After declining a high-risk guest reservation in Autohost, you need to cancel their reservation. Here's how to do that:
Canceling the reservation
When you decline a guest, it's your responsibility to cancel the reservation through the booking channel/source itself. If possible, we recommend that you send a message to the guest asking them to cancel. You can use the templates below as a general guideline:
Templates to cancel guests who...
Refuse to complete the Guest Portal:
Hi {{guest_first}},
As stated by the terms of service of the booking, you must complete our secure portal and provide a valid ID, a matching credit card and a signed rental agreement to keep this reservation. Otherwise, we cannot allow you to enter the property.
If you’ve made the reservation by mistake, please go ahead and cancel it on your end. We’ll gladly waive off any cancelation penalties and approve a full refund right away.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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Violate your terms of service (ToS):
Hi {{guest_first}},
Unfortunately, certain aspects of your reservation violate our terms of service, so we cannot move forward with your stay.
If you’ve made the reservation by mistake, please go ahead and cancel it on your end. We’ll gladly waive off any cancelation penalties and approve a full refund right away.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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Booked within 24 hours of the check-in date or are not willing to cancel or are not unresponsive:
If the guest has been through the portal and is a high risk, but is unresponsive to canceling the reservation themself, we recommend you cancel it for them immediately by contacting the respective OTA.
Tips for canceling Airbnb guests:
On Airbnb, it's best to choose the option “I’m uncomfortable with this guest.” In most cases, you’ll be able to cancel the reservation penalty-free, provided that you explain that the guest's reservation violates your ToS.
Last-minute reservations
If it’s a last-minute reservation or same-day check-in, call Airbnb’s support line and tell them you’re uncomfortable hosting the guest. Say the guest has violated your booking conditions and has failed to provide the necessary information to enter the property, as stated in your ToS. Let the agent know that you require a valid government-issued photo ID, a matching credit card (with the guest's name) and a background check, if applicable.
Tips for canceling Expedia guests:
How to cancel an Expedia Hotel Collect reservation (guest's credit card):
To cancel a reservation through Expedia Partner Central, follow these steps.
If you want to cancel a reservation immediately, contact Expedia. (Call the support line for the quickest customer service.) State that you tried to process the payment, but it was a fraudulent transaction. Let the agent know that the guest also violated your ToS as they failed to provide the necessary information for proper validation. Ask them to please cancel the reservation immediately so you can free up your calendar.
How to cancel an Expedia Collect reservation (virtual card):
Unfortunately, you cannot cancel these types of reservations as stated by Expedia’s TOS. If you are suspecting signs of fraud or bad behaviour, we recommend that you do NOT send the check-in instructions, no matter what. Nonetheless, proceed with charging the Expedia Virtual Card to collect the funds. In the case you get a request from Expedia asking for proof of the guest's stay, we recommend that you submit the downloadable Autohost report.
In these cases, contact the guest by SMS or phone. Encourage them to cancel on their own accord using the template provided above.
Tips for canceling Booking.com guests:
If you suspect a fraudulent transaction on Booking.com, we recommend that you mark the credit card as invalid through the Extranet. The guest will need to provide a new credit card. If the guest does not update their credit card within 24 hours, you can cancel the booking through the Reservations tab.
For more information on marking credit cards as invalid, check out this article.
For same-day reservations, you will have the ability to cancel after 3 p.m., assuming you have marked the credit card as invalid. We recommend marking the credit card as invalid at 2:58 p.m., then at 3 p.m. you’ll be able to cancel the reservation through the Extranet. This way, you leave no time for the fraudsters to provide a new credit card.
Note: The guest is always given at least 2 hours to update their credit card details, e.g. if the booking is made after 2 p.m. on the day of arrival.
Cancelation penalties and relocation fees
In most cases, the OTA will likely process the cancelation for your reservation free of charge, but if not, it's still important to stand by your decision. If the guest has truly violated your ToS and you're not comfortable hosting them, accepting the reservation to avoid cancelation fees is not worth the risk of an incident occurring. This could result in noise complaints, property damage, reputation loss or worse. Alternatively, go ahead with the cancelation and dispute the charge afterward by providing evidence of the guest's ToS violation.
Refund and disputes
If you suspect fraudulent transactions, but the credit card has gone through, as stated by most credit card processors' ToS, you should immediately refund the transaction and report the card. This will protect your dispute ratio, helping to keep it low.
Disputes suck. In the case you have been hit by a dispute, we recommend downloading the report from Autohost and uploading it directly to the dispute process. The report will contain all of the information you need to challenge the dispute. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees, but the team at Autohost is working hard to ensure you win as often as possible.