Double booked on Airbnb and Booking.com? What to do in the next hour
Two confirmations for the same night. It happens to careful hosts too. Here is what to do, in order.
1. Confirm it's real
Open both bookings on the sites themselves. Check the listing (not just the property), the dates, and whether either booking was already cancelled. Sometimes a "double booking" is one booking seen twice through an imported calendar.
2. Decide which booking to keep
Usually keep the one that was made first. Consider also which platform's cancellation rules are harsher for you, and whether one guest has a longer stay or more flexible plans.
3. Contact the other guest quickly, before cancelling
Explain plainly, apologise, and offer real help: a similar room nearby that you've already checked is free, a discount on other dates, or help rebooking. A guest who hears from you first is far more forgiving than one who gets an automatic cancellation.
4. Talk to the platform's support
Call or message support before cancelling and explain that it was a calendar sync problem. They can sometimes help move the guest, and it helps your account history.
5. Know what cancelling can cost
- Airbnb may charge a host cancellation fee, add an automatic note to your listing's reviews and block those dates, and it can count against Superhost status.
- Booking.com may move the guest to another property and ask you to cover the price difference, and repeated cancellations can affect your ranking.
Rules change, so check each site's current host cancellation policy.
6. Close the gap that caused it
Most double bookings come from calendar delays: sites only re-read each other every few hours. Require one day's advance notice, close peak dates by hand, and use one calendar in the middle. Axorooms flags an overlap as soon as both bookings are in, so you hear about it in minutes rather than when the second guest arrives. More: why double bookings happen.