Airbnb ends Covid-19 refunds, pandemic cancellation policy

Airbnb is ending its Covid-19 support for hosts and guests catching the virus. Photo / 123RF

Come down with Covid-19 just before your break, don't expect any sympathy from your accommodation provider.

Airbnb has announced that, from the end of the month, disruption from Covid-19 will no longer be considered an 'extenuating circumstance' under their refund policy.

The short term rental company had offered refunds for bookings cancelled by guests or hosts contracting the virus. For bookings made after 31 May, the cancellations will be handled under the agreed host's refund policy.

"The safety of our community is our priority and we continue to monitor the situation closely," the company said in a statement.

The pandemic is far from over. In some markets suffering localised spikes and new travel restrictions.

Airbnb says reservations in South Korea and mainland China, certain COVID-19-related circumstances will continue to be covered after the 31 May deadline.

The company advises travellers to continue to monitor their Covid-19 policy for updates.
Airbnb is not the only travel company to be eager to move out of overly cautious refund policies.

Vrbo which runs Bookabach and other short term holiday lets in New Zealand ended its automatic Covid-19 credit refund policy on 30 April, now relying on host's policies to mange cancellations.

The company said they would continue to refund service fees where trips are cancelled by Covid-19.

Booking.com depending on the conditions at their destination, travellers not booked with a "flexible rate" may not be entitled to a refund.

This morning as part of their Q1 report, Airbnb said that city break travel was back to 2019 levels. Co-found Brian Chesky said "urban and cross-border travel, which were the majority of our business before the pandemic, are back to 2019 levels".

These trends continue to this day. And now, urban and cross-border travel, which were the majority of our business before the pandemic, are back to 2019 levels

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) May 3, 2022