Looking to cancel and refund your hotel bookings due to COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak? Here’s a list of major booking sites & their refund policies.
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably thinking of cancelling your travel plans because of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak. If it weren’t for the virus, you’d be frolicking during your travels but the reality is that it most likely won’t be happening if you’re concerned about your health.
COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus Cancellation & Refunds Guide:
#1: Does Travel Insurance Cover Novel Coronavirus COVID-19?
#2: Do Airlines Refund Flight Cancellations for Coronavirus COVID-19?
#3: COVID-19 Hotel Refunds & Cancellations Guide
In this situation, you have two choices – continue or cancel. Fortunately, hotel booking cancellations are more straightforward as compared to trying to claim your coverage through travel insurance due to then COVID-19 novel coronavirus. This is because most travel insurance providers require you to get a cancellation refund from your hotel first, before claiming trip cancellation from them.
Will Hotel Booking Sites Refund Me for Hotel Cancellations Due to the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus Epidemic?
Hotel cancellations and refunds depend on three factors:
- Your destination 🌎
- Your booking date 📆
- Your scheduled check-in date 🏨
If you’re looking to cancel your hotel booking due to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, here’s a summary of hotel booking cancellation and refund policies of popular booking sites:
| Hotel Booking Site | Wuhan/Mainland China or South Korea | Rest of the World |
| Agoda | ⛔️ Unspecified Follow these instructions to see if you are eligible for a refund | ⛔️ Unspecified Follow these instructions to see if you are eligible for a refund |
| Airbnb | ✅ Yes Wuhan/Mainland China: • Booking: Before 14 Mar • Scheduled stay: 14 Mar to 31 May South Korea: • Booking: Before 14 Mar • Scheduled stay: 14 Mar to 31 May | ✅ Yes • Booking: Before 14 Mar • Scheduled stay: 14 Mar to 31 May |
| Booking.com | ✅ Yes Wuhan/Mainland China: • Booking: – • Scheduled stay: 1 Apr to 14 Apr South Korea: • Booking: Unspecified • Scheduled stay: Unspecified | ✅ Yes • Follow these steps |
| Expedia | ✅ Yes Wuhan/Mainland China: • Booking: Before 19 Mar • Scheduled stay: 20 Mar to 30 Apr South Korea: • Booking: Before 19 Mar • Scheduled stay: 20 Mar to 30 Apr | ✅ Yes • Booking: Before 19 Mar • Scheduled stay: 20 Mar to 30 Apr |
| Hotels.com | ✅ Yes Wuhan/Mainland China: • Booking: Before 19 Mar • Scheduled stay: 20 Mar to 30 Apr South Korea: • Booking: Before 19 Mar • Scheduled stay: 20 Mar to 30 Apr | ✅ Yes • Booking: Before 19 Mar • Scheduled stay: 20 Mar to 30 Apr |
| Kayak | ⛔️ Unspecified Follow these instructions to see if you are eligible for a refund | ⛔️ Unspecified Follow these instructions to see if you are eligible for a refund |
| Traveloka | ✅ Yes • Follow these steps | ✅ Yes • Follow these steps |
| Trip.com | ⛔️ No notice for stays after 29 Feb | ⛔️ Unspecified |
| Trivago | ⛔️ Unspecified | ⛔️ Unspecified |
| Skyscanner | ⛔️ Unspecified | ⛔️ Unspecified |
Note: Hotels, booking sites, and immigration authorities are constantly updating their notices as the situation continues to develop. If you spot any outdated information, kindly reach us at editorial@you.co.
1) Agoda
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
⛔️ Unspecified, see if you are eligible for a refund through these steps.
🇭🇰 Hong Kong travel
⛔️ Unspecified, see if you are eligible for a refund through these steps.
🇰🇷South Korea travel
⛔️ Unspecified, see if you are eligible for a refund through these steps.
🌎 Rest of the world travel
⛔️ Unspecified, see if you are eligible for a refund through these steps.
Read Agoda’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
2) Airbnb
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
If you booked your Airbnb before 14 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Airbnb will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 14 March to 31 May 2020
🇰🇷South Korea travel
If you booked your Airbnb before 14 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Airbnb will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 14 March to 31 May 2020
🇮🇹 Italy travel
If you booked your Airbnb before 14 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Airbnb will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 14 March to 31 May 2020
🌎 Rest of the world travel
If you booked your Airbnb before 14 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Airbnb will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 14 March to 31 May 2020
Read Airbnb’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
3) Booking.com
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Booking.com will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 1 April to 14 April 2020
🇭🇰 Hong Kong & Macau travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Booking.com will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 25 March to 21 April 2020
🇰🇷South Korea travel
If you have an existing booking: ⛔️ Unspecified
Scheduled stay: ⛔️ Unspecified
🇮🇹 Italy travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Booking.com will refund you.
Scheduled stay: Up to 13 April 2020
🌎 Rest of the world travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Booking.com will refund you. Check here for the list of countries.
Scheduled stay: Check here for dates
Read Booking.com’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
4) Expedia
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
If you booked your accommodation before 19 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Expedia will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 20 March to 30 April 2020
🇰🇷South Korea travel
If you booked your accommodation before 19 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Expedia will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 20 March to 30 April 2020
🌎 Rest of the world travel
If you booked your accommodation before 19 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Expedia will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 20 March to 30 April 2020
Read Expedia’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
5) Hotels.com
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
If you booked your accommodation before 19 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Expedia will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 20 March to 30 April 2020
🇰🇷South Korea travel
If you booked your accommodation before 19 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Expedia will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 20 March to 30 April 2020
🌎 Rest of the world travel
If you booked your accommodation before 19 March 2020: ✅ Yes, you can cancel your booking and Expedia will refund you.
Scheduled stay: 20 March to 30 April 2020
Read Hotels.com’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
6) Kayak
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
⛔️ Unspecified, check here if your hotel falls under this list.
🇰🇷South Korea travel
⛔️ Unspecified, check here if your hotel falls under this list.
🌎 Rest of the world travel
⛔️ Unspecified, check here if your hotel falls under this list.
Read Kayak’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
7) Traveloka
🇨🇳 Wuhan travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can request refund by following these steps.
🇨🇳 Mainland China travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can request refund by following these steps.
🇰🇷South Korea travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can request refund by following these steps.
🌎 Rest of the world travel
If you have an existing booking: ✅ Yes, you can request refund by following these steps.
Read Traveloka’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
8) Trip.com
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
⛔️ No official notice for trips or stays after 29 February 2020.
🇰🇷South Korea travel
⛔️ Unspecified
🌎 Rest of the world travel
⛔️ Unspecified
Read Trip.com’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
9) Trivago
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
⛔️ Unspecified
🇰🇷South Korea travel
⛔️ Unspecified
🌎 Rest of the world travel
⛔️ Unspecified
Read Trivago’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
10) Skyscanner
🇨🇳 Wuhan & Mainland China travel
⛔️ Unspecified
🇰🇷South Korea travel
⛔️ Unspecified
🌎 Rest of the world travel
⛔️ Unspecified
Note: Skyscanner does not have a refund policy because they state that they’re a search engine which directs you to accommodations. To get a refund, you have to look into your booking details to find the accommodation provider.
Read Skyscanner’s full statement about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus here.
Conclusion
From this list, you can see that some of these providers will refund you if you meet the conditions, no questions asked. However, the reality is that most of these booking sites don’t have a proper refund policy or haven’t issued notices about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus soon enough. Instead, they’ll tell you to contact the individual accommodation providers directly to get your refund.
As a traveller, there are so many hoops you have to jump through just to get your money back. In some cases, you can’t even get your money back after all that trouble. If this happens, it’s time to ring up your travel insurance provider to ask if they cover you for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.
All information is accurate to date and time of publishing. For any corrections, kindly reach us at editorial@you.co.
Read: Do Airlines Refund Flight Cancellations for Coronavirus COVID-19?
Read: Does Travel Insurance Cover Novel Coronavirus COVID-19?
Read: 4 Haunted Hotels in Asia & Their Horror Stories
Read: Work From Home: 7 Tips to Improve Telecommuting
Read: Muji Hotel All You Need to Know: 9 Room Types, Prices and More
Enjoy a travel experience with no fees worldwide!
