Allow penalty-free cancellations through May, with a possibility of extending the exemption on a month to month basis.

[Joshua289]

Given the economic impact that the current health crisis has had on my listing, I am considering cancelling all future bookings through May. So far, any consequence-free cancellations only apply to stays occurring through mid-April for reservations that had been booked prior to mid-March. Will Airbnb be making any decisions regarding the economic well-being of its business partners, the hosts? I cannot continue to operate my short term rental business in this uncertain economic climate and need to start looking at long-term rental options. At a minimum, I would need to make sure that I receive a steady source of income from a month-to-month tenant, who will be bound to the conditions of a lease (There is some indication that tenants on a lease will receive some sort of rental assistance to make their monthly rent payments,) beginning on April 1st and lasting through May with a possibility of extending the length of long-term tenancy options. Airbnb is making it very difficult for me to make appropriate income-generating business plans, as it will penalize me for cancelling any current bookings after mid-April and in May. Is there an option for me to pause my listing for April and May or, perhaps, indefinitely? 

[Joshua289]

I received the following message in response to this post: 

Hello Joshua,

I'm Vincenzo from Airbnb.

To deactivate your listing you can consult the following link.

How do I snooze, unlist, or deactivate my listing?:
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/476/how-do-i-snooze-unlist-or-deactivate-my-listing?locale=en

After that, I kindly ask you to inform your guests that you will no longer be able to host.

Finally, contact us by listing the confirmation codes for the reservations to be canceled, without penalty.

With regard,
Vincenzo,

- I’m unsure if this means that I can snooze my listing until further notice, without penalty. Or if it means that I can only cancel bookings without penalty if the cancellations fall within the COVID-19 no-penalty cancellation period. Ideally, I’d like to cancel all of April and possibly May without penalties. What is your interpretation of Airbnb’s response?