For travelers looking for their Airbnb coronavirus refund, worry no more because the online rental marketplace has tweaked their policy.
Airbnb Inc. made adjustments to its refund policy to manage the needs of hosts and guests as the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to spread and affect travel demand.
Airbnb, which is an online platform where people who want to rent out all or part of their home and travelers who need accommodations, takes into consideration how the coronavirus outbreak affects the members of its home-sharing site.
Airbnb announced that hosts who will be more flexible or generous on offering refunds will receive rewards. The company will launch promotions for different listings to attract new bookings.
The San Francisco-based startup will waive the standard 3% host fee on new reservations. This new policy is applicable to those listings through June 1.
“When a crisis like coronavirus hits, we know both hosts and guests are affected,” Airbnb said in a statement. “Hosts lose earnings that they rely on to make ends meet. Guests are losing hard-earned vacation savings.”
Based on Airbnb’s policy, guests can cancel all reservations within 48 hours of booking to get a full refund. However, beyond that, the hosts will be in charge of the refund policy, which will be transparent on the listings and vary from flexible to strict.
Airbnb has been providing full refunds to visitors traveling to China, South Korea, and Italy since the onset of coronavirus.
Moreover, the company will return the service fee that visitors pay to them as a coupon for future reservations should people decide to cancel their trips on bookings made from today through June 1. However, this does not assure them that hosts will offer a refund.
“While it is clear that the coronavirus will have an impact on the entire travel and tourism industry, we believe travel will recover in the long run,” Airbnb said.
