Multiple reservation changes?

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Alibi Ike

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How do you, or DO you, handle multiple changes in rez by the same guests? This couple is waching the weather channel. They keep moving their stay based on what they see. They are NOT from anywhere in the path of the hurricane. (Unless WI is in the path of the hurricane!)
I KNOW they are not changing their plane tix every other day, so they must be driving.
Anyway, tomorrow I am charging their deposit and then I am done with them until they show/don't show.
Do you draw the line somewhere when guests keep bouncing around?
 
Oh, and they also wanted US to predict when/if the storm would hit here.
 
A couple years ago I had a horse rez from Canada keep moving the date. I do not remember what the first reason was but the second was that her Mother died. She DID show up on the third date (each was advanced by a week). A couple days after they left here, we got hammered with snow - she would have been SOL. They came on the way back from Florida and have become regulars now for the going/coming trek. I am starting to get more than a few of those. YEEHAA! She does not move the date around any more. And they have all learned that the rez is NOT confirmed until I get the OK from the wife of the farmer where we stable them.
 
I have never had it like this until this year and this year has been BAD! If this continues, I am thinking of adding a fee for changing dates.... that just may encourage them to be happy as it stands!
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit.
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
.
What about offering a "gift certificate", less $25 processing/penalty fee, that will result in you keeping their original money and them just using it a different time? Make it expire in 6 months or so
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
.
Red Handed Jill said:
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
Why do you want them to wait to cancel? That holds that room even longer from being able to rebook. - Or maybe I just don't understand your comment. A fee to refund is a better method than check and mail. Make sure to have the fee cover all your CC fees as well as cover your time.
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
.
So they cancel with no intention mentioned to you of coming at another time? If they say they are going to rebook, tell them you're keeping the deposit toward their next stay.
I wouldn't do the check. You don't want them going to their cc company and telling a whopper to try to get paid twice. Even if they couldn't, it's time wasted on your part. I would go with the fee to refund. Just put it on your website...full refund less $25 cancellation fee.
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
.
We charge a $25 cancellation fee. When they contact us to cancel, I give them an option. If they want to just reschedule either now or at another time in the future, we'll retain their deposit and won't charge them the fee. If they want to totally cancel out, we'll refund their deposit minus the $25 cancellation fee.
The $25 will cover any additional cc fees and give you a few bucks for your time.
 
ugh
if you are talking about right now ... this is an extreme situation and there is a hurricane headed up the eastern coast.
guests are so odd. no, you cannot predit or guarantee the weather or the storm track. i would suggest they book the week after this one if we're talking about hurricane irene.
if it's general bouncing around because it might rain or might be cold, again you can only tell them how the weather usually is. reassure them that there is plenty to do both inside and outdoors. tell them to check with the weather channels and websites for long range forecasts and hope for the best. if they're within your cancellation window and you have no 'rescheduling fee' in place, you're sort of stuck bouncing around with them. i don't recall your policy .. are you taking a deposit now?
i had some kind of script i read about how i understood their concern but i did have to charge an administrative fee for repeated reservation changes. i rarely used it, but it's good to have the policy in place.
i didn't want empty rooms but i didn't want guests in the house who were miserable about the weather. and sometimes the rooms became unavailable after the 3rd or 4th go - round.
 
ugh
if you are talking about right now ... this is an extreme situation and there is a hurricane headed up the eastern coast.
guests are so odd. no, you cannot predit or guarantee the weather or the storm track. i would suggest they book the week after this one if we're talking about hurricane irene.
if it's general bouncing around because it might rain or might be cold, again you can only tell them how the weather usually is. reassure them that there is plenty to do both inside and outdoors. tell them to check with the weather channels and websites for long range forecasts and hope for the best. if they're within your cancellation window and you have no 'rescheduling fee' in place, you're sort of stuck bouncing around with them. i don't recall your policy .. are you taking a deposit now?
i had some kind of script i read about how i understood their concern but i did have to charge an administrative fee for repeated reservation changes. i rarely used it, but it's good to have the policy in place.
i didn't want empty rooms but i didn't want guests in the house who were miserable about the weather. and sometimes the rooms became unavailable after the 3rd or 4th go - round..
Given that the FL guests cancelled because they were in the eye of the storm with last week's prediction, and now it looks like it will actually hit HERE and not there, nope, can't predict anything.
I've done the deposits for this weekend. We'll see what happens. Looks like we're mostly empty when it is supposed to hit.
 
Your guests have the right to change as many times as they want to outside of the cancel policy. Within cancel policy esp for weather related or natural disasters it is at your discretion
If the changes are bothering you then tell them you don't want their business but otherwise I can't see why this would be an issue
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
.
So they cancel with no intention mentioned to you of coming at another time? If they say they are going to rebook, tell them you're keeping the deposit toward their next stay.
I wouldn't do the check. You don't want them going to their cc company and telling a whopper to try to get paid twice. Even if they couldn't, it's time wasted on your part. I would go with the fee to refund. Just put it on your website...full refund less $25 cancellation fee.
.
Not exactly. They call to cancel, moaning and groaning about how sorry they are they're not coming, they really want to make this trip, etc. Copperhead - I don't suggest waiting to cancel to all guests who cancel...just the ones who are singing this "song."
As far as the check - on our business account, a check costs me nothing - not even a stamp - and it takes about the same amount of time (perhaps less) than a cc refund. However, I had *not* considered them turning around and reporting I refused to refund their deposit at all. Will have to reconsider this...
 
This is our posted policy:
Cancellations
Our policy is intended to be fair to our guests, yet prevent the loss of income to our business. Due to our small size, cancellations do affect us significantly. Once we reserve a guest cottage for you, we remove it from the market, refusing all other requests. Below, we have listed our cancellation refund/fee schedule.

[tr]
14-Days or more of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Full refund of deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
7-14 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
$35 Cancellation Fee.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 7 Days of the scheduled arrival[/td]
Forfeit full deposit.[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
Less than 24 hrs notice or No Show[/td]
Forfeit full reservation charge.[/td]
[/tr]

[/table]
In the case of a cancellation given less than 24 hours of the scheduled check-in or a "no-show", the customer's credit card will be charged the full amount due for all nights booked and any pre-ordered special packages. Special Packages must be paid in advance and are non-refundable.
Changing Your Reservation
Changes to a reservation 14 days or more from the scheduled date may be made without additional charge with full transfer of deposit. Changes made less than 14 days before the scheduled date are subject to the above-listed rules of cancellation. Cancellation of the revised reservation at anytime will result in the forfeiture of your full deposit. .
Interesting policy. I like the part about canceling the revised date. Problem I see with that is if they still go ahead and 'revise' then you have very unhappy guests who have now paid an extra night.
.
The problem we've had is people cancelling...then rebooking. So we've ended up paying cc fees for the original deposit (which we charge at booking), the refund, and the new charge. Which stinks. At first I figured, eh, cost of doing business. But it's happened more times that I'm willing to "eat."
I have tried, when someone would call to cancel, to covinvce them if there was any way to wait until just before the 14 day window. That has not been successful.
We are considering, though, changing our refund policy to a choice: guests calling to cancel can receive their refund by check via the postal service, OR they can have their refund credited back to their card less a fee (that will cover all the cc charges).
.
So they cancel with no intention mentioned to you of coming at another time? If they say they are going to rebook, tell them you're keeping the deposit toward their next stay.
I wouldn't do the check. You don't want them going to their cc company and telling a whopper to try to get paid twice. Even if they couldn't, it's time wasted on your part. I would go with the fee to refund. Just put it on your website...full refund less $25 cancellation fee.
.
Not exactly. They call to cancel, moaning and groaning about how sorry they are they're not coming, they really want to make this trip, etc. Copperhead - I don't suggest waiting to cancel to all guests who cancel...just the ones who are singing this "song."
As far as the check - on our business account, a check costs me nothing - not even a stamp - and it takes about the same amount of time (perhaps less) than a cc refund. However, I had *not* considered them turning around and reporting I refused to refund their deposit at all. Will have to reconsider this...
.
As far as the check - on our business account, a check costs me nothing - not even a stamp - and it takes about the same amount of time (perhaps less) than a cc refund. However, I had *not* considered them turning around and reporting I refused to refund their deposit at all. Will have to reconsider this...
That is why even the CC companies strongly erge merchants to only refund via SAME CC. It is also due to possible fraud, if the customer asks for cash, bank check etc...
 
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