From May 31, Airbnb guests will no longer be able to cancel their reservations due to Covid-19 under the previous “extenuating circumstances policy.” Instead, the Host cancellation policy will be reinstated. This will apply to all countries except South Korea.
Airbnb is an online platform that connects people who need to rent houses and accommodation with those who want to rent. Renters just need to enter their destination, choose the desired apartment, book a room and the address of the apartment will be sent to them.
Online booking platform Airbnb will cancel its Covid-19 policies from May 31. Photo: Internet
As part of the cancellation policy introduced in March 2020, “extenuating circumstances” is a provision that allows travelers to cancel if they or their host are infected with Covid-19. Under this policy, guests who cancel will receive a refund or credit for another trip, and hosts can cancel without penalty or impact to their Superhost status.
Airbnb said: "As we have seen, thanks to the efforts of health authorities and medical advances around the world, nearly two-thirds of the world's population has received at least one dose of a vaccine against Covid-19. And many countries are now living with Covid-19. Because of this new way of life, starting May 31, we will update our extenuating circumstances policy to no longer include Covid-19-related cases as a reason for refunding reservations."
Typically, Airbnb allows Hosts to set their own cancellation policies, which can be flexible enough to allow guests to cancel at least 5 days before check-in for a full refund.
Airbnb also noted that other travel businesses discontinued this type of policy months ago or do not offer any Covid-19-related policies at all.
Going forward, Airbnb plans to roll out travel insurance to guests in select countries. The company also introduced updated cleaning standards in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which will remain part of the standards going forward.
