As the coronavirus pandemic spreads all over the world, more and more countries issue travel restrictions to fight it. That means a lot of pre-booked vacation plans are ending up in the bin. Last night, Airbnb announced that it'll let people cancel their booking without any charge.
The company said if you've made your booking before March 14, and if your check-in date is between March 14 and April 14, you won't be charged for cancelation.
[Read: Microsoft launches a coronavirus tracker dashboard on Bing]As a part of the announcement, Airbnb activated its Extenuating Circumstances Policy for COVID-19, which contains travel advisories and guidelines for hosts and guests on how the virus will affect their bookings.
The company said it is working on more tools and initiatives to support hosts, who might see bookings plummet during these times:
We understand that this announcement will impact hosts around the world, many of whom depend on the economics they generate on Airbnb. We will be working in the days and weeks ahead to identify tools and initiatives to support our hosts during these very challenging times
However, Airbnb is not the only travel company that has changed its travel policy. Several reputed hotel chains including Hilton and Mariott are letting people alter their bookings in the face of the pandemic.
You can read Airbnb's full announcement here.
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