Traveller's Insurance

Shannon199
Level 10
California, United States

Traveller's Insurance

Why doesn't Airbnb offer the option to purchase travel insurance for guests at the time of booking like car rental companies do?

 

It could be a non-profit arm of their company in which all parties to the booking are protected. 

6 Replies 6

@Shannon199   If you read through the dozens of threads posted by hosts in the last week on this very topic, you'll see that the majority of hosts now share your view. And many were making this very point long before the COVID-19 crisis demonstrated on a spectacularly global scale what a horrible idea the Extenuating Circumstances policy always was. I fully agree with you on that.

 

But we should also consider the background a bit. Before the pandemic reached its height, Airbnb was already showing rapidly declining profit, spooking the investors who hold the company afloat just as it was planning an IPO. Now, many sectors of the travel industry are facing disastrous losses, and Airbnb is in an especially vulnerable position considering that the only things it owns are brands. The market was already oversaturated with hosts - not much room for growth on that end, or any need to be more host-friendly -  but if the core brand loses its edge among guests, the whole enterprise is toast. Sadly, hosts are going to have to realize how utterly expendable they are and have been for years from Airbnb's perspective.

 

Building a costly new feature on a non-profit basis to support hosts it could do without? Take a look at Airbnb's top investors and tell me if that's the kind of thing they would do:  https://app.dealroom.co/companies/airbnb

Helen3
Top Contributor
Bristol, United Kingdom

To add to @Anonymous  useful point, the main reason why this would not have helped much @Shannon199  is that it wouldn't cover travellers once the outbreak was announced.

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

And most insurers would have done their level-best to cite small-print, allowing them to wriggle out of their responsibilities.  

Sybe
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
Terneuzen, Netherlands

Hey @Shannon199 and everyone! Good news, we just announced that travel insurance for Airbnb guests is coming soon.

 

You can check out our post here, or go to the Resource Center for more information. 😃

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Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Sybe the article you reference was posted on 19 April. The text said insurance would be available 'Starting in the next few weeks'.

Now it is  7 June. 

Is it really a few weeks since 19 April?

In another 12 days I would say it will be a few months since 19 April.

 

Sybe
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
Terneuzen, Netherlands

@Mike-And-Jane0 The link to this post is somewhat older as these posts are prepared in advance but the content itself went live at the end of last week. The date on the Resource Center article shows the correct date for this update - June 1st. 🙂

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