bookings made on or after May 31 will no longer be eligible for . The upcoming change to the Extenuating Circumstances Policy will apply to instances where a Host or Guest contracts .
The company says the host’s standard cancellation policy will apply instead. It says nearly two-thirds of active offer policies allow customers to cancel up to five days (under the moderate policy) or up to 24 hours before check-in (under the flexible policy).
Bookings made before the end of next month may still be eligible for a COVID-19 refund if they meet the terms of . There are exceptions for domestic bookings in South Korea and Mainland China. Airbnb said refunds will still be available there for certain circumstances related to COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.
“Some in the travel industry stopped this type of policy months ago, while others didn’t offer one at all,” Airbnb said. . “After consulting with our medical advisers, as well as our community, we believe the time is right to take the same step.”
For what it’s worth, Airbnb will soon . The product will be available in the coming months. Until then, the company says, people worried that COVID-19 could disrupt their travel plans can purchase insurance elsewhere.
The onset of the pandemic devastated the travel industry and Airbnb has not been immune to the impact. The company , or approximately 1,900 jobs, as of May 2020. It appears that Airbnb is hoping to resume business as usual. He noted that “many countries have now implemented plans for living with COVID-19.”
Yet the pandemic is not over. About a third of the world’s population has at least one dose of vaccine. The data shows that an average of 629,798 cases in each of the last 14 days.
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