First time, last time, only time.

How could the family insist, op? Is your air bnb a legal air bnb rental, meaning you follow air bnb’s terms and the place is in a place that allows air bnb rentals?

All you had to tell them was “Here’s the link to the property, fill it out, pay what I charge everybody else and you’re set. Is there a reason you didn’t? Is the rental in a place that isn’t as desirable as you claim? Why were you so desperate? Why did you not follow proper air bnb protocols?

People tend to know their family members, you know who’s a mooch and who isn’t. I have family where I’m happy to see them, but I won’t do anything for them, no watching their kids, no money, nothing. I’ll see you, I’ll be nice and happy to see you, but that’s as far as it goes. Are these your husband’s family where you’re made to feel like the mean b**ch if you say no? If so, then you need to tell your husband and insist that the behavior stop, going so far as to sell the property or divorce if need be. Sounds extreme, but nobody is going to make me feel mean when they stand to gain financially and a free vacation is a financial gain.. for the person on the vacation. I’m also not going to let people cause fights in my marriage and if this was or is now a fight between you and your husband, then that needs to be addressed. Mooches tend to figure out very quickly who the softer person is, it’s just one of their skill sets which makes them successful at what they do.

To the people who are aghast you’d charge family, one thing you can do is refund their money after the trip if you so choose. People who don’t pay their own way tend to treat money like water. We had a neighbor over at our house this afternoon and I’d not have cared if he had 1 glass of water or 3. I’d not have cared if he drank a few sips of water then said he’d had enough and poured the rest out. I can get water and dispose of water anytime I need it. People tend to treat money they don’t earn in that same way “Just give me more” “You can always get more” “What’s it to you, I need it and you have plenty”, they truly have no sense of what they are asking, or if they do, they don’t care, if they cause a marriage to end, they can keep hitting the money giver up for more money with less hassle. A surprise refund puts a stop to all this should you decide to do it.

For those of you who say something terrible must have happened, no, people cancel all the time. Some expect money to fall out of the sky. Some expect that you’ll feel sorry for them and just let them stay for free. It’s why travel insurance has strict requirements and why it doesn’t always seem kind or fair. There are also people who make scamming their day job. If you are an honest person, it’s very difficult to understand and it’s even harder when it’s someone you know and may even like. It’s why it works as well as it does. I’m actually surprised some of you made it to adulthood and haven’t had someone bail on a date because of a terrible car wreck (not true of course) or had a contractor bail because he “was rushed to the hospital.. also untrue) or had a baby-sitter say they’ll be there and then cancel last minute because she’s worried about her cat. Canceling on a vacation the day before is just like that. The good scammers know exactly how to make you feel bad for daring to question what they tell you, again it’s a job skill for them.

Anonymous wrote:There is nothing wrong with telling friends and family that the house isn't available during the busy season. Since they are family, let them know you lost a lot of money because of their thoughtless behavior. There's no reason to spare feelings here.

This. Next time, this.

You have to decide if you are going to let family stay, for free/discounted, or like a full-pay greater than arms length customer.

OP, was there a health or other really good reason?
If not, depending on how close this family member is to me or DH, I would not only not discount, but likely not book them again period.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another voice here that is shocked you charged family in the first place, even at a discounted rate. You should have just said spring break is blocked on the calendar because it’s high season and offered up a different period of time instead, for free.

Either way, I’d express disappointment with the last minute cancellation but I wouldn’t ask for more money or anything like that.

You’re being ridiculous. Not everyone is made of money. Clearly the moochers didn’t want to pay the full price by going elsewhere. No one is owed free accommodation.

OP had a lot of options including saying no. OP just chose wrong and now knows. We have a very desirable rental and never ever would charge family. Even for high season. In fact if we have a free week here or there during high season I send the alert out to family that it is open. They pay cleaning and we love having people use it.

You are free to do what you want. Who says everyone has to do the same? Is there some universal law that you never charge relatives?
OP put her faith in these people and now knows what not to do.

I would never go to my relative's job and demand they give me goods or services for free. If OP uses this property for income and the relatives know that, they are asking OP to take an income hit so that they can have a cheap vacation. I would never rent to them again. If I did consider it, I would require a guaranteed payment in full 30 days out because of the risk.

As others have said, tough lesson learned. Ignore the ppl who say you don't charge family. 1) It's your income to accept or reject as you see fit, and 2) "gifting" the house to family and friends can be a very slippery slope, better to have a policy and stick to it for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People only should get discounted or free weeks if OFFERED by the owners. If they ASK to use the place, they should expect to pay full price.

Reserve w/o payment for 24 hours. Inform that your policy is to release any reservation if there is no payment within 24 hours.

+1 this is the difference. They asked, were told no because it is high season and then proactively offered to pay. They are the bad guys no question. That said yeah nothing to be done about it other than not ever renting to them again. And likely the relationship will suffer and that will not be your fault, they are the ones who took advantage.

Oh also, FWIW, I would not cause some big scene at the relative's house but I WOULD be telling this story to EVERYONE in the family. And I would give them the cold shoulder. I would not cause a scene, but I would walk into that dinner with my head held high and I would not give them the satisfaction of acting like everything is copacetic.

+1
[vimeo]
My friend has a beach house, and the now neighbors wanted to take it for high season - without a deposit, of course, for an entire month. Lesson learned - they (the renters) bought a house down the street, and cancelled my friend's house last minute. Another neighbor claimed that the (renters) 1.) "didn't know" they were buying a house (say what?? How do you have no idea you are about to buy a three quarter million dollar SFH??) and 2.) my friend should be quietly accepting of whatever rental they should get, even at a discount, without remorse of the loss of the entire four weeks (the rental season isn't long, they try to use their own house as often as possible). Excuse me? Is that how people treat neighbors? Needless to say, those people (renters) do not exist.

OP, don't make a huge deal of it - but they do not get any access to the house again. Ever. And I would would let it be known, however silently, how you felt about the situation. Why do they have access to the house calendar??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a VRBO rental in Rehoboth. We do charge friends and family for in season weeks but give a large discount plus no pet fee, vrbo fee etc. I think too many of you assume we are all wealthy and don’t need the money. OP nothing you can do unfortunately, we’ve had a similar thing happen. We just don’t let them use it again.

Why provide discounts? You are subsidizing their vacations. Why?

+1

Family and neighbors ask - but high season is high season. You pay the full amount, or you go somewhere else. It's not a charity.

Ex: family/neighbors don't want the smaller house down the street - they want your house for the smaller house price, because they know it is nice, well kept, well appointed, and much bigger. If you rent it to the ones asking for a discount, you are asking for trouble, because they treat it like well, a discount.

Anonymous wrote:WWYD? We run our AirBNB as a business. Never had a friend or family stay outside of when we visit. They asked us to book and we hesitated because we didn't want to charge family but it was for spring break where we make money. They said, no problem and happy to pay. So we gave them a discounted rate, check in instructions, how to pay us.

They backed out day before check in, didn't pay and haven't offered to pay. Obviously they'll never be offered a discounted rate again. Obviously won't be blocking the calendar without payment. But WWYD? Totally disrespectful.

Never again

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People only should get discounted or free weeks if OFFERED by the owners. If they ASK to use the place, they should expect to pay full price.

Reserve w/o payment for 24 hours. Inform that your policy is to release any reservation if there is no payment within 24 hours.

+1 this is the difference. They asked, were told no because it is high season and then proactively offered to pay. They are the bad guys no question. That said yeah nothing to be done about it other than not ever renting to them again. And likely the relationship will suffer and that will not be your fault, they are the ones who took advantage.

Oh also, FWIW, I would not cause some big scene at the relative's house but I WOULD be telling this story to EVERYONE in the family. And I would give them the cold shoulder. I would not cause a scene, but I would walk into that dinner with my head held high and I would not give them the satisfaction of acting like everything is copacetic.

Anonymous wrote:People only should get discounted or free weeks if OFFERED by the owners. If they ASK to use the place, they should expect to pay full price.

Reserve w/o payment for 24 hours. Inform that your policy is to release any reservation if there is no payment within 24 hours.

+1 this is the difference. They asked, were told no because it is high season and then proactively offered to pay. They are the bad guys no question. That said yeah nothing to be done about it other than not ever renting to them again. And likely the relationship will suffer and that will not be your fault, they are the ones who took advantage.

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe you charged family members. What is with you people? Are you the same poster who lended her friend money? Same principle applies, gift it or don’t give it at all.

You sound so illiterate that it is impossible to take any of your comments seriously. Laughable.

Anonymous wrote:We have a VRBO rental in Rehoboth. We do charge friends and family for in season weeks but give a large discount plus no pet fee, vrbo fee etc. I think too many of you assume we are all wealthy and don’t need the money. OP nothing you can do unfortunately, we’ve had a similar thing happen. We just don’t let them use it again.

Why provide discounts? You are subsidizing their vacations. Why?

We have a VRBO rental in Rehoboth. We do charge friends and family for in season weeks but give a large discount plus no pet fee, vrbo fee etc. I think too many of you assume we are all wealthy and don’t need the money. OP nothing you can do unfortunately, we’ve had a similar thing happen. We just don’t let them use it again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another voice here that is shocked you charged family in the first place, even at a discounted rate. You should have just said spring break is blocked on the calendar because it’s high season and offered up a different period of time instead, for free.

Either way, I’d express disappointment with the last minute cancellation but I wouldn’t ask for more money or anything like that.

You’re being ridiculous. Not everyone is made of money. Clearly the moochers didn’t want to pay the full price by going elsewhere. No one is owed free accommodation.

OP had a lot of options including saying no. OP just chose wrong and now knows. We have a very desirable rental and never ever would charge family. Even for high season. In fact if we have a free week here or there during high season I send the alert out to family that it is open. They pay cleaning and we love having people use it.

I think this is highly dependent upon how new/nice the place is and how expensive it is. We had a family friend who had a dumpy beach house that was not booked 100% of the time. They manage it very differently from my neighbor who has a very expensive beach house that is in demand in season.

It's very nice and no problem getting it rented, all 5 stars.

Anonymous wrote:Folks are being tough here. I actually think you were being nice by agreeing to let them use it for a discount when you could have gotten full price. And they get to be somewhere they clearly wanted to go and pay less. Here, they asked YOU - it’s not like you reached out to them and say there’s availability and they can rent for a discount. I dont think you should ask them for the money but if I were them I would have offered to pay anyway.

This. Sounds like OP did say no bc of seasonal business but family said they’d pay to make up for that and op then offered a discount. I’m on team OP here.