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Decline to waive cancellation fees

If a guests ask to waive cancellation fees and the property refuses the request, is this still deemed cancelled or can guest still show as they will be paying


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Info 5 years ago

When I declined to waive fees it still did not automatically cancel and give me the room back.

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David 5 years ago

Most guest who wish to cancel without payment will indeed not cancel if they have to pay usually they do not turn up but you have still been paid

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fluff 5 years ago

My stance is that if the guest has not already cancelled there is no cancellation to work with.

Guest must cancel first, then request waiver via BDC, if the request seemed genuine I might do so. However, the reasons (excuses) are rarely founded on any good reason or truth so I usually will not waive the charge.

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

In my experience, if the guest ask's for a free cancellation, it's always the night/day before their arrival date. If I say no (refuse) they...in my past experience, still will not cancel the reservation and I end up with a room that is blocked online and no other guest can reserve it, they never turn up and 9 times out of 10 I never get paid because of a few reasons ...a) their Visa credit card didnt have enough funds....b) their MASTER CARD, b.com dont give us the last 3 numbers on the back (CVC) and the card (master card) wont work with out it, so again I dont get paid. If a and b happen, then I have to stay up until mid night on the night they were suppose to be here to mark that guests reservation as a ''no show'' to un-block the room and to prevent b.com from charging me the commission...which by then is no good because I still didnt get to re-sell the room, so again I'm out of pocket.

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David 5 years ago

Guest request cancellation charges to be wavered before they cancel, if you tell then no then they usually just leave the booking as it is so you can not re let the room again.One nighters over the past couple of months have done that to me, they know they are not going to show up but do not cancel because they have paid .

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

David....I dont get paid until they arrive and pay by cash or card, but if they dont turn up ''no show'', 9 times out of 10 their reservation card dont work or has not enough funds in it as I mention above in (a) and (b), but I should have mentioned (c) and I've read here on these discussions that a lot of guests are using FAKE card numbers...so they know we're not going to get paid regardless if they are a ''no show'' or we refuse the free cancellation.

I've had many a guest who made the reservation with one card but paid me with another when they checked out.

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

David...yes I agree with you when you say...''Guest request cancellation charges to be wavered before they cancel''.

If they have pre-paid b.com when they made the reservation, then I'm sure of getting paid as I do not return that payment...which by the way I wait until their arrival date to take that payment.

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

Info...your very first post...no their room is not cancelled until they cancel it as we can not do it in the externet. But you could ask b.com to cancel it for you if they have sent you a message in the externet so b.com can see you and the guest were chatting about it, but if the guest phoned you - b.com may not take that as proof that the guest requested a cancellation.

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

I currently have a guest who made a booking with an invalid card, but b.com has given them 24 hours to give another card or the correct details of their current card, to keep their reservation. I honestly think it only fair b.com give guests like that 12 hours to up date their card, not 24 hours....or until mid night on the date the booking was made, as I now have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if the guest will up date their card info to a valid card.

But this is a first for me, I've never had b.com tell me in advance that the guests card is invalid at the time of booking. Maybe it's something new b.com is doing ? I hope so! :)

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David 5 years ago

So my policy is first night payment 30 days before arrival if they want to cancel at short notice I have the money.it's all about your policies you set to safeguard your business.

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Info 5 years ago

The guest who I declined to waive fees didn’t show as I knew they wouldn’t but in mean time I reopened room and sold it, so I told original guest by email that I would waive fees as I had managed to fill room, but now I’m paying commission on the waived fee because there was no option to change my decision and commission on the new booking, so really not worth the agro. Maybe should be an option to
a) waive fees
B) don’t waive fees
C) waive fees if room rebooks through b.com

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Info 5 years ago

Also this week I have had 3 cancellations on non refundable bookings and all 3 have asked for fees to be waived and unbelievably they all had family members passed away suddenly and although I don’t believe them it just doesn’t seem right not waiving fees...am I just being too soft , what do others do...stand your ground.
I’ve already complained to b.com about guests asking for fees to be waived. If they chose the cheaper rate then that is their decision , I shouldn’t be being put in the position of having to make decision, if it’s non refundable it’s non refundable . Right or wrong

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

Non refundable is non refundable...stand your ground.

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David 5 years ago

Info, you are a business these people who you have never met before literally mean nothing to you.It is human nature to tell lies just to get out of paying fees.NON REFUNDABLE means what it says. Booking.com should drop asking accommodation providers if they wish to waver fees this initself causes problems and makes guest bitter when you say NO.

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David 5 years ago

You should not pay commission if you waived fees you are clearly asked when you report a no show did you charge the guest or not you should have reported him as a no show and hit the no fee charged button hence no commission charged

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Ireland-B&B 5 years ago

David....VERY WELL SAID...about the non refundable, I totally agree 100%

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David 5 years ago

Try reserving a seat on an airline which is none refundable only those paying top rates get that choice.not sure why OTAs think we are some kind of charities for people to mess around with our business.Booking.com openly admit that guest often book multiple rooms in different establishments knowing fine well they will cancel the majority of them.

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pibomarco 5 years ago

Is it really such a problem NOT to waive those fees? Your policies are clear as a day, no need to feel bad.
I think it's OK that sometimes we can decide to waive the penalty costs. For example if a guest cancels 3 months before the arrival I gladly waive all the costs. Sometimes I only charge the first night instead the total.
The point of non refundable rate for me is not to make money on those that canceled, but to avoid guests/bookings such as those you mentioned that often book multiple rooms and canceling last minute.. To avoid guests that are basicly not sure yet about their stay.
Also with non-refundable we usually receive very little amount of cancelations and basicly 0% no-shows compared to more flexible policies.

As someone else noted this feature would be really welcomed:
C) waive fees if the room is re-booked by someone else.

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JANET CLAY 4 years ago

The time and headache makes me want compensation!