Cancellation and refunds

[Sue1943]

We love our air bnb holidays. 2020 we lost Lot of money due to COVID cancellations of our bookings. I notice now that most bookings seem to have a full refund policy if you cancel the day prior.  I’m hoping this is correct.

[Sarah977]

@Sue1943  No, that isn't true at all. You have to read the cancellation policy attached to each listing. 

The cancellation policy you are referring to is called Flexible. But certainly all listings do not use the Flexible policy. I know it's very nice for  guests, but it's pretty disastrous for hosts. I would never use it myself- I don't want to spend time communicating with a guest, sending them all the info they'll need, cleaning and preparing the space for them, only to have them cancel last minute and get paid nothing for my time and no hope of getting another booking with no lead time.

[M199]

@Sue1943 

As @Sarah977 said is correct. Many hosts rely on short term rentals as their main source of income.  Please put the shoe on the other foot and consider that a last minute cancellation from a guest may cause an economic loss that the host may not be able to recover. But that is the risk the host accepts when trying to be "flexible" for guests while trying to survive financially.

[Debra300]

@Sue1943,

If your reservations were canceled due to COVID, Airbnb was supposed to provide you a refund.  Many hosts do not have a Flexible Cancellation Policy which allows cancellations up to 24 hours before arrival.  I highly suggest that everyone purchase travel insurance or use a credit card that provides that type of coverage to protect their travel investment regardless of the distance, destination or duration of their trip.