Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo cancellations, refunds, and travel restrictions
Keep current with the cancellation policies, refund processes, and travel restrictions across major platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo. This category supports vacation rental managers and short-term rental managers with up-to-date insights on handling cancellations, managing guest refunds, and navigating travel advisories from each platform. Learn best practices for minimizing the impact of last-minute cancellations, responding to evolving travel restrictions, and maintaining guest satisfaction across multiple booking channels.
Airbnb Is Borrowing from Booking.com’s Playbook, but Only Where It Fits
📌TL;DR- Airbnb and Booking.com are looking more alike in 2025, but only on the surface. Airbnb is copying Booking where it boosts conversions (cancellations, payments, discovery), while rejecting the loyalty programs and corporate tone that define Booking’s DNA. The big takeaway: Airbnb is becoming an OTA with personality, and that hybrid strategy may give it a long-term edge.
Will Airbnb Hosts See a Rise in Cancellations in 2026?
📌TL;DR: Airbnb now gives every booking a 24-hour grace period and has introduced more flexible refund options for guests. While this change aims to increase traveler confidence and conversions, it could also lead to more last-minute cancellations in 2026. For hosts, that means adapting pricing and cancellation settings to balance flexibility with revenue protection — especially as Reserve Now, Pay Later expands and Airbnb tests Dynamic Cancellation Policies.
Are big booking platforms friends or foes to hosts and managers?
Keeping our monthly tradition alive of organizing free online conferences that address challenges associated with various aspects of managing short-term ...
Airbnb COVID-19 safety practices: Mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing, and 5-step enhancing cleaning process
In October 2020, Airbnb rose the bar when it came to COVID-19 safety practices: All Airbnb hosts were required to ...
COVID-19 House parties: Airbnb extends booking restrictions to Spain, France, and UK and launches Summer Safety Campaign
Last week, we detailed the rise of wild house parties taking place in vacation rentals, as clubs and event venues ...
COVID-19 certification for cleaning services: Discover Cristal International Standards, Vrbo’s expert
As cleanliness is perhaps the hottest topic in the short-term rental industry at the moment, property managers can access checklists, ...
8 ways Vrbo has adapted to post-COVID traveler needs
Vrbo has not sat idle when the COVID-19 crisis hit the vacation rental industry. For instance, it tried to balance ...
Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, and Trip endorse WTTC’s Safe Travels protocols for Short-Term Rentals
This is no small feat: Getting arch-rivals Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, Trip to agree to have a common stance on something. ...
Property managers found Vrbo’s response to COVID-19 crisis the best, while trust in Airbnb collapses, Survey finds
This survey is a snapshot taken in late March, at the peak of the havoc created by the coronavirus COVID-19 ...
Covid-19: Booking.com rolls out Health, Safety, and Cleaning guidelines and mentions on property pages
Booking.com is now allowing its partners to indicate on their listings which health and safety, physical distancing, and food safety ...
Vrbo and HomeAway Cleaning Checklist Enhanced to face COVID-19 coronavirus (vacation rental cleanliness)
The vacation rental cleanliness topic is a hot one, as travel bans get lifted across the world. We have already ...
The 24-hour and 72-hour buffers between Stays are the real Health Measures in Airbnb’s “new Enhanced Cleaning Initiative” and “Booking Buffer”
(This article is part of our series: Vacation rental safety & is Airbnb safe?) To get travelers to trust the ...
Are Vacation Rental bans here to stay? How are OTAs enforcing them?
After massive refunds and cancellations, vacation rental managers and short-term rental operators are facing another source of adverse winds: Bans ...
Airbnb extends Extenuating circumstances until May 31, Pushes for Airbnb Travel Credit, while promising $260M in help to hosts
While most hosts were busy looking at Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s live stream, where he promised to give back $260 ...
Vacation Rental Data and Charts show that coronavirus has biggest impact on bookings in Europe (vs US), in urban areas, for the next 30 days. Drive-to destinations to fare better.
Why do property managers in traditional resort areas in the US seem less worried about the impact of the COVID-19 ...
Coronavirus crisis (updated Weekly): Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com’s refund and cancellation policies, travel restrictions, how to price your urban or vacation rental.
(Last update: June 12) – The goal of this page is to save you time and give you some guidance ...
