Possibility to cancel without any fee as an host due to COVID?

[Aurélien4]

Hello,

I am living in Sweden and going to Italy from the 1st to the 9th of August. I was thinking to add my flat on Airbnb during this period, but I am concerned that my flight to Italy will be canceled on a short notice.

Will I have any penalties if I cancel as an host only some days before the booking? 

[Debra300]

@Aurélien4,

This is the cancellation policy for the US: https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies.  You may want to do a search on the Swedish Airbnb site to see if there are any differences.

[Alexandra316]

@Aurélien4As a host, if you cancel more than 7 days before the booking, you will be charged $50; if fewer than 7 days, it's $100. You can read about all the penalties that apply to hosts at 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/as-a-host-what-penalties-apply-if-i-cancel-a-reservation-for...

Personally, I think this is a risky experiment. What happens if the guest has a problem and they need you? What if they throw a party and trash your place? You'll be out of the country. As a new host, you just don't know what you don't know and it seems like a potentially bad move. On top of that, there's the thread that you're going to have to cancel anyways, which isn't great for a potential guest. 

[Sarah977]

@Aurélien4  Airbnb really isn't just a way for you to earn money while your place is vacant. Hosting has a lot of aspects to it to be successful. It's a job, not a make-money-easy scheme. I wouldn't advise you to do this.

I assume your personal things would be left in the apartment while you are only gone for 9 days. What if a guest throws a rager party and trashes your place? What if they steal or damage your stuff? 

Airbnb cannot be relied on at all to back you up or reimburse you in those scenarios. Their "host guarantee" is a PR joke.