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+--- Thread: Guest cancelled 2 hours into stay (/showthread.php?tid=241)
Guest cancelled 2 hours into stay - the810 - 12-20-2025
I had a guest book for 1 week in mid December. Within 2 hours of checkin he wanted to get a full refund claiming a strong curry smell. Our cleaners just cleaned the place thoroughly before his stay. I asked the cleaner and the previous guest, and they both didn’t report any smells during their stay. I also stock Ozium and Lysol spray and recommended using it. I offered to send someone over to resolve the issue to which he denied. Overall Airbnb said according to their policy, they can give a full refund due to smells or odors. They even asked him for proof but he circumvented it saying there’s no way for him to provide proof.
Basically they said I can either alter the reservation for him to checkout the next day, or they would cancel anyway due to their policy. I just altered it to avoid further conflict.
I also have a flexible cancellation policy for context, but from my understanding, if a guest is adamant on the issue, they can always demand a refund even if we have a strict cancellation policy. Is it really this easy for a guest to just up and leave from a reported "smell" which cannot be documented by either party?
RE: Guest cancelled 2 hours into stay - ChrisFromTheOC - 12-20-2025
I think this might be the new way to get out of a stay that you otherwise can’t cancel. I had almost exactly the same situation last year for a month long stay. In truth, I think the person just didn’t like something else about my Airbnb. I had 3 people go by and not one of us smelled anything. I lost the entire month long reservation.