2020 archive: Airbnb support for COVID-19 cancellations

In April 2020, Airbnb announced exceptional measures relating to cancellations during the COVID-19 crisis. This news article records the announcement made at the time and does not describe support available today or current booking terms.

Airbnb compensates for cancellations

Following the outbreak of coronavirus in Spain and other countries around the world, people with trips planned were forced to cancel everything because of lockdown. However, not all companies responded in the same way.

Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky announced a series of measures for hosts affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

At the same time, the company updated its extenuating circumstances policy to include coronavirus, allowing affected travellers to receive a full refund for their accommodation.

And what about hosts? What measures were announced for them? At the time, Airbnb said it would pay a total of 250 million dollars (around 227 million euros at the exchange rate then) to affected hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations. This was income they had expected to receive but lost as a result of lockdowns.

According to the information recorded in this 2020 article, the Superhost fund received contributions from employees and co-founders. These amounts are retained as a historical account, not as an offer of support available today.

Returning to the update to the extenuating circumstances policy, it covered bookings for stays on or before 31 May 2020. Guests who had booked before 14 March 2020 for stays before 31 May 2020 could receive a full refund or travel credit.

These measures responded to exceptional circumstances. For a current booking, check the policy shown in its confirmation and the applicable official terms rather than relying on the dates in this article.

To manage current bookings, read how to review Airbnb fees, payments and terms.