I'm in the process of working out the details of a policy change before renting to any future guests on Airbnb, and am trying it out on the travelers who are booking with me directly through our own web site. I am requiring proof of travel insurance that includes "Cancel For Any Reason" coverage, which is typically an add-on to a base policy, but will cover a guest even for government-imposed travel restrictions, a fire in the area that requires evacuation, etc. (I'm in Wine Country, California, and fires now seem to be the new normal in October, thanks to my not raking enough leaves in the forest. But I digress.)
There are two companies that I know of that offer this type of add-on, and they are JohnHancockTravel.com and itravelinsured.com. It's an expensive add-on, but if a guest provides proof of the coverage, I will reduce their rental by up to $200 to share in the expense (I got quotes, and for our average rental of $3,000-$5,000 this type of policy costs around $300-$400). So I'm making my guests buy insurance, but I'm willing to pay for half of it, essentially. With my new stricter cancellation rules, this is a way to protect me and to protect my guests as well, and we share in the burden of the cost.
My Rental Agreement will have to state that it supersedes the cancellation policy of Airbnb, and guests will have to sign off on that, as well as provide their credit card information which would not be used other than to charge for a cancellation. I imagine Airbnb would try to cut my legs off from under me, regardless of whether the traveler had purchased expensive insurance to cover their travel, and then the insurer might try to get Airbnb to refund before they reimbursed, so I'll have to have that separate agreement making it very clear that my guest will be charged for a cancellation within less than 60 days of arrival.
I'm not a lawyer, but so far, two guests who rented directly from me in the last couple of days had no problem agreeing to this kind of arrangement, and both produced proof of the "Cancel for Any Reason" insurance with one of the companies I recommended. I told them I wanted to help make sure they were covered in the event there are more travel restrictions, and that I was willing to help them pay for it, because I've paid out almost $60K in refunds since March. It's been killing me. They seemed very understanding, and it was no problem.
I'm tired of being everyone's travel insurer! I've got to find a way to get my guests covered, or I cannot continue to rent through Airbnb. Has anyone else considered an arrangement like this? Vrbo offers guests the opportunity to buy insurance at check-out, but it does not cover any kind of travel restriction. It's worthless when it comes to this kind of issue. Looking forward to hearing if anyone has tried something like this!