Covid 19 cancellation policy

[Guy710]

I am trying to get clarification on the Covid 19 cancellation policy as it relates to the host refund.   The words in the policy say that the host will get 25% of the amount they would normally get based on their cancellation policy.   As I understand it if a host has a strict cancellation policy the host gets 50% of the booking amount and Airbnb would reimburse the guests 25% of that.  So if it's a $1.000 booking the host would normally get $500 and Airbnb would reimburse the host 25% of $500 or $125 and not 25% of $1,000 which would be $250.  If a host has a flexible or moderate cancellation policy and the guest cancels 14 days prior to arrival the host gets $0 and Airbnb would not reimburse the host anything.   Most Airbnb hosts seem to have flexible or moderate cancellation policies so this reimbursement policy will only benefit a minority of hosts and the amount of money is not going to be that much.   I have a strict cancellation policy and I messaged two different agents and one told me  based on this example I would get $250 and the other $125 so their is definitely confusion on their part.   Anybody have a definitive answer?

[Sarah977]

@Guy710 25% of the 50%. So 12.5 % of the reservation total. Your understanding was correct. Hosts often know and understand more than the CS reps do .-))

[Guy710]

Thanks Sarah,

Am I correct to assume that all hosts that had a flexible or moderate cancellation policy would get nothing from Airbnb based on this refund policy unless they cancel after the 14 day period prior to the arrival time?  How can I change my cancellation policy to strict 30 days or strict 60 days?  If one had one of those stricter policies does that mean the host would get 100% of the booking amount if the cancellation happened less than 30 or 60 days prior to the arrival date.

Guy Fisher

[Anonymous]

@Guy710 in the scenario you lay out above, the guest gets $1000 and Airbnb pays the host $125 out of pocket.

Well, not quite put of pocket. The guest will have paid about $125 - 140 in guest fees on that booking on top of the $1000 room rate. Airbnb's idea was to give them a Travel Credit for the value of the fee rather than refund it. 

[Sarah977]

@Guy710   A moderate cancellation policy means the guest would normally pay 50% of the reservation if they cancelled less than 5 days before check-in date, not 14 days. And a flexible policy means the guest can cancel for a 100% refund up to day before check-in.

You can change your cancellation policy anytime you want (I think super strict has different rules) but it wouldn't apply retroactively, only for future cancellations.

But right now, with the COVID cancellation policy, it's seemingly impossible to know which reservations are going to be refunded 100%- it seems to be all over the map . 

[Greg1382]

Does anyone know when this 25% will be paid?  Had numerous cancelled march and april reservations and haven't received a dime.  I also have strict cancellation policy.  This is a very tough time.

thanks!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Greg1382 

See link below for your answers. 

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/resources/hosting-homes/a/250m-to-support-hosts-impacted-by-cancellations-1...