US: Airbnb has informed its hosts and guests that it is updating its Extenuating Circumstances Policy and changing its name to a revised Major Disruptive Events Policy, effective from 6 June 2024, to make it “easier to understand” for everyone.
According to the company, the revised policy will apply to all trips and Experiences taking place on or after that date, regardless of when they were booked.
In an email to its community, Airbnb said that the major change to the policy would ensure that all “foreseeable” weather events at the reservation’s location are explicitly eligible for coverage if they result in another covered event, such as government travel restrictions or a large-scale utility outage. A hurricane during hurricane season would also be explicitly applicable to the policy, as guests with affected bookings would qualify for a refund, especially if there is a mandatory evacuation order.
In addition, the policy will only apply to events in the place where the reservation is located, while events that impact a guest’s ability to travel to the reservation will no longer be covered.
When the Major Disruptive Events Policy comes into effect, it will override the host’s booking cancellation policy and enable guests to cancel eligible upcoming and active reservations at the impacted location for a refund. On top of that, it will enable hosts to cancel reservations without fees and other related consequences.
Juniper Downs, head of community policy at Airbnb, said: “The changes to this policy, including its new name, were made to create clarity for our guests and hosts and ensure it’s meeting the diverse needs of our global community. Our aim was to clearly explain when the policy applies to a reservation, and to deliver fair and consistent outcomes for our users.
“These updates also bring the policy in line with industry standards,” added Downs.
Under the terms of the revised policy, the following events would be covered [if meeting the right conditions]: Declared public health emergencies and epidemics [not including Covid-19]; government travel restrictions [not including non-binding travel advisories etc]; military actions and other hostilities [e.g. acts of war, invasions, civil war, terrorism, explosions, bombings, rebellions, riots and insurrection]; large-scale outages of essential utilities such as heating, water and electricity; and natural disasters and other severe weather events.
Airbnb said that it would assess the situation to determine whether the Major Disruptive Events Policy applies if a reservation is impacted by a covered event. Reservations outside of the defined area and timeframe, where affected, may not be eligible, although hosts may still be able to cancel without “adverse” consequences if they are unable to host, according to the company.
Situations or common events not covered by the Major Disruptive Events Policy include: Events that impact a guest or their ability to travel, but not the reservation location; unexpected injury or illness; government obligations such as jury duty or court appearances; non-binding travel advisories or other government guidance falling short of a travel ban or prohibition; cancellation or rescheduling of an event for which the reservation was made; and transportation disruptions unrelated to a covered event, such as airline insolvencies, transportation strikes, and road closures due to maintenance.
While cancellations and refunds are primarily governed by the cancellation policy for each listing, a guest can cancel their reservation and receive a refund or travel credit regardless of the reservation’s cancellation policy when the new policy applies. Similarly, a host can cancel without fees or other adverse consequences.
It marks the latest change to Airbnb’s coverage after previous iterations of the Extenuating Circumstances Policy left guests confused about what was covered during the Covid-19 pandemic, while hosts criticised the policy for leaving them struggling to keep their businesses running due to last-minute cancellations, refunds and blocked out periods in their calendars.
