In October 2025, Airbnb retired the "Strict" cancellation policy for new listings, migrated everyone who had it to "Firm," and added a 24-hour free cancellation window to every policy. It sold the change as good news for hosts: "more bookings, better reviews, more revenue."
It's a classic Airbnb (and Booking) move: every so often they nudge hosts to relax their cancellation policy and present it as a favor. Our recommendation doesn't change: the strictest policy you can set. The only new thing is that now they make it harder for you.
What changed in 2025
On Airbnb, stays under 28 nights now have four levels for most hosts: Flexible, Moderate, Firm, and the new Limited. "Strict" disappears for new listings, and "Super Strict" is reserved for legacy accounts. On top of that, every policy now carries a 24-hour free cancellation window, and the next step is already on the way: dynamic cancellations, which change the policy by date.
Booking gets to the same place by another route. Because it lets you define your own rate plans, it looks like you're in charge. But its search ranks flexible-cancellation rates higher, and its Smart Flex program offers extra flexibility "on your behalf." Different method, same destination: more flexibility by default.
Why they do it: because it benefits them
The OTAs (Airbnb, Booking…) compete to make the traveler book on their platform, and an easy cancellation helps them close that booking… even if it later falls through. If it does, the guest almost always rebooks something else on the same platform, and they earn their commission anyway. For them the booking isn't lost: it just moves. Your specific night, on the other hand, either gets resold before the date or it's gone.
Why we always recommend the strictest policy
Because a flexible cancellation policy is nothing more than a small promotion: it lowers the barrier to book. And when you do real revenue management, with proper dynamic pricing, you don't need that promotion. Its tiny upside doesn't come close to offsetting the problems it brings:
- Bookings that fill your calendar without being firm, blocking premium dates.
- They get in the way of long, early bookings, which are the ones you want most.
- An unrealistic forward revenue picture that makes planning harder.
- Last-minute cancellations that leave you with blocked days you then have to resell in a hurry: with less time and at a lower price.
It's the same logic as the promotions and discounts the OTAs offer (and sometimes switch on without telling you): they sound good, but they rarely deliver a real benefit to the host.
If anything, a flexible policy might make sense on very low-demand dates, never on high-demand ones. But with good pricing, you don't need it even there.
What to do
Keep your policy as strict as they'll let you, and let the price do the work, not the platform's "favors." If you want to go a step further, build your direct channel: EU regulation just forced Booking to drop its parity clauses, so today you can offer better conditions on your own website, where you set the rules.
Don't relax your policy just because they ask you to. That's what we do at ListingOK: we manage your prices and your rules so you don't have to track every platform change. You keep your owners, your brand, and your time; we do the work.
Miguel
Miguel Roig Gimbernat is Partner at ListingOK, specializing in Revenue Management for vacation rentals and short-term rentals. With over 15 years of experience in technology, pricing, and revenue management, he helps property managers and hosts maximize their profitability on Airbnb and Booking.com through real market data and expert supervision. He combines expertise in data, platforms and technology with marketing to transform market intelligence into revenue decisions that boost profitability.
