Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy: 101 for Hosts

Following Airbnb's decision to update its Major Disruptive Events Policy, Vrbo introduced its new Extenuating Circumstances Policy, which applies to all Vrbo reservations from June 15, 2024. The policy covers a range of events considered broad-scale travel disruptions that prevent or legally prohibit Vrbo guests from completing their reservations.

What Is Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy?

Under the new rules, Vrbo may activate its Extenuating Circumstances Policy when an event covered by this policy occurs. Then, hosts must refund guests regardless of their cancellation policies. Additionally, Vrbo will refund the service fee paid by the guest when they booked the stay. For non-covered events, the property's cancellation policy will still apply.

This new approach in the Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy shifts the financial burden to hosts while improving protection for guests. Travelers who have already planned their trip will likely switch to a new location and book a stay with Vrbo again, resulting in a neutral or even positive impact on Vrbo revenue.

In contrast, Vrbo hosts lose money on refunded stays because of non-recoverable credit card processing fees. You'll also lose potential income because you won't be able to rent out your home when a major disruptive event occurs. So, purchasing comprehensive short-term rental insurance makes sense to ensure adequate coverage for major disruptions.

Then, you'll have peace of mind and confidence and can focus on providing exceptional guest experience and growing your vacation rental business. You can scale faster if you automate your routine hosting tasks using vacation rental software like Hospitable.

How Does Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy Work?

Vrbo states that if the policy is activated, you must give your guest a full refund if they haven't yet checked in to their reservation. If the guest has already checked in, you must offer them a partial refund for the portion of the stay that can't be completed because of the covered event. And Vrbo will refund the full service fee for impacted travelers.

Under the new Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy, host cancellations will not incur penalties or downgrade their program status, such as Premier Host. But if you don't refund Vrbo guests for bookings covered by this policy, you may face consequences, such as suspension or fees.

Vrbo activates this policy during any of the following events that make it impossible, impractical, or illegal for a guest to travel to a location or for a host to accommodate a guest:

• Natural disasters and abnormal weather events
• Declared health emergencies (excluding COVID-19 because it's considered a known event)
• Wars, terrorist attacks, and other hostilities
• Government travel restrictions
• Infrastructure travel restrictions like prolonged outages of essential public utilities to most homes in a region if they arise from a covered event near the destination
• Changes to passport or visa requirements that were unexpected at the time of booking and can't be reasonably met before the date of travel.

Vrbo Natural Disaster Policy

The Extenuating Circumstances Policy covers natural disasters and abnormal weather events. These can be earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tornados, flooding, wildfires, and other historically severe weather events that can't be foreseen. Vrbo also has a policy that explains what hosts and guests need to do if they are impacted by a natural disaster and large-scale outages of essential utilities.

When this happens, and your property is impacted, you can temporarily hide your Vrbo listing, so you don't have to worry about declining new booking requests from potential guests. Once you're ready to accept bookings again, you can unhide your listing, which will appear in search results. If your existing reservations are impacted, Vrbo recommends selecting Contact Us to discuss your options.

If a guest requires immediate assistance finding alternative accommodation because of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, earthquake, or tornado, Vrbo also recommends contacting their support team, which works 24/7. If a guest hasn't left for their destination yet and is unsure if it's safe to travel to, they should contact their host for more information regarding their reservation.   

Vrbo Hurricane Policy

Does Vrbo refund guests if their stays are affected by hurricanes? There isn't a simple "yes" or "no" answer to this question. Hurricanes are not included in the list of natural disasters and abnormal weather events covered by the Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy. They're considered foreseeable weather events, which occur within the typical hurricane seasons for certain regions.

For example, hurricanes during the Atlantic Coast hurricane season, tropical cyclones, and winter storms in the Northern Hemisphere are not covered because they are considered foreseeable. You can find more examples of seasonal weather events that would not be covered here.

Yet Vrbo's policy states that foreseeable weather disasters, such as hurricanes, cyclones, and extreme winter storms may be covered if they cause or coincide with another covered event. For example, if a hurricane causes prolonged outages to public utilities to most homes in a major region or city.

As you can see, although OTA platforms like Vrbo offer an easy way for hosts to market their STR properties, they often change their policies and rules, which can impact your revenue. So, you may consider creating your direct booking website to become less dependent on OTAs and save on their commissions.

It's easy to build a fully functional direct booking website if you opt for Hospitable, and you don't need any technical skills. We'll also list your property on Google Vacation Rentals so you can get direct bookings without paying hefty third-party fees.

Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy: What Events Are Not Covered?

In addition to seasonal weather events that don't cause or coincide with another covered event, other events are not covered by the Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy:

• Diseases that are endemic or common in a region
• Local demonstrations or localized civil unrest
• Non-binding travel advisories
• Transport disruptions not caused by a covered event
• Changes to passport or visa requirements published at the time of booking.

Also, if a traveler cancels a reservation due to personal circumstances, for example, an illness, injury, military duty, or rescheduling of an event for which the booking was made, the Vrbo Extenuating Circumstances Policy doesn't apply.

Vrbo states that the reservation's cancellation policy will apply when an event is not covered. That's why travelers should make sure they clearly understand the cancellation policy for the Vrbo property they've booked. Vrbo also encourages travelers to research their travel destination to prepare for known or foreseeable disruption and consider insurance options to protect their trip.