Congressman Krishnamoorthi Calls On Airbnb To Amend Its Cancellation Policy For Travelers Impacted By COVID-19 Restrictions

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) sent a letter to the CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, detailing instances of travelers impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and not receiving refunds when cancelling their reservations. To protect customers, companies like Airbnb have a responsibility during this pandemic to accommodate travel changes and not place the burden on customers or hosts for taking COVID-19 precautions.

"Travelers should not be financially penalized for changing restrictions and quarantine policies," wrote Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. "Airbnb should, among other things, revise its extenuating circumstances policy to include ‘health advisories and quarantines' to take the burden off customers and to emphasize the importance of these advisories."

"Airbnb must acknowledge that extreme circumstances, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, warrant more flexibility for their customers who choose not to travel due to this public health crisis. This requires a swift change in company policy as the Airbnb extenuating circumstances policy does not cover "health advisories and quarantines." Airbnb should be a corporate leader in this regard; however, their current policy and unwillingness to offer refunds has caused unfair financial burdens during a time of severe economic hardship for millions of Americans."

The letter can be viewed here.