Tag Archives: airbnb

What’s happening Airbnb is revamping its service so categories of stays — from castles to caves, from iconic cities to off-the-grid spots — become the starting points for your search, alongside other tweaks. Why it matters Travel is expected to reach or exceed prepandemic levels this year, as loosening COVID restrictions unleash pent-up travel demand. …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. Airbnb is making a change to its refund policy starting May 31 to no longer cover COVID-related circumstances, the company said in a blog post Friday.   At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Airbnb updated its Extenuating Circumstances Policy to …

If you’ve ever stayed at a short-term rental property — Airbnb, Vrbo, HomeStay, etc. — chances are you didn’t spend a ton of time watching TV during your vacation. But on a rainy day or a lazy evening after a day of sightseeing, sometimes a good streaming TV session is in order.  Enter Roku. You may have noticed that many vacation rentals are equipped …

Airbnb will offer short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine for free, the company said in a Monday blog post. The temporary stays will be paid for by Airbnb, donors to the company’s refugee fund and hosts through Airbnb.org.  Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, alongside Airbnb.org Chairman Joe Gebbia and others, sent letters to European leaders, including those in …

To fight possible racial bias in its booking process, short-term-rental company Airbnb will start hiding the first names of prospective guests from Oregon from their potential hosts. Would-be hosts will instead see interested renters’ first initials until a booking is confirmed. The program is scheduled to be implemented by the end of January and run for at least two years. At this …

Airbnb is rolling out 50 new features, many of which are aimed at travel flexibility born of remote work. In a blog post Wednesday, the company outlined updates including a verified Wi-Fi tool that lets you check a listing’s internet speed, a new translation feature and the ability to search listings up to a year in advance.  “For the first …

As we head into the holiday season, Airbnb on Tuesday said it plans to crack down on “disruptive” New Year’s Eve parties.  The short-term rental company is introducing new products and policies to prevent disruptive NYE parties, with the goal of helping protect hosts and minimizing neighborhood disruption, the company said in a press release on Tuesday. The restrictions follow previous …

Airbnb on Friday said the arbitration provisions in its terms of service will no longer apply to sexual assault and sexual harassment claims made by hosts and guests. In an update to its terms, the short-term rental company will codify a practice that it says has been in place sine 2019.  “Since January 2019, we have not asked a court …

Airbnb is banning landlords from listing any property where a tenant was evicted for failing to pay rent, the short-term-rental company said Tuesday. The policy is designed to stop landlords from profiting off its services as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium on evictions expires this month, and will stay in effect until at least the end of …

Airbnb pays out roughly $50 million each year to clean up some of the worst incidents — including sexual assaults and murders — that take place at rentals listed on its platform, according to an in-depth report Tuesday from Bloomberg.  The work is reportedly handled by a secretive safety team of about 100 people who are positioned across the globe. …