What happens if your reservation request is declined or expires (2024)

FAQs

What happens if your reservation request is declined or expires? ›

What happens to your payment when a reservation request is declined or expires. If your reservation request is declined by the Host or expires, the authorization placed on your payment method will be removed. Or, if your payment method was already charged, you'll be refunded.

If your reservation request is declined by the Host or expires (Hosts have 24 hours to respond), no reservation is made and you're free to book another place to stay. If you're unsure of the status of your reservation request, learn how to find your reservation status as a guest.

Not a problem—here's how to handle it. Decline the request before it expires within 24 hours—your response rate will thank you! It's one of the factors that helps you become a Superhost. Decide whether to keep the dates blocked or open them up for someone else to book.

The host needs to respond to your request

If the host declines your request or doesn't respond within 24 hours, the booking status will be updated as "Declined" or "Expired," and your payment will be refunded to your original payment method.

Occasionally, a reservation request may be declined if the Host's calendar is not up-to-date, and the dates aren't actually available. Guest is booking on behalf of someone else. Requests made on behalf of other people, like family members or friends, aren't allowed on Airbnb.

Both guests and Hosts can decline trip change requests. If you decline, the proposed changes don't take effect, and the existing reservation details remain as is. There are no penalties for declining, but if you're a Host, there are a few issues to consider when responding to a trip change request from a guest.

If the request expires, the dates remain blocked on your calendar, so you'll have to open them back up if you decide you can accommodate them. If you missed your 24-hour window to accept a guest you want to host, no worries: Ask them to send new request and throw in a special offer for good measure.

If you want to specify the reason why you're not accepting, feel free. Otherwise, you can prepare something generic that can be used for all your declined bookings, such as: “Unfortunately we cannot accommodate your booking request at this time. Good luck with your search and wishing you a wonderful vacation”.

Hosts who cancel confirmed bookings without a valid reason may experience other consequences, as explained in our Terms of Service and ground rules for Hosts. For example, Hosts may have their Listing or account suspended or removed, and may lose their Superhost status.

While you can't remove a review, you can report it if you think it violates our Reviews Policy. Feel free to respond with more context or to provide your own perspective, so long as you, too, follow the Reviews Policy.

What happens if Airbnb does not accept requests? ›

When your reservation request is declined or expires, we'll send your refund right away. How long it takes for you to receive the money depends on your bank or financial institution. Find the common refund timelines.

After you submit a booking request, the host has 24 hours to accept or decline. If they don't respond, we'll automatically decline the request for you. If you haven't received a host response, try verifying that: You received an inquiry confirmation email from us.

While it's rare, sometimes a Host may need to cancel a reservation. We understand this can impact your plans in a big way. Rest assured, if your Host cancels your reservation before check-in, you'll receive a full refund.

If you decline something or decline to do something, you politely refuse to accept it or do it. [formal]

If your reservation request is declined by the Host or expires (Hosts have 24 hours to respond), no reservation is made and you're free to book another place to stay. If you're unsure of the status of your reservation request, learn how to find your reservation status as a guest.

Sometimes, guests have special requests that go beyond what is offered in the listing, such as early check-in, late checkout, additional amenities, extra parking, or accommodation for more people than their place allows. If these requests can't be met by the Host, they might decline the request. Dates aren't available.

Your refund if your Host cancels

If your Host cancels your reservation before check-in, you'll receive a full refund, including service fees. Your refund will be sent to the payment method you used when you booked. If your reservation check-in is in more than 30 days, we'll send your refund right away.

Start a request within 72 hours

If they accept your request, your refund will be sent to the payment method you used when you booked the reservation. If your Host declines or doesn't respond, you can ask Airbnb to step in to help.

If they don't respond, we'll automatically decline the request for you. If you haven't received a host response, try verifying that: You received an inquiry confirmation email from us. This email confirms that your inquiry was delivered to the host.

Depending on the nature of the violation, Airbnb may also take other actions, such as canceling an upcoming or active reservation, refunding a guest from a Host's payout, and/or requiring Hosts to provide proof that they have addressed issues before they can resume hosting.