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Airbnb commits $250 million to hosts to cover coronavirus cancellations

Airbnb commits $250 million to hosts to cover coronavirus cancellations

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused hotel and accommodation industry a huge loss. Yesterday, March 30, Airbnb, one of the industry’s top players, announced that they will be locating $250 million to help offset losses by hosts around the world whose guests have canceled bookings in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. This followed the announcement earlier this month that guests could get full refunds for certain reservations.

Airbnb offers payments to hosts globally expect for China

The said amount will pay hosts (globally expect for China) 25 percent of their normal cancellation fees. This only includes cancelled reservations with check-in dates from March 14 to May 31. Due to the reason that hosts can choose different cancellation policies, some requiring a penalty payment with others allowing free cancellation up to a certain date before check-in, not all canceled reservations will qualify for a payment.

Credits: Reuters

Prior to this, Airbnb announced that guests would receive a full refund for the cancellation of reservations made on or before March 14 for check-in between March 14 and April 14. Moreover, Airbnb also said that hosts could cancel reservations without a charge.

The issuance of payment to hosts will begin in April. However, the company provided no details whether $250 will be sufficient to cover fees for all valid canceled reservations.

According to Reuters, Airbnb’s revenue in 2019 exceeded $4.8 billion, up 35 percent on the year, and it has $3 billion in cash. Furthermore, the company said in September last year that it planned to list its shares in 2020, and so far has not changed that position.

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