While Coronavirus has been a serious epidemic in the country, Airbnb Inc has been suspending check-ins in all of its Beijing listings till March. This is specifically to comply with local regulations that are intended to curb the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Airbnb, that’s based out of San Francisco, had said in a statement that it would offer refunds to all those were affected, or had to cancel their bookings.
However, local rival Xiaozhu is likely to match Airbnb’s actions, by shutting down all rentals in Beijing for February, and would be issuing full refunds for existing bookings.This would also waive off landlord commission fees, it said in a statement.
The statement said that with some light from the novel coronavirus outbreak, and some guidance from local authorities, for the short term rental industry, during this public health emergency; the bookings of all listings in Beijing with check-ins from 7th February to 29th February 2020, have been suspended.
But, this decision is only applicable for Beijing, and according to the spokesperson of Airbnb China, the company has evaluated the situation and has also worked in accordance with guidance from local authorities.