How to choose an Airbnb cancellation policy

A short stay takes one cancellation policy. A stay of 28 nights or more takes a second, long-term policy. On a short stay, Flexible, Moderate, Limited, and Firm are the policies Cancellation policies for your home lists for hosts. Strict and the two Super Strict policies on that page are invitation-only. A policy that still gives a full refund close to check-in pays the host nothing in more of the cancellation moments below. A policy that ends the full refund sooner pays the host in more of those moments, and it tells the guest the refund ends sooner. The help page does not say which policy receives more bookings.

Every nightly price, night count, and payout in the worked sections is an example figure. The reservation is made up. Replace the price with your nightly price and read the policy on the reservation. These calculators do not read an Airbnb calendar. This is a planning estimate, not financial, tax, legal, or pricing advice, and a guest may not book.

The occupancy calculator is where you count nights that stayed booked and, as a second period, nights you choose to type as booked. The nightly price calculator spreads monthly fixed costs across the booked nights you type. It has no field for a cancellation policy. How to calculate your Airbnb occupancy rate, ADR and RevPAR is that count. The calendar there is made up.

What the short-stay policies pay

Cancellation policies for your home, checked on 28 October 2026, says you choose one policy for short-term stays and one for long-term stays. The standard policy applies to reservations of 27 or fewer consecutive nights. A long-term policy applies to reservations of 28 or more consecutive nights. Cancellation and booking confirmation times use the listing’s local time zone. The page says a full refund refers to the price you set, including taxes, and that refunds of Airbnb guest fees depend on several factors. The dollar amounts below are the nightly price only. Taxes and guest fees stay outside them.

Every standard short-stay policy on that page includes a 24-hour cancellation period. The guest can cancel for a full refund, including taxes, for up to 24 hours after the reservation is confirmed, as long as the reservation was confirmed at least 7 days before check-in. Certain non-refundable hotel listings are exempt. The worked moments below are all after that 24-hour period.

The page lists these short-stay policies:

• Flexible. Guests can cancel until 24 hours before check-in for a full refund including taxes, and you won’t be paid. If they cancel after that, they receive a refund of pro-rated taxes, and you are paid for each night they stay, plus one additional night.
• Moderate. Guests can cancel until 5 days before check-in for a full refund including taxes, and you won’t be paid. If they cancel after that and before check-in, they receive a full refund of taxes, and you are paid for one additional night, plus 50% for all unspent nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive a refund of pro-rated taxes, and you are paid for each night they stay, plus one additional night, plus 50% for all unspent nights.
• Limited. The page says this is available for reservations booked on or after October 1, 2025. Guests can cancel until 14 days before check-in for a full refund including taxes, and you won’t be paid. If they cancel between 7 and 14 days before check-in, after the 24-hour period, they receive a 50% refund including full taxes, and you are paid 50% for all nights. If they cancel less than 7 days before check-in, they receive a full refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for all nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive no refund and you are paid 100% for all nights.
• Firm. Guests can cancel until 30 days before check-in for a full refund including taxes, and you won’t be paid. If they cancel between 7 and 30 days before check-in, after the 24-hour period, they receive a 50% refund including full taxes, and you are paid 50% for all nights. If they cancel less than 7 days before check-in, they receive a full refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for all nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive no refund and you are paid 100% for all nights.

The same page says these policies are available only to certain hosts by invitation:

• Strict. If guests cancel 7 or more days before check-in, after the 24-hour period, they receive a 50% refund including full taxes, and you are paid 50% for all nights. If they cancel less than 7 days before check-in, they receive a full refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for all nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive no refund and you are paid 100% for all nights. The page does not list a full-refund deadline for Strict other than the 24-hour period above.
• Super Strict 30 days. If guests cancel at least 30 days before check-in, after the 24-hour period, they receive a 50% refund including full taxes, and you are paid 50% for all nights. If they cancel less than 30 days before check-in, after the 24-hour period and before check-in, they receive a full refund of taxes and you are paid 100% for all nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive no refund and you are paid 100% for all nights.
• Super Strict 60 days. The same three steps use 60 days where Super Strict 30 days uses 30 days.

A host who does not see Strict or Super Strict on the listing editor does not have that invitation. The rows below still include them so the page’s list is complete.

One example reservation, four cancellation moments

The example is a reservation of 4 nights at a nightly price of 150. The nightly total is 600. The reservation was confirmed 50 days before check-in, so each moment below is after the 24-hour period, and the confirmation was at least 7 days before check-in. The guest cancels before check-in. Nights spent are 0. The 150, the 4 nights, and the confirmation time are example figures.

nightly total = 4 × 150 = 600
50% of that total = 300
100% of that total = 600

Fifty percent and one hundred percent are the shares the help page names for Limited, Firm, Strict, and the Super Strict policies. The $300.00 and the $600.00 are those shares of this example total. A full refund, where the page says you won’t be paid, is $0.00 of this nightly total.

40 days before check-in

• Flexible, Moderate, Limited, and Firm: the cancel is still inside each of those full-refund windows, so the host is paid $0.00.
• Strict: 40 days is 7 or more days before check-in, after the 24-hour period, so the host is paid 50% for all nights, $300.00.
• Super Strict 30 days: 40 days is at least 30 days before check-in, after the 24-hour period, so the host is paid 50%, $300.00.
• Super Strict 60 days: 40 days is less than 60 days before check-in, after the 24-hour period and before check-in, so the host is paid 100% for all nights, $600.00.

20 days before check-in

• Flexible, Moderate, and Limited: the cancel is still inside each full-refund window, so the host is paid $0.00.
• Firm: 20 days is between 7 and 30 days before check-in, so the host is paid 50%, $300.00.
• Strict: 20 days is 7 or more days before check-in, so the host is paid 50%, $300.00.
• Super Strict 30 days and Super Strict 60 days: 20 days is inside both “less than” windows and before check-in, so each pays 100%, $600.00.

10 days before check-in

• Flexible and Moderate: the cancel is still inside each full-refund window, so the host is paid $0.00.
• Limited: 10 days is between 7 and 14 days before check-in, so the host is paid 50%, $300.00.
• Firm: 10 days is between 7 and 30 days, so the host is paid 50%, $300.00.
• Strict: 10 days is 7 or more days before check-in, so the host is paid 50%, $300.00.
• Both Super Strict policies pay 100%, $600.00, because 10 days is inside both “less than” windows and the cancel is before check-in.

3 days before check-in

• Flexible: 3 days is still more than 24 hours before check-in, so the host is paid $0.00.
• Limited, Firm, and Strict: 3 days is less than 7 days before check-in, so each pays 100% for all nights, $600.00.
• Both Super Strict policies pay 100%, $600.00, on the same “less than” sentences as the 10-day moment.
• Moderate uses a different sentence. It is the next section.

In these four moments, Flexible pays $0.00 every time, because each moment is still more than 24 hours before check-in. Firm pays $0.00 at 40 days and $300.00 at 20 days and at 10 days. Limited pays $0.00 at 40 days and at 20 days, and $300.00 at 10 days. Strict pays $300.00 at each of those three moments. That pattern is the arithmetic of this example reservation. It describes the help page applied to these times. This site has no booking count for Flexible, Moderate, Limited, Firm, or Strict.

A cancel inside 24 hours of check-in is a different moment. Flexible then pays for each night the guest stays, plus one additional night. With no night spent, the sentence names one additional night. One night at the example price is $150.00. The page does not walk that moment in dollars. The reservation details are the payout.

The moderate sentence for a cancel before check-in

At 3 days before check-in, the Moderate bullets say the guest has cancelled after the 5-day point and before check-in. The page says you are paid for one additional night, plus 50% for all unspent nights.

At the example price, one night is $150.00. Fifty percent of the four unspent nights is $300.00. The page lists both. It does not say whether the one additional night is already inside the unspent nights, and it does not say to add the two amounts. This guide does not add them into one payout. Read the price breakdown on the reservation.

The other Moderate moments in the example, 10 days, 20 days, and 40 days before check-in, are still inside the full-refund window of 5 days, so those three pay $0.00.

Long-term policies for 28 nights or more

The same help page says the long-term policy applies to reservations of 28 or more consecutive nights. The host chooses Firm or Strict. Monthly stays, checked on 28 October 2026, is the availability page for hosting 28 nights or longer. The cancellation sentences below are from article 475. How to set Airbnb weekly and monthly discounts with your own numbers is a percent off the nightly price for a longer stay. That percent is a different control from this policy. The figures there are a separate set of example figures.

• Firm. A full refund including taxes requires a cancel at least 30 days before check-in. If the guest cancels after that, they receive a full refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for all nights spent, plus 30 additional nights. If fewer than 30 nights remain when the guest cancels, they receive a pro-rated refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for all of those remaining nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive no refund and you are paid 100% for all nights.
• Strict. A full refund including taxes requires a cancel within 48 hours of booking, and the cancel must be at least 28 days before check-in. If the guest cancels after that, they receive a full refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for the nights already spent, plus the next 30 nights from the reservation. If fewer than 30 nights remain, they receive a pro-rated refund of taxes, and you are paid 100% for all of those remaining nights. If they cancel after check-in, they receive no refund and you are paid 100% for all nights.

The long-term example is a different reservation from the 4-night stay. It is 40 nights at the same example price of 150. The booking was confirmed 43 days before check-in. The guest cancels 40 days before check-in, which is 3 days after booking, so the cancel is not within 48 hours of booking. No night has been spent. Forty nights remain, which is more than 30, so the “fewer than 30 nights remain” sentence does not replace the 30 nights.

30 nights × 150 = 4500

• Firm: 40 days before check-in meets “at least 30 days before check-in,” so the full refund applies and the host is paid $0.00 of the example nightly total.
• Strict: the cancel misses the 48-hour booking window, so the full-refund bullet does not apply. Nights already spent are 0. The next 30 nights at 150 are $4,500.00.

That gap is this example. A guest may not book 40 nights. The two policies match on a cancel after check-in, where the page says you are paid 100% for all nights and the guest receives no refund. They differ on the full-refund window, which is the difference this example is for.

A non-refundable option on a shorter stay

Article 475 says that when you set the standard policy for stays of fewer than 28 nights, you can offer a non-refundable option. The guest books at a discounted rate that is not subject to the standard cancellation policy. If they cancel, they won’t be refunded. The option is still subject to the 24-hour cancellation period for shorter stays, except for certain non-refundable hotel listings.

Offer a discounted, non-refundable option, checked on 28 October 2026, says you set the discount, which is typically 10% off the base price everywhere but China. The discounted rate appears in search. At checkout the guest selects the standard rate, subject to the cancellation policy, or the discounted non-refundable rate. If the guest cancels after any applicable free cancellation period, you keep your entire payout for all nights booked. A reservation is eligible if the checkout date is within 60 days. The discount applies if the reservation is not booked with a pre-approval or special offer. Guests may still be able to cancel for a full refund if a Major Disruptive Event covers the reservation.

The same page says guests can book the non-refundable rate until the listing’s cancellation policy kicks in:

• Flexible: up to 1 day before the desired check-in date
• Moderate: up to 5 days before the desired check-in date
• Limited: up to 7 days before the check-in date. The line on the page repeats the word “days.”
• Firm: up to 7 days before the desired check-in date
• Strict: up to 7 days before the desired check-in date

The 10% in the next lines is the percent that page calls typical outside China. The 150 is still the example nightly price from the 4-night reservation. China is the exception the page names, and this example does not set a China price.

non-refundable nightly price = 150 × (1 − 0.10) = 135
4 × 135 = 540

$135.00 is the example nightly price after that 10%. $540.00 is the example nightly total for the 4 nights. The page says you keep your entire payout for all nights booked if the guest cancels after the free cancellation period. $540.00 is that example total before a host fee and before taxes. This guide does not subtract a fee from it. The standard rate of 150 is still the other choice at checkout, and the moments above are about that standard rate.

Airbnb host service fees explained is the percent on a stay you keep. The payout rows on this page leave that percent off.

What a stricter policy does not put into the calculator

The occupancy calculator does not know why a night is empty. A cancelled night stays out of nights booked until you type it there. The two periods below are example figures. They are not the 4-night payout table, and they are not a market.

• Stayed booked: 16 nights available, 12 booked, room revenue 1800
• The same 16 nights, with the other 4 typed as booked at the same 150: 16 nights available, 16 booked, room revenue 2400

Twelve times 150 is 1800. Sixteen times 150 is 2400. The second period is a count you would type on purpose. It shows what the calculator returns when those 4 nights are included in nights booked. A stay that actually remained booked would be a line on your calendar, which this page does not have.

The page shows:

• Stayed booked: occupancy 75%, ADR $150.00, RevPAR $112.50
• Cancelled nights typed as booked: occupancy 100%, ADR $150.00, RevPAR $150.00
• The change, which is the second period minus the first: +25 percentage points of occupancy, an ADR change of $0.00, and a RevPAR change of +$37.50

ADR stays $150.00 because both periods use 150. Occupancy and RevPAR rise because the second period counts 4 more booked nights and 600 more of room revenue. A rebooked night at another price would be a different revenue figure. A night you did not offer never appears.

The nightly price calculator answers a different question. It solves a nightly rate from costs, a stay length, an occupancy percent, and a host fee. The policy is not an input. The example costs for this run are:

• Mortgage or rent 650
• Utilities 55
• Insurance 45
• Software 0 and other monthly fixed costs 0
• Cleaning 70, laundry 20, supplies 10, and other per-stay costs 0
• A margin of 0%
• The host-only fee selected, at the starting 15.5%
• Nights per stay 4

Monthly fixed costs are 750. The per-stay cost is 100. The 40% and the 55% are example figures you replace. The calculator does not look up an occupancy. The 15.5% is the calculator’s starting host-only percent. Airbnb’s service-fee help page, checked on 28 October 2026, says most hosts pay 15.5% under the single fee. The guest fee does not change the break-even rate. Type the percent from your account.

monthly fixed costs = mortgage or rent + utilities + insurance + software + other monthly fixed costs
per-stay cost = cleaning + laundry + supplies + other per-stay costs
booked nights per month = (365 ÷ 12) × occupancy rate
per-stay cost per booked night = per-stay cost ÷ nights per stay
break-even nightly rate = cost per booked night ÷ (1 − host fee rate)

With USD selected and a margin of 0%, the target rate is the break-even rate. The page shows:

• 40%: 12.17 booked nights. Stays per month display as 3.04. Fixed cost per booked night displays as $61.64. Per-stay cost per booked night displays as $25.00. Cost per booked night displays as $86.64. Monthly operating cost displays as $1,054.17. The break-even nightly rate and the target rate display as $102.54.
• 55%: 16.73 booked nights. Stays per month display as 4.18. Fixed cost per booked night displays as $44.83. Per-stay cost per booked night displays as $25.00. Cost per booked night displays as $69.83. Monthly operating cost displays as $1,168.23. The break-even nightly rate and the target rate display as $82.64.

The break-even rate is lower at 55% because the same 750 is spread across more booked nights. Monthly operating cost is higher at 55% because more stays mean the 100 is paid more often. Both are this example. The rows do not say a stricter policy produces 55%, and they do not say a flexible policy produces 40%.

Where the policy is saved

Change your home cancellation policy, checked on 28 October 2026, gives these desktop steps:

1. Click Listings and select the listing you want to edit.
2. Under Listing editor, click Your space.
3. Click Cancellation policy.
4. Next to your policy, click Edit.
5. Make your selection and then click Save.

Any change applies to future reservations. It does not change a pending or confirmed reservation. The policy on the reservation when you received it still applies to that reservation.

The same page says you can set different short-term policies for specific date ranges from the calendar. If you set none, the main listing policy stays in effect. Those date-range policies are optional.

The page also says certain listings with Moderate, Limited, Firm, or Strict policies are automatically eligible to offer an extended cancellation option. A listing with a different policy, or a listing that is not eligible, will not have the option. The page does not define the extra time on that option. Read the control before you rely on it. You can opt out.

When the saved policy is not the payout

Article 475 says the policy can be overridden. A guest may be able to cancel for a full or partial refund because of a Major Disruptive Event, or because of an issue covered under Airbnb’s Refund and Rebooking Policy for Homes. If the host was paid and the policy is overridden, the page says Airbnb may recover money owed under its Payments Terms of Service, as an adjustment taken from the next scheduled payout. Major Disruptive Events is the page linked from the non-refundable article. This guide does not restate the events on that page.

The cancellation page also says the policy you choose should comply with local rules. It names different policies for stays in Italy prior to October 1, 2025, different policies for South Korean guests at places with Strict policies, a page for Germany, and a 24-hour free cancellation period for reservations in California. This guide does not restate those sections. Read them on the help page. This is not legal advice. If a policy is not described on the page, the page says Airbnb sometimes tests new policies and to use the reservation details.

What the estimate leaves out

The example reservations have no guest cleaning fee, no pet fee, no extra guest fee, and no tax. The host fee is named on the nightly-price run and left off the payout rows. Income tax is outside the formulas. A night that is cancelled and then booked again is a second reservation, and these rows do not add it.

A guest may not book at 150, at 135, at $102.54, or at $82.64. The 4 nights, the 40 nights, the 16 nights, and the two occupancy percents are not your calendar. The help page does not publish a booking count for Flexible against Firm. This page does not add one.

Help center pages checked on 28 October 2026

• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/475 for the short-stay policies, the invitation-only policies, the long-term Firm and Strict policies, the 24-hour period, the non-refundable option, overrides, and the local cases the page names.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2600 for the discount you set, the typical 10% outside China, eligibility, the payout if the guest cancels after the free cancellation period, and the day each policy stops offering the non-refundable rate.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3030 for the desktop steps, future reservations only, date-range policies, and the extended cancellation option.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2729 for availability settings that sit with stays of 28 nights or more.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320 for Major Disruptive Events, linked from the non-refundable article.
• https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1857 for the single fee, including 15.5% for most hosts, used on the nightly-price run.