[Updated Jan 2021] Updates about our extenuating circumstances policy in the latest Host Update

[Airbnb]

Last Updated: Jan, 2021

Hello,

The policy update outlined below is now in effect. 

You can find out how cancellations will work under our updated extenuating circumstances policy, effective for reservations starting on or after January 20, 2021, here.

Thank you.

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Catherine Powell is back with a new Host Update, sharing how Airbnb is working to make our extenuating circumstances policy more transparent and fair for hosts. The changes—effective for reservations of stays and Airbnb Experiences with a check-in or start date on or after January 20, 2021*—will give hosts discretion over whether to refund guests who can’t travel due to unexpected personal circumstances. The policy will continue to cover natural disasters and similar large-scale events.

Get all the details about the upcoming changes to our policy here in this Help Center article. Please let us know what you’d like covered in future Host Updates with Catherine. As always, thank you for sharing the topics that matter to you.

*This policy doesn’t apply to Luxe reservations, which are subject to a separate Luxe guest refund policy.

[Dan657]

Airbnb is so underhanded and pretend to listen to hosts but you do not! I see under all the smoke and mirrors you just now extended your full refund policy out to Nov 15 ! Even though Hawaii is now opening up to travelers Oct 15th. You folks really have your head somewhere not pleasant. Your policy should not be blanket but needs to be specific to each state and their shut down/opening plans.

[Super47]

@Dan657

Are you actually seeing the date, "Nov 15" on your side, rather than "45 days from today", as below?

 

[Dan657]

You are correct Super47, is is 45 days, as I computed it out it amounted to Nov 15 I believe.

Thank you.

[Isis14]

Having proof of extenuating situation must be enforced. 

[Dacha0]

Just a few arguments against 1 guest policy for experiences:
I run an escape room, and as such it has a fixed minimum price regardless of the group size. Furthermore, I can only accomodate private groups. Airbnb's policies that say I must charge per person and that I cannot offer a private group-only option for booking effectively puts me off from adding what I believe would be a valuable and interesting new experience to airbnb.

Some experiences have a fixed cost of running, like a daytrip in the nature by a passenger van for example. The 1 guest policy results in a lot of last minute cancellations by hosts. I just had a guest who was stood up twice before he booked my experience...

I believe the simplest fix to most issues regarding flexibility would be just to remove the 1 guest policy, are there any signs of this being updated? @Catherine-Powell 

[Jeremy-And-Kay1]

A guest needs to cancel a booking because of the restricted numbers in the current Covid -19 situation.

We are happy to offer a full refund. When they booked which was before lockdown our cancelation policy was set at strict, we cannot seem to alter that for them. Please can someone advise us on the best way to resolve this for them. 

Many thanks

Kay and Jeremy

[Katie]

Hi @Jeremy-And-Kay1, welcome to the Community Center 😊

You can find instructions on how refund the guests, depending on if the check-in has passed or not, here. I hope this helps - do take a look at the Help Center for more info around cancellations.

[Anze79]

Having the same issues with AirBnb support!
Exchanging emails with them already for 4 months!

Guests made cancelation on a day of arrival! Place was already prepared, I had costs, also because of extra corona cleaning....
Guests of course got FULL REFUND, and I staid with ZERO

And yes, AirBnb in mean time changed text on their website, 
- before it was written: "and the check-in date is between tomorrow and July 31, 2020"
- now it is written "and the check-in date is within the next 45 days from today"

It makes a huge difference!
For sure I am not gonna invest a penny in their IPO, or ever buy shares
They have pushed me to started promoting my real estates on other platforms...
Also if they have received almost 10k of fee only from my real estates last year!

Sorry guys, but am really pissed right now....

[Katie]

Hi @Anze79, welcome to the Community, and I'm sorry to hear you've had this issue. I've just had an update on your case, so I will send you a DM now with more info.

[Alexandra199]

Can Airbnb please tell me what will happen, in the UK, if the Government orders that people from Covid19 hotspot areas are not allowed to leave those areas to travel.

I have noticed recently that guest profiles do not state where exactly the guests lives, it just says 'Lives in England'. This means that as a property owner I am unable to establish whether the guests are breaking the law by travelling to stay in my cottage. I accept that most guests are responsible and will contact me to cancel if they are under restrictions, but some people aren't and I do not want to host people breaking UK law.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alexandra199 Sadly, due to Airbnb's stupid rules that probably wouldn't survive a court case, the guests are more likely to travel and break the law because they can't get a refund.

A change in the law post booking really should qualify for a full refund including service fees. We have a strict cancellation policy but have made in clear in our listings that we will refund any money we receive if a guest cannot travel or we cannot host due to illegality.

[Alexandra199]

Yes, I have done the same. Strict cancellation policy but a personal waiver that if guests cant travel I will refund in full. The issue I have is how can i ensure I am not hosting guests who are travelling illegally if I don't know where they actually live?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

hi @Alexandra199 Two thoughts- 

Firstly our refund is 'any money we receive'. We do not plan to refund any Airbnb fees as we believe Airbnb should do this. 

Secondly we always ask where our guests are coming from in order to send them directions as we can be hard to find. 100% of guests so far have done this and, in fact, some have gone further and specifically checked if we are happy with them coming from certain areas. From this I perceive that most guests will respect the law but, of course, there will be some who don't.

[David7285]

Too little too late Karen.

it should take 7 months for you to realise that hosts are just important to your business model as guests. No hosts = no business!! You have absolutely shafted hosts, you fail to realise that we also have costs and amd to put all of the Covid liability on your hosts is disgraceful! Your first port of call for cancellations should have been to encourage guests to claim through their insurance thus protecting all your stakeholders. Leaving this until January to take effect is another injustice. I have seen no financial support from Airbnb. 

[Tim2422]

I have a question.  When the pandemic hit, Airbnb canceled many bookings without our permission.  Airbnb later released a statement saying Airbnb was going to "refund 25% of each booking lost" because of this. We have not received any type of the 25% refund.  Why? The statement went on to say that Airbnb had put aside $200 million dollars to do this refund.  Why hasn't Airbnb honored their statement? We were hit hard in the travel industry and the last thing we want is to be lied to by Airbnb! Why haven't we gotten our 25% refund for each booking that was canceled by Airbnb from March to May?

Thank you for your  quick response,

Tim Wilson 

Carol June 

Lazy Bear's Den 

The Smoky Mountains, Tennessee