We may offer a cancellation waiver for cancellations initiated because of reasons outside your control. Cancellation waivers prevent cancellations from hurting your standing in the marketplace.  

Consequences for partner-initiated cancellations—such as payout deductions or a 7-day temporary suspension—will be applied 10 days after the cancellation. You will have 10 days from the date of the cancellation to request a waiver.  

The following reasons are eligible for a cancellation waiver with some requiring supporting documentation. 


Natural disaster 

Your property is affected by a natural event that makes it unsafe for you to accommodate a guest. Examples include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, large-scale outages of essential utilities, tornados, cyclones, flooding, wildfires, and other historically severe or abnormal weather events. We automatically waive cancellations related to some natural disasters. Contact us if you don't see the waiver within 7 days of the cancellation.  


Other extenuating circumstances 

Your property is affected by unforeseen events that include: 
  • Epidemics, pandemics, or other public health emergencies 
  • War, terrorist attacks, riots, large-scale civil unrest, and other hostilities 
  • National or local government travel restrictions 
  • Travel disruptions caused by large-scale restrictions or outages to critical travel infrastructure 
  • Government changes to passport or visa requirements 
See About Extenuating Circumstances Policy for events that are covered and not covered by the policy.  


Property damage 

Your property has suffered severe damage that makes it unsafe or uninhabitable for guests. Examples include plumbing not functioning, gas leaks, or similar issues.  

To request a cancellation waiver, provide the following supporting documentation: 
  • A description of the damaged or malfunctioning area of the property 
  • An insurance claim or an estimate from a repair company 
  • The length of time the property will be uninhabitable 
If your property is temporarily unavailable due to damage, it’s your responsibility to update your calendar or listing availability. This helps prevent new bookings during periods when you know you cannot host guests. 


House Rules violation 

A guest has violated or says they cannot follow your House Rules and will not request a cancellation via their traveler account.  

To be eligible for a cancellation waiver: 
  • House Rules must have been published in your listing under Rules & policies at the time a booking was made. 
  • Keep all communication with guests on the platform to ensure you can provide the necessary supporting documentation. 


Past due balance

A guest hasn't completed the second or third payment to complete the booking by the due date. This doesn't include additional payment requests sent after the time of booking.  

To be eligible for a waiver: 
  • You must try to contact the guest. 
  • You must issue the guest a refund of any amount owed according to your cancellation policy at the time of booking.  
  • Bookings where the guest hasn't made the first payment are not factored into your Ranking Metrics and therefore do not apply here.
You should keep a record of your communication attempts with the guest (e.g., messages sent through the platform) in case documentation is needed to support your waiver request. 


When you can’t accept a booking request 

Sometimes you can’t accept a booking request within the 24-hour period due to reasons outside of your control. In these cases, a Booking Request Decline Waiver can ensure that these declined booking requests don’t affect your property’s ranking. 

 Examples of valid reasons include: 
  • Natural disaster 
  • Internal site error 
  • Traveler retraction of booking request 
  • House Rules Failure 
  • Late Payment 


Request a Cancellation or Booking Request Decline waiver 

To request a waiver, contact your account manager (if you have one). If not, contact the Vrbo support team within 10 days of cancelling or declining the request through the Contact Us button on your Vrbo Owner Dashboard. 

Be sure to include: 
  • The Reservation or Booking Request ID 
  • A brief explanation of why the cancelation or decline was beyond your control 
  • Any relevant communication with the guest (preferably through the platform) 
  • Any supporting documentation or proof related to the reason provided