AirBbnb extending extenuating circumstances policy indefinitely?

Green-Area-Apartments0
Level 7
London, United Kingdom

AirBbnb extending extenuating circumstances policy indefinitely?

Is it true or i'm not getting it right that AirBnb is extending indefinitely the policy of full refund for guests who cannot travel due to Covid-19 restrictions, thereby effectively overriding the host policies in a way no other platform has done? 

 

At the same time we're informed that the host rescue fund is ceasing to be active from 31st May onwards. 

2 Replies 2
Pat271
Level 10
Greenville, SC

They seem to be extending new end-dates as time goes on.  Currently, the 100% refund extends through July 15th.  Also, the booking date had to be on or before March 14th.

@Green-Area-Apartments0 I expect that Airbnb will keep extending the window for Extenuating Circumstances for bookings placed before 14 March, but there's no indication yet that they'll accept Covid-19-restrictions as grounds for full refunds on trips booked after 14 March. 

 

A lot of hosts would prefer that Airbnb take a more localized policy approach here and account for the fact that many jurisdictions have reopened for tourism. But this is pretty unlikely to work, given how complicated that would be. If you have many outstanding bookings placed before 14 March, you should probably be prepared for more cancellations, even after the official restrictions are phased out.