[Updated: March 13th] Coronavirus outbreak: Information on Airbnb’s extenuating circumstances policy coverage

[Airbnb]

Last updated: March 13th, 2020

As more information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak becomes available, Airbnb continues to prioritize the safety and well-being of our community of hosts, guests and employees around the world. 

As this situation evolves, we strongly urge you to review your local government’s travel guidance and health advisories and take necessary precautions to protect yourself and your guests when hosting or traveling. 

Following governmental and health authorities guidance and recommendations, Airbnb is offering impacted hosts and guests with eligible reservations the option to cancel their reservations without charges through our extenuating circumstances policy. We’ll continue to evaluate and update this policy in line with official guidance. 

Airbnb understands that you may have concerns, and we’d like to encourage impacted hosts and guests to reach out to our customer support team (https://www.airbnb.com/help/home) with questions or to get help with canceling reservations.

More details about our extenuating circumstances policy can be found here. 

Read the FAQs here: Answers to your hosting questions about coronavirus

[Helen3]

Thanks @Airbnb can you pin to the top of the Help and Hosting threads as there are so many posts about this.

[Lizzie]

Great idea, @Helen3. Just pinned. 🙂 Thank you. 

[Barry297]

Hi Lizzie

Please can you assist me, I had to cancel my trip to Barcelona due to the GSM being cancelled and my host refuses to give me a full refund. I find this extremely disappointing under these circumstances.  Please let me know how I can resolve this with my host or directy oath Airbnb?

[Sara1490]

Hi Barry 

As a host who’s lost a lot of money this month due to Chinese travel ban guests needing to cancel  I’d like to say I don’t find myself feeling it’s fair for you to get a full refund.  I think the cancellation policy if the host should apply since only your conference was cancelled not your ability to travel.

Would a hotel give you a refund if the concert you intended to see got cancelled?

 Attending a conference and a full on travel ban are not equivalent and if your host depends on those funds to pay their mortgage and you’ve cancelled close to your arrival maybe you could see their side of things too. 

[Maria481]

Airbnb don't care.

[Neil424]

Actually hotels will provide refunds within a few days of cancellation. Usually one can cancel from 1 -3 days before arrival for a full refund. 

[Angela-and-Ian0]

Franchise hotels, may have a flexible cancellation policy, but not boutique hotels run by individuals. They almost always have a strict cancellation policy because 100% refund only days before check-in will ruin the business. AirBnB should be the same.

[Hattie9]

I am very disappointed about how @@Airbnb’s are handling this. Hosts are going to be financially crippled. Surely guests can claim on their travel insurance? Hosts can’t!!!! They don’t care about hosts

[James2319]

100% agree. 
a grand gesture from @Airbnb Airbnb and ‘we’re in this together’. This is a worrying situation, but if this really were an equal situation, the refund would be 50% for guests. 
Airbnb is nothing without hosts - were you providing the accommodation, I’m not sure you would be doing this. 
you should have consulted hosts. 
Your hosts are going to be hit by this, not guests. We have bills and mortgages to pay. 
how about you take a hit on this, and not your hosts? 

[Evan-And-Anja0]

Down with the extenuating circumstances policy! This should be a paid add on for guests to choose to protect their trips, not a ticking time bomb for hosts. 

[Laura4176]

Exactly - like any other booking - for example, non- refundable , flexi etc

I think spreading the burden 50/50 is more than fair. 
also, for overseas travellers surely they have travel insurance ?? I appreciate some policies may not cover everything but some will. Also I had people cancelling which was their choice ,there were no travel restrictions to Scotland so they could visit but chose not to. Again, appreciate they may not have felt comfortable but it wasn’t that they couldn't come - so don’t see why I have to bear 100% of the loss due to their choice and they lose zero. 

[Renee248]

I agree they should buy trip protect and be held to our set booking policies

[Arnold11]

Absolutely agree! 50/50 would be a way more fair. I can't believe in what situation Airbnb has put their hosts in! Are they going to pay our bills for the properties we host? 

[Daniel7178]

Completely agree can't believe they can do this to small buisnesses.