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Starting May 31st, Airbnb guests will no longer be able to cancel their bookings due to Covid-19 under the previous "milder case policy." Instead, the Host's cancellation policy will be reinstated. This plan will be effective for all countries except South Korea.
Airbnb is an online platform that connects people who need to rent houses and accommodations with those who want to rent out their properties. Those looking to rent simply enter their destination, select their desired property, and make a reservation; the property's address will then be sent to them.
The online booking platform Airbnb will lift its Covid-19 policies starting May 31st. (Image: Internet)
As part of the cancellation policy from March 2020, "mitigating circumstances" are a clause that allows travelers to cancel bookings if they or the host contract Covid-19. Under this policy, guests who cancel will receive a refund or credit points for another trip, and hosts can cancel without penalty or impact on their Superhost status.
Airbnb stated: "As we've seen, thanks to the efforts of health authorities and global medical advances, nearly two-thirds of the world's population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. And many countries are now living with Covid-19. Due to this new way of living, starting May 31st, we will be updating our policy on mitigating circumstances to exclude Covid-19-related cases as a reason for refunds."
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 to receive a full refund.
Airbnb also noted that other businesses in the travel industry had discontinued this type of policy months ago or did not offer any Covid-19-related policies at all.
In the future, Airbnb plans to roll out travel insurance for guests in certain countries. The company also introduced an updated hygiene standard following the Covid-19 pandemic and will maintain it as part of its standards in the future.
