Many Brits will be heading on their summer holidays soon, with many choosing a cosy cottage or city apartment over a costly hotel.
Holidays can be a much-needed dream getaway, but it can turn into a nightmare when you have to cancel. Navigating cancellation policies can cause a headache and lose you money.
So, it’s good news that Airbnb has announced it updating its Extenuating Circumstances policy.
The holiday rental company’s new guidelines will apply to all reservations taking place on or after June 6, 2024. Even better, it doesn’t matter if you booked months in advance – you might still be able to get a refund.
The reasons you can cancel as a guest or host are…
Declared public health emergencies and epidemics
If an epidemic or public health emergency is announced by the government of the country you’re visiting this must count.
However, things that are now considered endemic diseases like the flu or Covid-19 don’t count.
AirBnB also doesn’t count “illnesses commonly associated” with the area such as malaria in Thailand.
Government travel restrictions
This is different to the health advice as this applies to governmental advice such as evacuation orders.
Military actions and other hostilities
This includes “acts of war”, hostilities, invasions, civil war, terrorism, explosions, bombings, rebellions, riots, and insurrection.
Large-scale outages of essential utilities
If outages of essential utilities such as electricity and water are affecting “the vast majority of homes” in the location the area, you can cancel.
Natural disasters
“Unusual and sudden” natural disasters and weather events that don’t usually happen in your chosen destination are covered.
However, this won’t apply if it’s an area that is known for adverse weather conditions – such as a hurricane in Florida during hurricane season. These weather conditions would only be covered if it led to widespread power outages or evacuation.
If you’re about to jet away to your Airbnb property but you believe you’re eligible for a refund, in the event of one of the above reasons, there’s a chance you’ll get your hard-earned cash back.
Contact Airbnb and it will ‘assess the situation’ to determine whether the Major Disruptive Events Policy applies.
If it does, that policy will be implemented for the time frame Airbnb believes the event will prevent people being able to stay in the property for their reservation dates.
If you have a reservation outside of that time frame, you may not be able to get your money back.
The new rules mostly apply to events affecting the public on a bigger scale and the property, rather than personal circumstances. If you need to cancel for personal reasons, you’ll probably still lose out.
The reasons not covered:
- Unexpected injury or illness
- Jury duty or court appearances
- Non-binding travel advisories or other government guidance that fall short of a travel ban or prohibition
- Cancellation or rescheduling of an event for which the reservation was made
- Transport disruptions such as strikes, cancellations or road closures.
In these cases, Airbnb “encourage guests and Hosts to find a mutually acceptable arrangement”. Hopefully, this means postponing to another date or getting a partial refund. Though this is all at the host’s discretion and not covered by the company.
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