An update on changes to the Strict cancellation policy

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

We recently announced that we’re updating our Strict cancellation policy. Starting May 1, 2018, guests will have the option to cancel for free within 48 hours of booking, as long as their check-in date is at least 14 days away.

In response to this announcement, many of you voiced concerns about Airbnb sharing your details with guests who may cancel. We take your privacy very seriously, so thank you for that feedback—it inspired important updates that give you more control over when your listing details and contact information are shared with guests.  

Here’s how we’re addressing your concerns

You can choose not to share your address, phone number, and last name with guests during the period that they can cancel for free. Guests will never see these details if they cancel their reservation during the free cancellation window.

To use this feature, go to Listing > Listing details > Edit location in your Airbnb account. Under Visibility for booked guests, check the box next to Share details with guests after the free cancellation period.  

This feature will be available to all hosts on May 1, regardless of their cancellation policy (Strict, Flexible, Moderate). And just in case you missed the announcement, here’s what’s changing for hosts who have a Strict cancellation policy:

• Guests will get a full refund if they cancel within 48 hours of booking, as long as their check-in date is at least 14 days away. This means that even if a guest books a reservation months in advance, they’re only able to get a full refund if they cancel within the first 48 hours after booking.  
• Guests can only get 3 full refunds per year. After that, guests will no longer be able to cancel for free.
• To discourage guests from making multiple reservations for the same dates and then cancelling, overlapping reservations aren’t eligible for a full refund.

This change helps hosts with a Strict cancellation policy compete with listings that offer guests more flexibility. Guests feel more confident booking reservations that give them room to make changes or fix booking mistakes immediately. The updated policy gives guests this flexibility, but only for 48 hours after they book.

Airbnb is committed to the success of all hosts and we know changes impact how you work. We don’t make changes like these without extensive testing, and after we change the policy on May 1st, we’ll continue to monitor the impact by providing the grace period to a portion of guests before making it available to all guests. As we roll this out, we’ll continue to listen to your valuable feedback.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Carlota27]

That's abuse from the guest!  You should be compensated accordingly.  

[Anonymous]

I agree, strict should mean strict, my accommodation has group sizes of 16-20 who book many months in advance, its not easy/impossible to then re let in such a short time.  Please can someone advise on how to get super strict please

[Rieneke0]

I would rather cancel all the bookings until the 1 of June. Without costs, is that possible?

[Alan8]

we are removing all 21 properties from your site, we have a Strict Cancellation policy agreed to by Airbnb with us/rental agents. We had booked a guest in a casa in Punta Mita, they had paid in full- and we had been paid 60 days prior to arrival- their stay was: April 12-19th time period ( covid-19( and you Refunded them fully) removing $ 4,000.00 from our account without our authorization. To be clear, we are the "Property managers" who rent this and other condos; we DO NOT have the funds- so you removed these funds from our personal bank account, without our authorization or permission. The owner of this property ( whom we rent for) will not refund us as they know we have a "Non refundable" deposit system- and we also collect "signed" Contracts from guests acknowledging our deposits are Non-refundable, for any circumstances.( this guest included who signed this agreement). We had also offered this particular guest a Re-booking option due to the Covid-19- which they declined and went direct to you instead of dealing with us. YOU DID NOT ask us what we had done for this guest- you simply made an arbitrary decision to Refund the guests without even speaking to the Host- and removed the funds from us. We had a contractual agreement with you- when you allowed us to book all of our guests with "Strict Cancellation" rules, for this precise reason. As mentioned we are looking in to this matter further, with other rental agents and associations we belong to and have REMOVED our 21 Listings with you. Regards, Al & Jill Forster

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Alan8 I see you were going to remove 21 listings but now have 34 listings on Airbnb. What convinced you to change your mind?

[Jim-and-Joan0]

I am just realizing the changes from a couple of years ago. We do weekly rentals of our Cape Cod cottage in the summers and have had very few cancellation issues. But this year with COVID-19, we have someone wanting to cancel, and it is THEIR DECISION AND NOT OURS. So it seems like AirBnB is making it seem 'pain free" to have us cancel without penalty. But the financial penalty is all on us in the form of lost revenue if we refund 100%. What was the "Strict" policy before this change? Thanks! 

[Karen7]

People who  cancel within two weeks should not get any refund. Airbnb should encourage people to buy vacation insurance, like VRBO does

[Doris358]

Great changes!

[Nancy458]

@n.katherine

Hello All: I share your concern about coancellations--especially for places that are in high-demand locations. My understanding is that Airbnb is NOT taking away strict cancellation for hosts. Instead, they offer guests a 48 hour window. I found out during this Covid season, that guests have a legal right to cancel, and I now have a moderate policy. This is working for me, along with the 48-hours policy offered by airbnb. So far, any cancellations I have experienced (7 days ahead of stay) have been re-booked immediately.