Modifying a reservation as a Host (2024)

Life happens, and sometimes you just can’t host as planned. Past reservations can’t be changed, but to edit a confirmed or active one, send your guest a trip change request proposing your new dates, price, or number of guests. You can even suggest they stay in a different place, if you have more than one listing.

If your guest already sent you a trip change request, find out how to respond to your guest’s trip change request and or how to decline a trip change request.

If your guest declines the trip change request or doesn’t respond

If the guest declines or doesn’t respond, the reservation will remain unchanged.

If you submitted a trip change request and your guest hasn’t responded to it, try sending them a message reminding them to review your request.

Keep in mind: Your guest can choose to decline the trip change request. If they decline and you can’t accommodate their current stay, you’ll need to cancel their reservation.

If your guest accepts the trip change request

If they accept, it will be updated with your new details. If the price changes, they’ll be charged or refunded, as necessary.

In most cases, the guest’s original payment method will be charged automatically. For some payment methods, the guest will be asked to submit payment within 48 hours. If their payment isn’t submitted successfully, the change will be automatically declined and the reservation will revert to its original state.

How pricing works for trip change requests

If you’re modifying the reservation dates, the pricing of the original reservation may change. Any changes to the number of guests may mean an increase or decrease in the price of the original reservation, depending on the extra guest fee settings at the time of booking.

The original total and the new total will be shown to guests before they accept your trip change request. If the cost of their trip changes and they agree to the change, they’ll be charged or refunded, if necessary.

How changing the length of a trip may affect the cancellation policy

If a reservation is changed from a monthly stay to 27 nights or less (shorter stay), the standard cancellation policy you’ve chosen for your listing will apply to future alterations or cancellations made to the updated reservation.

If the length of a reservation is changed and a stay that was 27 nights or less becomes a monthly stay of 28 nights or more, the long-term cancellation policy that you’ve chosen for your listing will apply to future alterations or cancellations made to the updated reservation.

If a monthly stay is altered, but it remains 28 nights or more, your long-term cancellation policy will still apply to the reservation, regardless of any date changes that result from a trip change request.

If a stay of 27 nights or less is altered, but it remains a shorter stay, your standard cancellation policy will still apply to future alterations or cancellations made to the updated reservation.

If you’re offering your guest a different listing

If you can’t host your guest at the place they booked, but can accommodate them with another one of your listings, you’ll need to ask if it’s okay before sending a trip change request:

• Message your guest about the change and include a link to the proposed listing—be sure to note the cost difference, if there is one
• If they agree, send them a trip change request
• If they don’t agree and no longer want to keep the reservation, you’ll need to cancel it so they can book elsewhere

If the reservation is for a shorter stay (27 nights or less), the cancellation policy for the guest’s reservation at the new listing will remain the same as the cancellation policy that applied to the guest’s original reservation—this is true even if you’ve chosen different cancellation policies for the listings.

You can only change your guest’s listing using a trip change request if the new listing is on your Host account. If the new listing is on a Co-Host account, you’ll need to cancel the original reservation and have the guest book a new reservation.

How weekly or monthly discounts may be affected by a trip change request

Changing the length of a reservation may affect whether or not your guest is still eligible for a weekly or monthly discounted rate.

How pre-approvals may be affected by a trip change request

If your guest booked with a pre-approval that you sent, any changes to the reservation will mean that the pricing will be recalculated as if it were a new booking.

You can still offer your guest the same price as their original pre-approval—you can modify the price, along with the reservation dates, in the same trip change request. Just be sure to communicate all of this with them.

How tax calculations may be affected by a trip change request

When a trip change request is accepted, the taxes for a reservation are always recalculated to apply the most recent and accurate tax requirements for the listing location.

If the guest’s reservation has already ended

You can’t make changes if the guest’s checkout has already passed. If you need to handle money-related requests, you can send your guest money or request a payment from them in the Resolution Center.

Only one trip change request for a reservation at a time

Keep in mind that you can only send one change request for a reservation at a time. Once changes have been made, any later changes must go through the process again as a new request.

If you need to edit your trip change request

Made a mistake? You can’t modify a trip change request after sending it, but you’re able to cancel it and send a new one.

Monthly stays

If a reservation is for 28 nights or more, the long-term cancellation policy applies. When a trip change request is submitted for a monthly stay, the change may happen automatically without requiring approval if:

• It’s before the trip and the reservation is still 28 nights or longer
• The trip has started, but it’s 30 nights or more until the checkout date

If a monthly stay is shortened to a length of 27 nights or less (shorter stay), the guest is responsible for the following 30 days of payment from the day of the alteration, or until the end of the reservation if less than 30 days remain.

Once a reservation is altered from a monthly stay to 27 nights or less (shorter stay), the standard cancellation policy you have chosen will apply to future alterations or cancellations made to the updated reservation.

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