Dear hosts,

With the current global crisis, we know that many of you are experiencing a significant loss of bookings and a large number of cancellations. The last few days have been incredibly challenging and confusing for everyone. It's our goal to be as transparent and proactive as possible.

First and foremost, we are going to get through this crisis as partners—our success is dependent on the success of you, our hosts. We are working day and night on a plan of action that will help you get through this extremely difficult time. We will share this with you as soon as possible in the coming weeks.

Second, with the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic, we made the difficult decision on Saturday to put in place a global policy allowing all guests to cancel eligible reservations for a full refund—including all Airbnb fees. We know this decision has caused incredible hardship for many of you. Many hosts were already accepting cancellations outside of established policies. You have asked us why we did this when some other companies in our space have not. We want to make sure you understand our thinking.

This pandemic is leading cities and nations to undergo extreme measures. In this crisis, our first priority is the health of the public and our communities. We did not want guests making the decision to put themselves in unsafe situations and creating a public health hazard because of a commitment to their bookings. We believe this is the responsible thing to do given the guidance of governments and health experts.

While it's clear to all of us that the coronavirus has deeply impacted our community, we know that this moment will pass and travel will be back. As people are starting to use Airbnb for long-term bookings and stays close-by, it's clear that we need to be a part of helping all of us get through this as quickly as possible. The desire to connect is in all of us, and we will be together again, but for now our priority is to do our part to keep everyone safe.

We are partners, and we will get through this together.

Airbnb's Founders,
Brian, Joe and Nate

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million Hosts who have welcomed over 1.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About Airbnb.org

Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.

Airbnb Press
Airbnb Press Office
Airbnb

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