Opt in to our flexible Experiences cancellation policy

Airbnb research suggests that guests appreciate having the flexibility to cancel bookings when they need to, as this can help reduce the stress of planning and free them up to be more spontaneous. 

However, we’ve heard from Hosts that when guests back out of an Experience at the last minute, you can find yourselves in a tight spot. You put time and effort into creating an Experience for guests, and a cancellation may impact your income.

In response to your feedback, we’re updating our Experiences cancellation policies to help reduce the financial impact on you when someone cancels at the last minute. Now you’ll have the option to choose either a flexible or more strict cancellation policy, while still allowing guests to choose Experiences that meet their needs.

Starting November 10, 2021, all Experience Hosts are invited to opt in to a new, more flexible cancellation policy. You will be able to choose the modified current policy, or opt in to the more flexible policy, described below:

• Modified current: Guests can cancel for free up to 7 days before the Experience starts, or within 24 hours after booking, so long as they purchase the Experience more than 48 hours in advance.

• More flexible: Guests can cancel for free up to 24 hours before the Experience starts.

Previously, the Airbnb Experiences cancellation policy allowed guests to receive a full refund so long as they canceled 7 days before the Experience, or within 24 hours of booking. However, we heard from Hosts that this didn’t work for them because it allowed last-minute bookers to cancel and receive a full refund.

Hosts told us they’d appreciate having more control over their cancellation policies—this update is intended to help prevent Hosts from needing to close their Experiences to new bookings 48 hours ahead of time to avoid last-minute booking cancellations.

You can change the cancellation policy for your Experience at any time by going to Your Experiences » Edit » General settings » Cancellation policy.

The updates to the existing Experience cancellation policy are intended to help minimize last-minute cancellations. Now Hosts will have more income protection if a guest books less than 48 hours from the start time and then cancels.

Hosts may want to choose the new, more flexible cancellation policy as long as they are okay with guests cancelling up to 24 hours before the Experience starts. In our research, most guests say they prefer the option of having cancellation flexibility for both online and in-person Experiences. This suggests that even if some guests cancel, opting in to a more flexible cancellation policy may help you attract more bookings overall. 

If your Experience requires significant lead time or preparation, you may want to consider sticking with the modified current policy—but keep in mind that it’s a bit less flexible for guests.

To learn more, visit our Help Center.