Canceling a reservation

Canceling a confirmed reservation may become necessary in some situations, such as when you have maintenance issues, an overbooking, or other unforeseen circumstances. Reservations can be canceled by the guest or the host.

Cancellations are done via Guesty or the booking channel. To sync the cancellation between Guesty and the channel, the listing must have a “Connected” status in the booking channel’s integration page in Guesty. If the listing in not connected, cancel the reservation on Guesty and the booking channel. 

Reservations can't be deleted and canceled reservations can't be restored or edited. If needed, create it again manually. Once cancelled, the dates become available on all booking channels and any associated automated messages are automatically canceled.

Understanding Guesty's auto-decline feature

Guesty's auto-decline feature helps protect your response rate, a key factor for maintaining your status, for example Airbnb’s Superhost, or Vrbo’s Premium Host status.

Quote and Hold reservations are assigned a "Reserved" status, which must be approved or declined within the timeframe:

• Users who have a limited sync connection type:  Under “quote and hold”, you have 24 hours to accept or decline a reservation. After 24 hours, the reservation is canceled automatically. Set your booking policy directly in Vrbo.
• Users who have a full sync connection type: Under “quote and hold”, you have 42 hours to accept or decline a reservation. After 42 hours, the reservation is canceled automatically. Follow the instructions below.

If no action is taken, Guesty will automatically decline the reservation, changing its status to "Expired" and the guest is notified that the request was not accepted.

Learn more about reservation statuses.

Guest-initiated cancellations 

Guests are allowed to cancel their reservation even after check-in as long as the check-out date is in the future. When a guest cancels a reservation, expect the following implications:

• Automatic sync: The cancellation syncs automatically to Guesty, within 1 to 24 hours. 
• Notification sent: You’ll receive a cancellation notification in your Guesty Inbox.
• Reservation status change: The reservation status in Guesty will change from "Reserved" to "Canceled."
• Refund processing: You're responsible for processing any refunds according to your cancellation policy.
• Ranking metrics: Guest-initiated cancellations don't impact your search ranking on the booking channel.

Host-initiated cancellations

If you as the host cancel a reservation, expect the following implications:

• Recorded in the booking channel: A manual cancellation in Guesty is recorded as "canceled by host" in the booking channel.

  For host-initiated Booking.com cancellations, see more below.

• Impact on host status: A host-initiated cancellation may negatively affect your status on the booking channel.
• Cancellation rate: This cancellation will impact your cancellation rate.
• Listing suspension: Some booking channels suspend listings with a high cancellation rate.

Refunds and charges

When you cancel a reservation, additional fees you manually added to the reservation remain as non-canceled invoice items. A guest’s cancellation fee can be added to the invoice, according to the cancellation policy. A refund isn't automatically issued to the guest, and must be made manually.

Requests to Book or inquiries don't result in any charges to the guest or host if they’re not approved, however you may be charged a cancellation fee by the channel and/or by Guesty. 

If the listing has a cancellation policy, and you marked that the reservation is canceled by the guest, the cancellation fee is calculated and displayed automatically in the invoice as an added line item. You can view it in the "Guest invoice" section of the "Balance due / Payout" page.

Which reservations can I cancel?

Only confirmed reservations can be canceled. If a guest used an invalid payment method, the reservation won't be canceled automatically. You can set a notification for failed payments, and handle the issue by trying to charge the guest again, collecting a new payment method, or manually canceling the reservation.

Where should I cancel a reservation?

Check the reservation's source and proceed according to the channel of origin. When canceling a reservation via the channel, the status update syncs to Guesty unless stated otherwise. Follow the instructions below to cancel the reservation via Guesty.

Airbnb

Reservations with check-ins in the next 24 hours

Contact Airbnb to cancel the reservation. Learn more about Airbnb’s cancellation penalties in the Airbnb Host Cancellation Policy.

Reservations with check-ins in more than 24 hours

When canceling an Airbnb reservation via Guesty, the request is subject to Airbnb’s approval. Because this may take a few days, you can contact us to remove the block in your calendar sooner. However, this can create discrepancies between your Guesty and Airbnb availability.

Booking.com

It is recommended to ask the guest to cancel the reservation using a link from their confirmation email or via their Booking.com account. Learn more below if you, as the host, must initiate a cancellation.

• Cancel via Guesty: You can initiate a cancellation via Guesty if Guesty is the listing's connectivity provider, and the guest is a no-show or used an invalid credit card.
• Cancel via Booking.com: For all other cases initiate a cancellation request through Booking.com's Extranet. Cancellation requests can be submitted to Booking.com up to 48 hours before check-in via the Extranet or the Pulse app. If the guest asks you to cancel their reservation less than 48 hours before check-in, advise them to contact Booking.com's customer service. Once the guest receives and accepts the cancellation request, the reservation will be canceled.
• If Guesty isn't the listing’s connectivity provider, cancel the reservation in Guesty as canceling the reservation via Booking.com won’t sync to Guesty.

Fraudulent booking must be handled directly via Booking.com.

Vrbo

Guest-initiated cancellations

Guests can cancel a reservation in Vrbo which syncs to Guesty. If a guest cancellation on Vrbo does not sync with Guesty, verify that the reservation was imported correctly. If the sync did not occur due to an import issue, cancel it in Guesty manually.

Host-initiated cancellations

If you need to initiate a manual cancellation, such as an owner/host reservation, or due to payment-related issues or unexpected circumstances, follow the steps below to cancel in Guesty. 

When canceling a pre-existing reservation, the cancellation is recorded as "canceled by host," which could impact your Premier Host status on Vrbo and may result listing suspension. To avoid this, request the guest to cancel the reservation themselves on Vrbo, or contact Vrbo directly to handle the cancellation.

To maintain a good standing with the Vrbo and avoid cancellation penalties, submit a waiver request to Vrbo. For more details, refer to the Vrbo Partner Cancellation Fee Policy.

Reservations from all other channels

For all channels not listed above, cancel the reservation in the relevant channel. The cancellation will then sync to Guesty.

Guesty Booking Website

Cancel in Guesty.

Canceling a reservation in Guesty

Follow the instructions below to cancel a reservation via the reservation page in Guesty.

Step by step:

1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click More, then select Reservations.
3. Click the relevant reservation.
4. Click .
   Airbnb:  Click and select Edit reservation. 
5. Under "Status," change the menu selection to Canceled.
   Airbnb: Click and select Request cancellation.
6. Enter the cancellation details in the pop-up.
   • For manual reservations, select who canceled the reservation, the cancellation reason, and any relevant notes. Once selected, the cancellation reason can't be changed. Click Cancel reservation.
   • For Airbnb reservations, select the cancellation reason, then click Confirm to send a cancellation request to Airbnb.
   • For Vrbo reservations, select who canceled the reservation, then click Yes, cancel it. 

The reservation status will change to "Canceled".