Airbnb's Cancellation Rules Spark Backlash During Hurricane Idalia

Some online users who booked Airbnb stays in Florida and are forced to ditch their scheduled travel plans due to Hurricane Idalia are having a difficult time getting their money back.

The western coast of Florida sits in the eye of the storm expected to ravage multiple cities with predicted winds exceeding 110 mph. The potential Category 3 hurricane is predicted to head northeast and potentially impact parts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina before subsiding.

The storm's presence in the Sunshine State could be minimal but impactful, as rising water levels are anticipated to lead to what The Weather Channel has predicted to result in a storm surge 10 to 15 feet high in the Big Bend region—the area where Florida's Gulf Coast curves west into the Panhandle.

One of the areas expected to be hit the hardest is Cedar Key, where Tina McGlynn and her husband were scheduled to begin an Airbnb reservation on Friday. She told Newsweek via email on Wednesday that she's still waiting to see how her situation is handled.

"I myself was an Airbnb super host for three years until we turned it over to a regular rental," McGlynn said. "I would never withhold a refund for a situation like this."

As about two dozen cities have enforced evacuation orders, some non-Floridians who planned to travel southeast are both out of a vacation and reportedly out of a refund.

"Can you believe Air B&B's [sic] policy does not allow you to cancel or modify our reservation due to a hurricane causing our flight to be cancelled due to TIA shutting down?" wrote a user on X, formerly Twitter.

Airbnb has what it calls an "Extenuating Circumstances Policy," which, according to the company, "explains how cancellations are handled when unforeseen events beyond your control arise after booking and make it impracticable or illegal to complete your reservation." The policy was in effect for the COVID-19 pandemic until May 31, 2022.

A list of covered events on its website include "government declared local or national emergencies," in addition to "natural disasters, acts of God, large-scale outages of essential utilities, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and other severe and abnormal weather events."

However, Airbnb includes a caveat: Weather or natural conditions common in a particular location do not meet the criteria for extenuating circumstances. They specifically mention hurricanes occurring in Florida during hurricane season, which they note occurs annually between June and November.

Haven Thorn, a spokesperson for Airbnb, told Newsweek via email that the aforementioned is currently not in effect.

"We strongly encourage all guests to purchase travel insurance ahead of their trips," Thorn said, adding that the company continues to monitor the situation. "Guests in the U.S. can purchase travel insurance on Airbnb during the booking process."

Thorn said that those who booked listings with strict cancellation policies and did not purchase travel insurance are encouraged to initially contact their host directly regarding their cancellation and rebooking options. If that is unsuccessful, then contact the company's 24-7 support team.

"Sooo ... you can be instructed by authorities to evacuate a hurricane zone, but @Airbnb won't refund you for the extra nights?" wrote another X user. "Seems surprising and off brand to prioritize profits over guest safety."

"Hey @Airbnb and @AirbnbHelp the management company won't return my messages and a hurricane during hurricane season is not a refundable event?" said another. "So my family is expected to drive into the eye of the storm tomorrow over $2k? You really want that liability?"

Hundreds of listings are reportedly still available in some of the Florida areas that could be hit the hardest, including Cedar Key.

"Please can people retweet/tag @Airbnb & ask them to put a BLOCK on rentals in dangerous areas under mandatory evacuation orders?" an X user wrote. "There are 126 places available in #CedarKey which is facing deadly 10-15 feet storm surge inundation - that's just 1 area in the #Idalia danger zone."

One Reddit poster wrote that they were scheduled to fly from Boston to Tampa on Wednesday morning, as part of a stay that concluded Sunday.

They wrote that their flight was canceled outright and that the Airbnb owner would refund their money during mandatory evacuation periods, but that the individual would have to pay when the order was lifted.

Some questioned whether Airbnb's policy could be misconstrued by some users, in that while hurricanes are customary in Florida, the policy also mentions government-issued emergencies and orders that citizens are supposed to follow in these types of emergencies.

This user updated their post later on, saying that Airbnb refunded their reservation, adding that in the future, they will purchase traveler's insurance.

Newsweek reached out to all parties for comment.

Update 08/30/23, 9:41 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Airbnb and Tina McGlynn.