Introduction
Airbnb has updated its cancellation policies and has stopped offering certain older options (deprecation). For example, as of September 16, Super Strict 30 and Super Strict 60 policies will no longer be available, even for existing listings. If your listing was using one of these policies and you receive a notice in Hostaway, this article explains your options and how to proceed.
Why am I seeing a deprecated policy error?
When importing or syncing a listing from Airbnb that uses an old cancellation policy, Hostaway may show a warning indicating that the policy is no longer supported. This is a limitation imposed directly by Airbnb, not a configuration error in Hostaway.
What to expect in your Hostaway dashboard
Hostaway will not automatically change your cancellation policy. How you manage it depends on your specific situation with Airbnb:
1. If you were authorized by Airbnb (grandfathered) before the deprecation
If Airbnb formally authorized you to keep your old policy before its removal (known as being "grandfathered"), you will be able to continue using it for those specific listings.
Important: To keep it, you must not make any changes to the cancellation policy from the listing edit page in Hostaway. If you make a change, you may not be able to revert to the old policy. If you have authorization but synchronization is not working correctly, you should contact Airbnb support directly to resolve it.
2. If you do NOT have confirmation from Airbnb to keep the old policy
If you do not have prior confirmation from Airbnb to keep the old policy, you must select one of the currently supported options.
Among the available options, the Limited policy is now included: guests who cancel between 7 and 14 days before check-in receive a 50% refund; after that timeframe, the reservation is non-refundable.
If Airbnb rejects the request
If you attempt to update your listing and Airbnb rejects the request stating that the policy is deprecated, it means that your account or listing no longer has permission to use it. In these cases, Hostaway cannot force the activation of that policy, and you will need to choose one of the current Airbnb options.
Final recommendations
- Verify your Super Strict listings: If you use Super Strict 30 or 60 policies, we recommend reviewing your listings before September 16 to choose an alternative policy and avoid synchronization interruptions.
- Irreversible changes: Please note that if you change a deprecated policy to a new one, it is very likely that you will not be able to return to the previous one, as Airbnb no longer allows new assignments of old policies.