Airbnb refunds

They could be 'metering' the flood of requests to a manageable level.

Second -- no one knows what the future will be. So rolling slowly forward, hoping that something may be resolved, established, etc. Waiting to see what develops.

Everybody is doing that, including, until last week, Rick Steves. That way, they have a steady number of new refund cases do deal through their back-offices, and they also don't 'jump the gun' in case countries reopen for tourism (legally) yet demand for rooms is too low, while they have already refunded those who had committed pre-pandemic.

You'll have to hang on. I waited till a week before my reservation and then it became 100% refundable. It's a bit nerve-racking.

I am just wondering why Airbnb would only extend the policy only 15
days.

It helps them to preserve cash flow and stay flexible in a changing, unpredictable landscape. Many (if not most) businesses are in that same boat.

I’m wondering if I should be worried about my deposits.

The best thing you can do is sit tight and wait, and see what happens. Worrying won't help get your deposits back.

It helps them to preserve cash flow and stay flexible in a changing....

It may a case of Airbnb operating off of negative working capital, or "other people's money" (OPM). They collect a deposit and/or advance payment that becomes a liability. They use your (other people's) money to finance current operations in place of lines of credit (borrowing). Or if the OPM exceeds their operational needs, they invest the excess in short term financial instruments. The bottom line is Airbmb makes (or saves) money holding on to your payments as long as possible and delays paying their vendors as long as possible.

Where the OPM financing breaks down is with Fed rates getting close to negative, there is not a lot of gain investing your money in short term instruments. However, they need to avoid cost of selling the short term notes before maturity. Hence, Airbnb need to hold on to your money as long as possible.

Each host sets their own cancellation policy, Typically you will only lose the cleaning/maintenance fees when you cancel. Make sure to always check their bookings for returns when you rent.

Contact your host and ask them to cancel the reservation. Exceptionally, given the circumstances and only up until 15th May, hosts can cancel bookings for this summer without being penalised and guests get a full refund. I know, I'm a host.

my 3 booking refunds went through smoothly. let's see when the money shows up back in my account.

the host sets the service charges. contact them