Guests are requesting a date change for the second year in a row, due to family emergencies.
These guests were some of the first to ever book the vacation rental. The first year, we got a message saying the wife was pregnant and suffering from terrible morning sickness, so they couldn’t make their fall dates work. We accommodated their date change to this summer, in peak season (July) at our lake home, and we didn’t charge them the change in rate.
Today, we received a message stating that the wife’s father has passed away and they won’t be able to stay next weekend. They are requesting a date change again (not a cancellation), and they’d like to move their weekend stay to next summer.
We have a strict cancellation policy, and we have also changed our rates over time. Our rates are almost $200 per night higher than when they originally booked (which sounds crazy, but our house sleeps 14). We try to be very accommodating and understanding with our guests, but I fear we may be getting duped.
Thoughts? Advice? Thank you!