Host wanting to waive strict policy and issue refund. help !

[Lucie451]

A lovely family was supposed to check into a flat of mine in London today. They are brits now living in the Netherlands. With London going in Tier 4 the rest of Europe is shutting down. Their boat has just been cancelled.  

In a nutshell I am on strict policy and I don’t want to take a penny from them. I don’t want offer a voucher for later, just refund as much as I was make as a host. Airbnb will sure charge their fee regardless I’m sure.

I advised the guest to cancel their end but it says she will be refunded £50 (cleaning charge I believe)...so she didn’t press cancel yet.

What I am wondering is:

- should she cancel can I later send money back to her via Airbnb platform ?

- If it is too late to cancel online which I suspect because check in is today. Can she pretend she is going ahead with booking and then I refund on the platform later ? 

This is my 5th booking. I wonder if you can help me as I am baffled by the lack of advice of “how to” for  hosts. Whether online or on the phone I am taking to robots. I just want to do the decent thing 

[Helen3]

There is lots of advice on how to host;

1. Airbnb Help Centre

2. advice and tutorials on this community centre

3. posts in this community - you will find most issues including yours covered multiple times

4. Covid advice on Airbnb Website

your guest just needs to cancel choosing the Covid option. For a full refund. @Lucie451