Your Airbnb cancellation policy, changed from the dashboard
By GuestChat Team ·
The cancellation policy is one of those decisions you make on day one and never look at again. And yet it matters a lot: a policy that is too strict scares guests away in low season, and one that is too flexible leaves you with empty nights in August. For Airbnb, you can change it without leaving the dashboard.
Where it is
In the Calendar, Settings tab, Cancellation policy (Airbnb only) block. The dashboard first reads the one you currently have on Airbnb and shows it to you: "Currently in Airbnb".
Airbnb only, because Booking.com doesn't allow this to be changed through the connection: it is set up in its own extranet.
The levels you can choose
These are Airbnb's levels. The time limits can vary by country, so check the ones that apply to you in your listing:
- Flexible: free up to 24 hours before check-in.
- Moderate: free up to 5 days before.
- Firm: you can see the exact time limits in your Airbnb listing.
- Strict: only within 48 hours of booking, and more than 14 days before check-in.
If your listing has another policy that the dashboard can't apply, it is shown for reference only. That is on purpose: this way you don't replace it with a different one by accident. That one is changed on Airbnb.
The non-refundable rate
Below there is a checkbox: Also offer a cheaper non-refundable rate, with its Discount as a percentage. The guest chooses between your normal policy or paying less in exchange for not being able to cancel. It is a clean way to lock in occupancy without making the policy stricter for everyone.
When you save, the dashboard warns you that this changes your real listing on Airbnb. It is published with Save and publish.
Which one to choose for your property
- City apartment for short getaways: Flexible or Moderate. People book at short notice and compare a lot.
- Countryside or beach house with a clear high season: Firm in season, and consider Moderate outside it. A cancellation three days before a night in August can't be filled again.
- Large property for groups: Firm, because each cancellation is a whole weekend lost.
- Any property with good demand: try the non-refundable rate with a moderate discount. Some guests whose trip is already set prefer it.
Explain it well to the guest
The policy is in the listing, but few people read it until they need it. If you change the level, check that your texts and your property profile don't say something different. Nothing leads to a worse review than a policy different from the one the guest thought they had.
And on your own website
Your website has its own policy, separate from Airbnb's: free, up to X days, or non-refundable. We explain it in the article about the cancellation policy for direct bookings.
Common mistakes
- Switching to Strict in low season and wondering why bookings drop.
- Offering a non-refundable rate with such a big discount that almost everyone picks it and you lose margin.
- Forgetting that Booking.com is changed in its extranet, and ending up with very different policies across booking sites for the same apartment.
Where to start
Look at the one you have, think about the last cancellation that hurt, and adjust it by one level. Check the effect for a month before touching it again.