Airbnb’s relief program for Filipino guests affected by Covid

AIRBNB announced a new way that it would support guests as they navigated the unexpected impact of a recent surge in Covid-19 cases through the launch of its Guest Covid support program.

The company introduced the said program to provide relief to guests no longer able to proceed with their previously booked reservations due to unexpected travel disruptions, caused by government mandates such as border closures or mandatory extended quarantine requirements.

For guests in these situations that were unable to obtain a full refund under their hosts’ cancellation policies, Airbnb would provide relief in the form of a travel coupon worth 50 percent of the cost of the unrefunded portion of the reservation.

The company was funding the program with $20 million initially to help defray the financial impacts on guests and ensure that guests knew that it was listening to their concerns.

This program was effective immediately and applied retroactively to reservations that had a check-in date on or after Dec. 1, 2021 and had to be canceled by the guest due to border closures, government mandates and certain other Omicron-related travel restrictions, which were not in effect at the time of booking.

If guests had reservations for stays with check-in dates on or after December 1, and they had to cancel in advance of check-in due to unexpected travel disruptions, caused by government mandates, they were eligible for relief under this program.

However, if a traveler booked a stay in Manila today while the same travel restrictions were already in place, the program would not apply. Guests whose canceled reservations met the program criteria should contact Airbnb’s 24/7 Community Support team.

This program was meant to support guests who had encountered extreme and unexpected government-mandated travel disruptions due to Omicron through no fault of their own.