How To Cancel a Airbnb Reservation Without Penalty in Bad Weather
My Airbnb Guest Cottage in the snow.
About 3 times a year I have to cancel a guest’s reservation because of snow. I host on my farm in the Virginia mountains, and I have a very challenging driveway, that can’t always be ploughed. My family just parks at the bottom and walk up the quart-mile steep driveway. And some of my guests are game and do that too— but sometimes that’s not possible, or safe, and so I have to cancel. This post explains how to cancel a reservation due to inclement weather without being penalized by Airbnb.
You may host in an area where hurricanes require yo to cancel— you don’t want a ballsy guest refusing to leave with a storm bearing down on them.
If you just cancel the reservation from your hosting dashboard, you will be penalized. You may pay a fee, and your listing may be downgraded in search results.
However, if you first message your guest and let them know that bad weather is possibility, stay in touch with them, and then let them know that unfortunately you have to cancel for their safety, and that you are calling Airbnb to do so, then, you call Airbnb, and they can cancel the reservation without penalty to you, and give a full refund to your guest.
Do these things in order. Don’t blindside the guest with a cancellation they don’t see coming. I stay on top of the weather, and communicate that they should keep an eye on it, that I am watching it, and that cancellation is a possibility.
The key here is to communicate first with the guests, usually more than once. Explain if you are on a well, if the pipes are frozen, if a power- outage prevents water from working. Explain the parking and driving and turning around vagaries. If they don’t respond quickly, I call them, and then include a note of what we talked about within our Airbnb messages— it is all about the paper trail. As of 2026, Airbnb Customer Support reps have been asking me for photographic evidence of the snow before cancelling. I’ve been able to provide this, and I’ve also provided screen shots of weather-related news and forecasts.
Generally, if it is clear that you are cancelling for a guests’ safety, I’ve found Airbnb is extremely helpful and flexible. As with all communication between guests and the company, be clear, friendly, and detailed.
