COVID-19 & your hosting business: How to minimize the impact

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting many in our community, whether personally or because of disruptions to their hosting or travel plans.

As millions of people on Airbnb continue to travel, we understand that many may prefer flexible options during times of uncertainty. Here’s what hosts can do to keep attracting travelers right now:

• Adopt a more flexible cancellation policy. If you currently have a strict cancellation policy in place, consider switching to a flexible or moderate one (you can always go back to your strict cancellation policy as needed). Knowing they have more flexibility to cancel may give guests the confidence to move forward with a new reservation.
• Open your calendar for longer stays—and offer weekly or monthly discounts. Less than 50% of hosts offer a weekly or monthly discount. Those who do tend to get more bookings for longer stays, which can help you attract more guests, give you more predictability throughout the month, and involve less frequent cleanings.

We’re also working on a suite of tools and programs—what we’re calling “More Flexible Reservations”—to help you host and to help guests travel more confidently during this difficult time. Here’s what that will include:

• Enabling hosts to offer refunds directly. Many guests have had their travel plans affected by coronavirus disruptions, and hosts have asked how they can be considerate of guests who need to cancel. So we’re working on a new tool that would allow you to authorize a refund to your guest directly.
• Helping guests find listings with flexible cancellation policies. Guests will soon be able to filter their search by flexible, moderate, and strict cancellation policies, so they can easily find the ones that best suit their needs.

We’ll be rolling new features, tools, and incentives out, and we’ll update you once they’re in effect.

During these times of uncertainty, we’re asking everyone in our community to be considerate to hosts and guests who need to cancel. Here’s more information to help support you while hosting:

• As the situation evolves, we’re closely monitoring guidance from governmental and health authorities. We’ll continue to update coverage of our extenuating circumstances policy, including eligible reservations, dates, and locations, so please bookmark this Help Center page for the latest details on cancellations without charges.
• We developed COVID-19 safety practices, which everyone in the Airbnb community must follow. Both hosts and guests must wear a mask and practice social distancing. Hosts must also follow Airbnb’s five-step enhanced cleaning process. For extra details on how best to clean, you can refer to the expert-backed cleaning handbook, which includes checklists and detailed guidance.
• By maintaining exceptional hygiene, you can help protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses.
• For more updates, please keep checking our frequently asked questions—we’ll be adding answers to your top questions

We know that many of you have been sharing your own tips and support, and we want to invite you to keep doing so in the Community Center.

Thank you once again for being a host, and for your patience and understanding as we work to support our entire community.

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.