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How-to • Experience host

Host Cancellation Policy for Services and Experiences

Although cancellations by hosts are rare, and some cancellations are beyond a host’s control, cancellations by hosts can disrupt guest plans and undermine confidence in our community.

This Policy sets out the host’s responsibility to honor confirmed service or experience reservations on Airbnb. If a host cancels a confirmed service or experience reservation, or is found to be responsible for a cancellation under this Policy, Airbnb may impose fees and other consequences. The fees and other consequences set out in this Policy are intended to reflect the costs and other impacts of these cancellations on guests, the broader host community, and Airbnb.

We will waive the fees and, in some cases, the other consequences, if the host cancels because of a Major Disruptive Event or certain valid reasons beyond the host’s control.

Cancellation fees

If a host cancels a confirmed reservation, or is found to be responsible for a cancellation under this Policy, we may charge a cancellation fee of 20% of the booking value of the canceled service or experience. We’ll notify the host if a fee will be charged before they complete a cancellation.

When calculating cancellation fees, the booking value includes the base rate for the service or experience but excludes taxes or other fees. If the host cancels a reservation that has multiple guest bookings, such as multiple spots booked on a walking tour, then the cancellation fee will be based on the total booking value of all guest reservations booked for the canceled date(s) and time(s).

Cancellation fees are typically withheld from the host’s next payout(s) as provided in the Payments Terms of Service. In addition to the fees and consequences set out in this Policy, the host will not receive a payout for the canceled reservation. If the payout has already been made, then the amount of the payout will be withheld from the host’s next payout(s).

Other consequences

In addition to a cancellation fee, other consequences may apply, such as preventing the host from accepting another reservation on the affected date(s) or time(s) by blocking the calendar for the service or experience listing. Hosts who cancel confirmed bookings without a valid reason, who cancel frequently or are no-shows may experience additional adverse consequences, as explained in our Terms of Service and Host Ground Rules and Hosting Safety for Services and Experiences, such as removal of their service or experience from Airbnb.

Situations in which fees may be waived

We will waive the fees and any adverse consequences set out in this Policy when a host cancels for a valid reason beyond the host’s control that prevents them from honoring their service or experience. In the event a fee or adverse consequences are waived, we may still block the host’s calendar for the affected date(s) and time(s) to prevent rebookings. Some examples of valid reasons include:

  1. Unexpected issues with the host’s health or venue conditions that are outside of the host’s control. This may include if the host has an illness or injury that prevents them from hosting the service or experience, or if the venue for the service or experience is unexpectedly unavailable or unsafe for hosting. If the service or experience takes place outdoors, a host may cancel if the weather prevents them from hosting. Unpleasant weather that does not prevent the service or experience from taking place is not a valid reason for cancellation.
  2. If a guest causes a disruption that prevents the host from hosting or completing the activity. This may include a guest failing to provide accurate or complete information about their reservation (e.g., inaccurate number of guests or inaccurate location), failing to follow stated instructions, or behaving in a manner that violates our community policies.
  3. The guest has several unfavorable reviews or a lack of profile information that concerns the host.
  4. If a service or experience is at an Airbnb stay, and the stay has an issue that prevents hosting. If a guest has booked a service or experience to take place at an Airbnb stay, and an issue at the stay Listing prevents the service and experience from taking place, the host of the service or experience may cancel (e.g., the stay is canceled, or a guest books a chef service at a stay that does not have a working oven).
  5. If the host and guest agree to an alternate date and/or time to hold the service or experience and the host cancels so that the guest can rebook. The host will need to contact us after canceling to let us know, and after we verify that the guest agreed to the change and rebooked, we’ll remove any fees and consequences that were applied.

The host will be required to provide documentation or other evidence to Airbnb to verify that they are cancelling for a valid reason. We will determine whether to waive any fees and other consequences after evaluating the available evidence. In general, the host will not receive a payout for the canceled reservation, even if we waive fees or other consequences. However, if the cancellation is due to a guest-caused disruption or an issue at the Airbnb stay that prevents the service or experience from continuing, the host may retain their payout.

If a problem stems from an API software provider and the host needs to cancel a reservation as a result, the host must provide evidence of the API software provider’s outage or incident for consideration when requesting a fees and consequences waiver.

When a host may be found responsible for a cancellation

A host of a service or experience may be responsible for a cancellation when it occurs because the execution of the service or experience differs substantially from how it was described at the time of booking. In these cases, the host may be subject to the fees and other adverse consequences laid out in this Policy, regardless of who initiates the cancellation. Examples include: failing to start the service or experience within 15 minutes of the stated start time, substituting a host or co-host to provide the service or experience that differs from the host booked by the guest, or failing to provide essential information to guests in a timely manner.

Service and experience hosts may not encourage a guest to cancel their reservation in an attempt to avoid fees and other consequences. If a guest cancels their reservation at the service or experience host’s request, including if the host promised a full or partial refund to induce the guest to cancel, we may find the host responsible for the cancellation under this Policy and may require the host to provide the stated refund to the guest by taking the refund out of the host’s next payout(s).

Other things to consider

If a host cannot honor a reservation—regardless of the reason—it’s the host’s responsibility to cancel in a timely manner to allow guests time to adjust their plans. Providing false statements or materials in connection with this Policy violates our Terms of Service and may result in further consequences, including account termination. This Policy applies to cancellations that occur on or after the effective date. Any right that guests or hosts may have to initiate legal action remains unaffected. Any changes to this Policy will be made in accordance with our Terms of Service. This Policy applies to service and experience listings, but does not apply to home listings.

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