Airbnb Same day modification Requests

[Kwame Koom-Dadzie]

Hi everyone,
I had a situation today that I’d love your input on as fellow hosts.

A guest who had a confirmed reservation reached out on the same day as check-in to ask if they could change the dates to after thanksgiving.

While I always aim to be flexible when possible, this request came after today’s booking was already locked in, and allowing the change would mean I lose that night’s income with very little chance of rebooking last-minute.

To be clear — the guest is not asking to cancel (initially wanted to cancel but now ...), just to move the entire reservation to new dates, which Airbnb typically treats as a modification. But doing so, in this case, would effectively wipe out today’s payout and leave the calendar open with almost no notice to rebook.

Any thoughts in what you will do here, do I accept or politely declined the date change and explained that the timing falls outside the flexible window to make changes per our cancellation/modification policy. seems also no middle ground (It does not allow me to surcharge a one night stay ).

How do you handle same-day change requests while balancing fairness and protecting your calendar? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[Lauren Kormylo]

If you allow them to modify the booking, does the cancellation window start all over again, and is the guest allowed to cancel right after that for free?  That's a common tactic. I think that's what the guest is trying to do here, so beware.