I too am very happy to have guests call me and ask as many questions as they feel they need answers to. I say in my reply to a request that if they let me have their telephone number I would be very happy to call them. By the way in reply to Katy's
Grandad, it is perfectly possible to pay with a credit card if you wish to pay via PayPal and therefore have the protection of your credit card issuer.

As others have said we as homeowners are also vulnerable to late cancellations, but most of our guests are great people and I have made many friends of my guests after 20 years of renting our home. We need trust on all sides and I always warn people that if it seems too good to be true (as far as a cheap rental is concerned) then it probably is. The cheapest is not always the best - it costs a great deal of money to keep a rental home in pristine condition and if an owner charges a ridiculously low price then they are not usually able to do this. The guest then may have a poor quality holiday, so if you want excellent accommodation be prepared to pay a reasonable price. Most of us don't overcharge, but we do need to pay for all the services that guests expect to have on their holiday and that costs.

Andrena