Cancellation policy redux

[Craig Jones]

Many folks probably know that AirBnB made some cancellation policy changes that were effective Oct 1. Listings with Strict cancellation policies were migrated to Firm unless you opted out in advance, and Strict is now no longer available to new listings. They also watered down Strict for those who kept it, extending the 50% refund window to 7 days out (previously it was 14). A new Limited cancellation policy was also introduced which is in between Moderate and Firm.

I was just reviewing my comp set of ~15 larger houses on Tahoe's north shore. Previously all but 1 or 2 had Strict cancellation policies. And now half of them are on Firm. I can't imagine anyone knowingly let that switch happen, which makes me think that a bunch of professional hosts were asleep at the wheel and didn't opt out.

These are all properties with 6+ bedrooms and the typical guest profile is a multi-family or multi-gen group booking far in advance -- 6-12 months out, because they are coordinating availability across a bunch of people. There are going to be some surprises when properties now on Firm have $20K of revenue disappear if a week-long peak summer booking cancels at 30 days out. There's far less demand at that point so a replacement booking is unlikely. Or maybe you get a group of 16 fraternity bros at half price, which is a booking nobody wants.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before Strict is discontinued for the rest of us. Trying to think how to plan ahead for it.

[Andrew Street]

Totally agree! The shift from Strict to Firm feels like a big blow for larger, high-value listings. Those long-lead group bookings are risky enough as it is, and losing that 14-day protection window could really hurt. Airbnb keeps leaning toward guest-friendly policies, but for hosts with $10–20K weeks on the line, that flexibility can be brutal. Definitely time to start thinking about how to offset that, maybe direct bookings or travel insurance requirements.