Handling emergency closures
In the event of an emergency, you may have to close your property, cancel reservations, or relocate guests. Here we’ll take you through the steps you’ll need to consider if you have to close temporarily.
Our Force Majeure policy covers emergencies where it is/was impossible or illegal for guests to travel to or stay at properties they’ve booked – for example, during a natural disaster or a pandemic like COVID-19.
In this article
What to do if my property has to close temporarily
If an emergency or local government mandate means your property has to close temporarily, make sure you do the following:
- Cancel any upcoming reservations for the period your property will be closed – guests will be refunded unless you can arrange new reservation dates
- Close your rooms or units on our platform to avoid receiving new reservations
- Contact any guests who are scheduled to arrive during the closure to let them know they won’t be able to stay at your property
- If you can’t get in contact with your guests, inform Customer Service and our team will attempt to follow up with those guests
If guests are due to arrive soon, their booking will be canceled free of charge. If you’re unable to find alternative accommodations, Customer Service can help. You have to cover the cost if the alternative accommodation is more expensive, but we’ll always try to find something with similar standards and rates. If guests are booked far enough in advance, their booking will be canceled free of charge, but Customer Service won’t attempt to relocate them.
In some regions, the local government holds us responsible for arranging temporary closures and/or restrictions on new reservations. In these situations, we’ll act on your behalf and keep you informed via email.
Refunding bookings canceled due to emergencies
Guests can request to cancel their reservations via their Booking.com account. Then you can accept their cancellation.
Guests can also request to cancel the reservation by calling or messaging you directly. In this case, you must cancel the reservation yourself on the Extranet. Click Request to cancel booking in the Extranet’s Reservations section. Once the guest confirms your request, the reservation will be canceled. The reservation will remain active until the guest confirms the cancellation.
In emergency circumstances, guests won’t have to pay to cancel the reservation, even if they had a non-refundable booking.
Relocating guests if my property is closed
If relocation is possible (e.g. if other properties in the area remain operational), you should find your guests alternative accommodations. Our Customer Service team can help with relocation, and they’ll also evaluate if we can waive the relocation costs.
Contacting Booking.com for support
You can contact us for more information on emergency temporary closures. Use the dedicated phone number on the Extranet, or send us a message via your Extranet inbox.
Once the emergency situation has passed, you can find out how to reopen your property in this article.
-
Legal & Security
-
- Online security awareness: social engineering
- Online security awareness: Phishing
- Preventing unauthorized use of your account
- Securing your account
- Requirements and regulations for surveillance devices
- Digital event security standards
- Guidelines for room key access
- Keeping your property clean and sanitary
- Equipping your home property with safety devices, safety kits, and emergency plans
- Protecting your home property with security devices
- Partner Liability Insurance
- Identifying and acting on potential human trafficking of refugees from Ukraine
- Report a security issue
- Online security awareness: Malware
- All about our messaging security settings
-
- Why you need to complete the Know Your Partner (KYP) form
- How do I remove a property or end my partnership with Booking.com?
- My property is under new ownership. What should I do?
- Our animal welfare standards
- Where can I find my General Delivery Terms (GDT)?
- Complying with European Union consumer law
- Mandatory host type (professional/private) assessment
- How does parity work?
- Offer transparency and clarity through simpler policies
- Our Supplier Code of Conduct
- Understanding Force Majeure
- Handling emergency closures
- VAT and tax withholding legislation in Mexico
- Understanding short-term rentals
- Short-term rentals: FAQs
- DAC7: FAQs
- Everything you need to know about DAC7
- Non-discrimination guidelines when accepting or declining a booking request
- Laws and regulations for short-term rentals in Asia-Pacific
- Laws and regulations for short-term rentals in North America
- Short-term rental license requirements in New York City
- Everything you need to know about the Digital Services Act (DSA)
- Accommodation Agreement and General Delivery Terms
- When the contracting name on your accommodation agreement is wrong