Airbnb to launch travel insurance product

Airbnb is to offer guests a travel insurance product as part of a COVID-19 support program.

The company launched what it calls an Extenuating Circumstances policy in March 2020, enabling guests who booked before the pandemic to get refunds. Airbnb still allows guests who contract COVID-19 to cancel for a full refund even if it’s outside of the host’s cancellation policy.

Airbnb has a free cancellation search filter on its website to find listings that have more flexibility

Almost two thirds of active listings now offer moderate or flexible cancellation policies. And Airbnb says that many hosts have even gone above and beyond their cancellation policies to support guests over the course of this unprecedented Omicron wave that hit over the holiday travel season.

Despite these initiatives, the company is now stepping up its support for guests by launching Airbnb Guest Travel Insurance.

The custom-built guest travel insurance product is being offered to Airbnb guests via the same team that brought the company's AirCover Host protection product to life in partnership with an insurance carrier.

The service is expected to launch in the spring.

Until the new product is available, Airbnb recommends guests to purchase travel insurance elsewhere, or to utilize the free cancellation search filter on its website to find listings that have more flexibility.

© Travel News Asia