Will Airbnb extent the 15 May deadline for cancelling bookings without penalty?

[Alasdair6]

Airbnb have for some time allowed hosts like us to cancel bookings for the season without penalty (i.e. without incurring financial penalties or losing Superhost status) as long as we do it before 15 May.  We have been closed since March and have cancelled all bookings until the end of June but have lots of bookings for July, August and September taken before the coronavirus crisis hit which we will probably also have to cancel.  We are in a vulnerable rural area in Scotland with few cases so far but many elderly residents, and we do not want to bring the virus here.  In any case, it is against the law for Scottish accommodation providers to open until lockdown is lifted: we do not know when that will be, but we're hearing that it's unlikely hospitality businesses will to be able to reopen before the autumn.  Once we do reopen, we would also like to space out our bookings so there is adequate cleaning time between guests, both for their safety and our own - at the moment, we have lots of quick changeovers between short stays.

I have written to guests suggesting they cancel or postpone but most are not replying or insisting they want to "wait and see".  We think this is unrealistic at best, but we won't have any more information about the lockdown timescale until after that date.  What do I do?  Will the deadline be extended? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alasdair6 If you are concerned then cancel the bookings - You still have two days to do so.

That said I believe that if Scotland are mandating that it is illegal to host nearer the time then the pre-covid Extenuating Circumstances policy SHOULD (and I stress should) allow you to cancel.

[Alasdair6]

Thanks. So if I don't cancel now I'm reliant on them taking the hint and cancelling themselves nearer the time. But I can't compel them to.  Just don't think some visitors realise the gravity of the situation with lockdown and quarantine etc. We're in the Scottish Highlands and most of us locally feel we won't be allowed to open before the autumn.

[Gordon0]

Brian Chesky is live tonight at 23:00 (UK time), @Alasdair6. I suspect it'll have an update about the EC policy and a possible extension.   

[Alasdair6]

Missed Brian live, but it doesn't look like there's been an extension.  😞

[Andrew1776]

Here`s a message I got this morning

Airbnb Support11:14

Hi Andrew, thank you for letting me know about your decision. No worries, we will keep it as it is. Just to let you know that host can still cancel penalty free until May 15, 2020. So in case you change your mind and you want to cancel future booking from June 16 - Dec 31 (2020), you can do so cancel without penalty.

[William1280]

I read guest could cancel reservations up to June 15 for a full refund. This means the EC was extended.