.

Instant booking: hosts can cancel Instant Book reservations without penalty under certain circumstances. Some examples include:

  • Valid reasons beyond the Host’s control, such as emergency repairs (like a gas leak or a burst pipe) or serious personal illness that prevents hosting
  • The guest makes it clear they’ll likely break one of the host’s house rules, like bringing a pet or smoking
  • The listing does not fit the needs of the guest
  • The guest has several unfavourable reviews or a lack of profile information that concerns the host

For bookings paid directly to you

If you collected payment directly from the guest (by bank transfer or cheque, for example) and you subsequently cancel the booking, you are expected to refund the guest in full for any payments made. You will need to manage the refund to the guest of the full amount paid.

*refund management is included for accounts on the latest Smily pricing plan. If you signed up to Smily before December 2021 and have not upgraded your pricing plan, you may not be eligible to benefit from this service and you may need to manage the refunds for your guests. Please contact us for more information.