When Hosts Grudgingly Serve as Quasi-Travel Insurance

Few issues are as divisive among short-term rental hosts, property managers, online travel agencies and guests as refund policies following hurricanes, wildfires, and pandemics. The issue will only get more heated as the earth does likewise.

Consider what recently happened in Maui when Airbnb and Vrbo overrode hosts refund policies, and mandated that guests get refunds, denying hosts in untouched locations their expected income.

We queried hospitality execs about the issue on LinkedIn and elsewhere.

"In Maui, most travel insurance policies would not refund reservations outside of West Maui because there was nothing wrong with the property, the airport was open, and the roads were open," said Amber Carpenter, vice president of product at Vtrips. "But the big platforms were refunding everyone causing a mess. It does make hosts — but mostly homeowners — act as pseudo travel insurance but worse."

Part of the issue is that