Covid-19: How Hotels or Vacation rentals deal with Refunds or Rebookings
How do Hotels or Vacation Rentals like Airbnb handle rebooking or refunds when you have booked a non-refundable hotel room or vacation rental.
If you have booked your hotel via online travel agents or other third party travel professionals you have to their policies do apply, we have listed them as well.
Hotels
Travel Agents
Vacation Rentals
HOTELS
Best Western
Nothing offical yet…?
Four Seasons
As you consider your upcoming travel plans, we want to make the experience as worry-free as possible. To offer you flexibility in your travel plans, we are waiving cancellation fees until April 15, 2020 for:
- Guests travelling to any Four Seasons hotel and resort in the Asia Pacific region and Europe (excluding the UK); and
- Guests travelling from Europe (excluding the UK), Iran, South Korea, and Greater China – this includes Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan – to any Four Seasons hotel or resort globally.
For the full list of countries in Europe, please see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Health Notice here.
Hilton
Your Travel Flexibility
We remain committed to offering you flexible booking options. Given these unique circumstances we are making additional adjustments to our individual booking policies to give you extra peace of mind:
- Government Restrictions. In regions affected by government-issued travel restrictions, we will continue to waive change fees or offer full refunds. Please see below for the latest information on region specific travel waivers.
- Existing Reservations. All reservations – even those described as non-cancellable (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are scheduled for arrival before April 30, 2020 can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival.
- New Reservations. Any reservation you make – even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are booked between today and April 30, 2020 for any future arrival date, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival.
If you need to adjust reservations made via the Hilton website, app or call center, please contact the Hilton Guest Assistance team. If you need to adjust reservations made through another travel site, please contact them for assistance.
Your Points and Status
We know that earning Hilton Honors Points and Status is an important way we show appreciation. We also know the current travel environment may limit your ability to stay with us.
- We will pause the expiration of all points scheduled to expire between now and May 31, 2020.
- We will make updates to the requirements for earning tier status for 2021. Since the situation is still evolving, it is too early to make and announce specific changes. We are committed to sharing details as soon as possible.
At Hilton, we believe it is in challenging times like these that the power of hospitality is needed most of all. Whether you are traveling now or in the future, our team members are ready to welcome you with the Hilton hospitality you’ve come to expect.
Modification and cancellation waivers in place for specific regions are listed here:
- For guests traveling to, through or from China with stays from January 23–March 31, 2020.
- For guests traveling to, through or from Italy with stays from February 24–April 30, 2020.
- For guests traveling to, through or from South Korea with stays from February 24–March 31, 2020.
- For guests traveling to, through or from Saudi Arabia with stays from February 27–March 31, 2020.
- For guests traveling to, through or from Israel with stays from March 10–March 31, 2020.
- For guests traveling between the US and the following European countries from March 13 – April 12, 2020:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Hyatt
Existing reservations for upcoming travel between March 14 and April 30, 2020
All existing reservations made before March 13, 2020 that are for arrivals between March 14 and April 30, 2020 can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival. This includes Advance Purchase Rate reservations.
New reservations for any future travel
Any reservation you make between March 13, 2020 and April 30, 2020 – for any future arrival date – can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival. This includes Advance Purchase Rate reservations.
Existing Advance Purchase Rate non-refundable reservations for travel through June 2020
As announced earlier, special exceptions are in place for all Advance Purchase Rate non-refundable reservations made directly with Hyatt on or before March 8, 2020 for arrivals before June 30, 2020. Guests holding these fully prepaid reservations who have decided not to travel may still opt, at least 24 hours before their stay, to receive 10,000 World of Hyatt Bonus Points compensation in lieu of both their stay and the offer above (if eligible). World of Hyatt points may be used toward future travel at any of our 900+ hotels across 17 brands globally.
IHG
As a guest of IHG Hotels & Resorts we appreciate your loyalty and the trust you place in us as a travel partner. Recognizing the ongoing and increased uncertainty that coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing around the world, our highest priority is the health and wellbeing of our guests and employees. With that in mind we wanted to update you on the actions we have taken in response to the outbreak.
Cancellation policy & booking flexibly
We know that flexibility is what our guests are looking for right now. So, we are waiving cancellation fees for existing and new bookings at all IHG hotels globally for stays between March 9, 2020 and April 30, 2020.
This is in addition to existing cancellation policy measures we have in place, summarized below.
For any stay prior to March 9, 2020, existing measures mean that you will be able to change or cancel a valid booking reservation without financial penalty, if you are travelling to or from:
- Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and the Taiwan region for any stay between January 23, 2020 and March 9, 2020.
- Italy and South Korea for any stay between February 28, 2020 and March 9, 2020.
For bookings made through a travel agent or online booking platform (e.g. Booking.com, Expedia) please contact them directly – we have advised these companies of our cancellation policy and you should refer to their terms and conditions.
Groups & Meetings bookings
We will work with customers to manage any changes needed on a case by case basis. Our hotels are actively supporting customers to address the needs of each group, including moving event dates to another time. Groups & Meetings can continue to apply our existing measures, enabling these clients to change or cancel a valid booking reservation without financial penalty, in:
- Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and the Taiwan region for any stay between January 23, 2020 and March 9, 2020.
- Italy and South Korea for any stay between February 28, 2020 and March 9, 2020.
Please contact the hotel directly to discuss further.
We continue to monitor the situation and will be keeping this policy under review.
For bookings beyond April 30, 2020 we want to remind you of the flexibility already built in to our rates and packages that allow our guests to amend travel plans as necessary. Our Best Flexible Rate allows our guests to change or cancel their reservation one to two days prior to arrival. Changing the date on any reservations through our Best Flexible Rate may result in different pricing, but there is no fee for making changes.
To inquire about any booking contact the hotel or our reservations team.
We hope this helps you to plan and book any future travel with confidence.
Marriott
- For guests with existing reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates that are typically more restrictive, we will allow full changes or cancellation without a charge up to 24 hours prior to arrival,* as long as the change or cancellation is made by April 30, 2020. Please note that any changes to existing reservations will be subject to availability and any rate differences.
- For guests making new reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates, between today and April 30, 2020, we will allow the reservation to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival date.* Please note that changes to the reservation will be subject to availability and any rate differences.
*Important Information:
- Some exclusions may apply. May exclude periods with special event restrictions or peak demand weeks. Please refer to individual property rate rules for details.
- Marriott Vacations Worldwide is included in this policy. Design Hotels are excluded from this policy.
- For individual reservations booked into a pre-existing group block, please refer to cancellation terms quoted at the time of reservation. For more information, please contact the group organizer or the hotel.
- For group organizer questions on terms and conditions of group contracts, please contact the hotel.
Radisson Hotels
Our cancellation policy
Radisson Hotel Group is constantly updating our global cancellation policy to reflect the most recent developments related to the COVID-19.
Our most recent policy allows free cancellations related to inbound and outbound individual and group bookings for China, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy until April 30, 2020. It also allows free cancellations resulting from governmental travel and/or meetings restrictions for the duration of the respective measurement. This includes the 1-month travel suspension from the 26 Schengen countries* to the United States as well as the 1-month visa suspension for India (both valid as of March 13, 2020).
In China, the following hotels remain closed:
– Radisson Blu Resort Wetland Park Wuxi
– Radisson Hangzhou Qianjiang
– Radisson Blu Forest Manor Shanghai Hongqiao
In Italy, the following hotels are temporarily closed until April 3, 2020:
– Radisson Blu Hotel Milan
– Radisson Blu Resort Terme di Galzignano
– Radisson Collection Palazzo Montemartini (Rome)
If you need to adjust or cancel a reservation, please contact the hotel directly, use the online form or contact your travel agent if you booked through an external service partner.
*The 26 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Travel Agents
Booking.com
To protect the health of our partners and guests in regard to Coronavirus, we have declared Force Majeure/Forced Circumstances.
At Booking.com, the safety of our partners and guests is of utmost importance. As a result of the official travel advice about the Coronavirus, guests are unable to travel to or stay at accommodations located in areas that are severely affected by the recent Coronavirus outbreak. Please note, travel throughout certain areas is heavily impacted or forbidden at this time.
In addition, a number of international travel restrictions is currently placed on travellers who have recently been in areas severely affected by the Coronavirus (in most cases, within the last 14 days). These restrictions, currently implemented in over 60 countries, can include bans on entry, mandatory quarantine on arrival, or the suspension of on-arrival visas.
We expect you to refund any prepayment and waive any cancellation costs (fees, expenses and/or other amounts) in situations where the guests/travellers requested cancellations as a result of the Forced Circumstances (FC). Booking.com will waive the commission in these cases.
The FC conditions apply to the following reservations
All reservations made for properties in the United States by travellers from all 26 Schengen countries (see below), or travellers who have been in the Schengen area in the past fourteen days, with a check-in date between Saturday 14 March 2020 and Tuesday 14 April 2020 (including). American citizens, US permanent legal residents and their families are excluded from the travel ban.
(Schengen area countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.)
All reservations made for properties in Israel with a check-in date between 12 March 2020 and 31 March 2020 (including).
All reservations made for properties in India with check-in between Friday 13 March (12:00 hrs GMT) and Wednesday 15 April 2020 (including).
All reservations made for properties in or by travellers from Italy with a check-in date on or before 3 April 2020.
All reservations made for properties in or by travellers from one of the following locations in South Korea: Daegu and Cheongdo County, with a check-in date on or before 31 March 2020.
- All reservations made for properties in or by travellers from Mainland China with a check-in date on or before 31 March 2020.
Reservations made by travellers who have been to an area affected by Coronavirus, and have subsequently been banned from entering the country they intended to travel to (bans on entry, mandatory quarantine on arrival, mandatory quarantine upon return home, or the suspension of on-arrival visas), are also subject to the FC policy.
In addition to the above-mentioned areas, FC also covers individual cases wherein a traveller cannot reasonably be expected to travel/stay (e.g. an infection in a hotel outside FC regions mentioned in this communication).
We will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of all partners and guests and will update this communication regularly.
Due to the high volume of inquiries, customers might experience delays and try to reach out to your property directly for cancellations. Information on how to handle these reservations can be found here.
If you have any questions, you can reach us 24/7 via your extranet inbox.
EXPEDIA
Check to see if your hotel or activity booking is refundable. Many hotels and activity providers are waiving cancellation and change fees.
If you need to change or cancel your booking, we’re ready to help:
- Log in to your account and go to My Trips.
- Select your itinerary and change or cancel your booking online.
- If the hotel or activity provider charges a fee and your travel is more than 7 days away, fill out this form and we can see if they’ll agree not to charge you. If your travel is within the next 7 days, give us a call.
Hotels.com
If you have only booked lodging via Hotels.com we will ensure you will have the option to cancel and be refunded. If you have booked air travel or a travel package, we are working with our airline partners to understand how their cancellation policies will work.
We will contact you shortly with more details and next steps including how to confirm any changes to your travel plans and how the cancellation process will work.
While the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is a rapidly changing and fluid situation from a public health perspective, we are committed to keeping you informed and to taking care of you as a valued Hotels.com customer.
Rocketmiles
You can always cancel refundable reservations online using the link in your confirmation email, where you’ll also find all of your reservations and hotel details. |
If your non-refundable hotel reservation is in an area that has been affected by COVID-19, please contact our concierges. To cancel a non-refundable reservation, we must first cancel the reservation with the hotel, so please be certain you will not be using it. |
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If your check-in is in the next 5 days, call us at (855) 355-7625 [US] or (+1) 773-257-7680 [International]. |
If your check-in is more than 5 days out, please email us at concierge@rocketmiles.com. |
Please note, our response times may be longer than usual, and we appreciate your patience during these unexpected events. |
Vacation Rentals
Airbnb
We know you may have questions about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and what it means for you as an Airbnb host or traveler. As the situation evolves, this page is the best place to learn more about Airbnb’s policy—and we’ve also answered some frequently asked questions for Airbnb hosts.
More information is coming out every day, and that can make this a confusing time to travel and host. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and share updates as we have them. In the meantime, we’re asking our community to be considerate to hosts and guests who need to cancel.
What does this policy mean?
Eligible reservations can be canceled without charges, including:
- Guests who are traveling to or from severely impacted areas (for a list of areas impacted and covered by this policy, see below)
- Hosts who are hosting in or welcoming guests from severely impacted areas (for a list of areas impacted and covered by this policy, see below)
- Anyone who can’t complete their trip due to official travel restrictions, medical or disease control duties, flight or ground transportation cancellation initiated by the provider due to COVID-19, or suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19
What happens when a reservation that falls under our extenuating circumstances policy is canceled?
- The guest will receive a full refund (including any fees)
- Hosts won’t incur any cancellation fees
- Airbnb will refund all fees
- Hosts can accept new reservations for those dates
- Superhost status will not be affected
About the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19)
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the current outbreak of coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19.
Given the health and safety risks, we are asking all hosts and guests to please review your local authorities’ travel guidance and health advisories, in addition to global guidance from the WHO. We strongly urge our community to take necessary precautions to protect yourself when traveling or hosting.
We’re providing a list of resources for your convenience—please check with your relevant local authority if it’s not featured below. Please also regularly check the advisories relevant to you for updates.
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Australia
- Travel advisories
- Coronavirus information
- Canada
- People’s Republic of China
- National Health Commission
- Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Japan
- New Zealand:
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Thailand
- United Kingdom
- United States
Extenuating circumstances policy for the coronavirus outbreak
Our extenuating circumstances policy covers our hosts and guests with eligible reservations who are being impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We’re closely monitoring official guidance from local governmental and health authorities and the World Health Organization in order to support the health and wellbeing of our community in severely impacted areas. As the situation evolves, we will be continuously evaluating and updating this policy.
If your trip is covered by the policy, you will have the option to cancel your homes reservation or Airbnb Experience without charge. If you’re traveling from or hosting in a severely impacted area and we can recognize your location and reservation details as outlined below, you may be notified that your reservation automatically qualifies on the reservation details page. If your reservation is eligible under this policy but you do not have a notification, please contact us.
Mainland China
For guests with reservations in mainland China
- If you’re traveling within mainland China, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before January 28, 2020, with check-in date of April 1, 2020 or earlier.
- If you’re traveling to mainland China from anywhere outside of mainland China, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to reservations booked on or before February 1, 2020, with check-in date of April 1, 2020 or earlier.
For hosts with reservations in mainland China
- If your guest is traveling from mainland China, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before January 28, 2020, with check-in date of April 1, 2020 or earlier.
- If your guest is traveling from anywhere outside of mainland China, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to reservations booked on or before February 1, 2020, with check-in date of April 1, 2020 or earlier.
For reservations with guests traveling from mainland China to destinations outside of mainland China
- The extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before February 1, 2020, with check-in date of April 1, 2020 or earlier. This applies for guests traveling from mainland China with reservations outside of mainland China, or hosts outside of mainland China with guests traveling from mainland China.
Italy
For guests with reservations in Italy
- If you’re traveling to or within Italy, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to reservations booked on or before February 29, 2020, with check-in date of April 3, 2020 or earlier.
For hosts with reservations in Italy
- If you’re hosting in Italy, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before February 29, 2020, with check-in date of April 3, 2020 or earlier.
For reservations with guests traveling from Italy to destinations outside of Italy
- The extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before February 29, 2020, with check-in date of April 3, 2020 or earlier. This applies for guests traveling from Italy with reservations outside of Italy, or hosts outside of Italy with guests traveling from Italy.
South Korea
For guests with reservations in South Korea
- If you’re traveling to or within South Korea, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to reservations booked on or before February 25, 2020, with check-in date of March 23, 2020 or earlier.
For hosts with reservations in South Korea
- If you’re hosting in South Korea, the extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before February 25, 2020, with check-in date of March 23, 2020 or earlier.
For reservations with guests traveling from South Korea to destinations outside of South Korea
- The extenuating circumstances policy applies to any reservations booked on or before February 25, 2020, with check-in date of March 23, 2020 or earlier. This applies for guests traveling from South Korea with reservations outside of South Korea, or hosts outside of South Korea with guests traveling from South Korea.
Other global scenarios that require documentation
The extenuating circumstances policy applies to reservations of all global hosts or guests who must change or cancel travel:
- In order to comply with disease control restrictions implemented by relevant governmental or health authorities
- In order to perform medical or disease control duties in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak;
- As a result of flight or ground transportation cancellations initiated by an airline or ground transportation provider due to the COVID-19 outbreak;
- In the event that they are diagnosed or suspected of being infected with COVID-19 by a medical or health authority.
We ask that all community members be mindful of respect, inclusion, and our nondiscrimination policy when interacting with other members of our community.
Homeaway
If a traveler reaches out to you to cancel, we encourage you to give them a full refund. If you do so, you can inform the traveler that they will automatically get the Traveler Service Fee refunded.
Before making any decisions regarding cancellations, we encourage you to review local authorities’ travel recommendations and restrictions. If you wish to cancel any upcoming reservations, please communicate with travelers as soon as possible. We will waive all cancellations related to this event so they do not affect your ranking metrics and you can focus on what is important. To get the cancellation waived, you will need to cancel, refund the reservation, and call customer support at your earliest convenience.
While it is reasonable for you to protect yourself and your property, please be as respectful as possible if you ask travelers questions about prior travels to areas currently impacted by the virus. If you cancel based on the country of origin of the traveler, we will remove your listing from our marketplace, consistent with the principles of our inclusion statement.
For the most up-to-date information, we highly recommend that you follow the World Health Organization. We recognize that many people are pulling together to protect the health and safety of travelers around the world. We thank you for supporting this collective effort. Now is a good time to check your safety features and ensure you have local hospitals listed for travelers. You can add this information in your property editor.
Customer Support is standing by to help you with your listing or upcoming reservations.
The HomeAway Team
VRBO
How does the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) affect my property?
The safety of you and our travelers is of the utmost importance to us, and we’re closely monitoring official guidance from local government and health authorities regarding the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19.
What you can do
- Review local travel recommendations and restrictions, in addition to following guidance from the World Health Organization.
- Review your cancellation policy and consider adopting a flexible or moderate policy for the time being.
- Review the safety features in your property editor and consider adding local hospitals and emergency numbers.
- Review guidance from local health officials for cleaning and sanitation standards.
- If you are impacted by current travel restrictions, consider temporarily hiding your listing or blocking your calendar.
- If a traveler reaches out to cancel or delay travel, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund due to the uncertainty of this evolving situation. When you do, we will also refund our Traveler Service Fee in full.
- If you wish to cancel any upcoming reservations, please communicate with affected travelers as soon as possible.
We know this impacts your business and we will waive related cancellations so they don’t affect your ranking metrics. To get a cancellation waived, you will need to cancel, refund the reservation in full, and contact customer support at your earliest convenience by clicking Contact Us below.
While it is reasonable for you to protect yourself and your property, please be as respectful as possible if you ask travelers questions about prior travels to areas currently impacted by the virus. If you cancel based on the traveler’s country of origin, we will remove your listing from our marketplace, consistent with the principles of our inclusion statement.
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