Cancellation on behalf of guest

Our guest is meant to be checking in on Friday.  She had a death in the family and the funeral is on Friday.  When I try to cancel the booking it tells me "You'll have to contact customer service to cancel this reservation. Cancellation requests must be received at least 48 hours before the guest's check in date."  This is out of everyone's control and I don't want her to lose her deposit or face a penalty.