Caring for our community during disruptive events
At Whimstay, we are committed to supporting our travelers and hosts during natural disasters or major disruptive events. This policy outlines how we handle bookings when unexpected events impact travel or property safety.
What is a major disruptive event?
A major disruptive event includes situations that significantly impact a property or its surrounding area, such as:
Natural Disasters: Severe weather events (hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods).
Government Restrictions: Mandatory travel restrictions or evacuation orders.
Public Health Emergencies: Declared epidemics, pandemics, or other health crises.
Military Actions or Hostilities: War, terrorism, riots, or civil unrest.
Large-Scale Utility Outages: Prolonged loss of essential utilities such as water, electricity, or heat.
This policy applies only to events at or near the property's location that prevent safe or reasonable use of the property. It does not cover events unrelated to the property itself, such as personal travel disruptions (e.g., flight cancellations or road closures).
What to do if an event affects your stay
If a hurricane, wildfire, evacuation order, or other major event is affecting your trip, here's how to handle it.
Check on your safety first. If you're at the property and your safety is at risk, contact local emergency services (911 in the U.S., or the equivalent for your location).
Check if you have travel protection. If you purchased the Travel Protection Plan or Cancel For Any Reason coverage at checkout, that's the most direct path to a refund. Travel protection covers many disruption scenarios that our standard cancellation policy doesn't. To file a claim, you'll work with Generali directly, using the policy details in your booking confirmation.
Reach out to us. Whether or not you have travel protection, message us at help.whimstay.com with your booking details and what's happening. Share any documentation that supports the situation, like evacuation orders, news reports, or photos. We'll work through your options with you as quickly as possible.
For hosts
If your property is affected by a major disruptive event:
Notify Whimstay: Let us know if your property is uninhabitable or inaccessible. We will work with you to find a solution that assists both you and the traveler.
Host Obligations:
Hosts are required to agree to cancellations if their property is deemed unsafe or uninhabitable by Whimstay due to the event.
Policy limitations
This policy does not apply to:
Events that affect a traveler's ability to travel but do not impact the property itself or its immediate surrounding area.
Common weather patterns or conditions unless they result in mandatory evacuations or large-scale outages.
Transportation disruptions, such as airline strikes or cancellations unrelated to a covered event.
How Whimstay supports you
During a major disruptive event, our team will:
Communicate with both travelers and hosts to ensure safety and clarity.
Offer options to assist with any changes that may be necessary.
Provide guidance to navigate the situation with as little stress as possible.
For broader trip protection, including events outside this policy's scope, you can add travel protection when you book or shortly after. See Does Whimstay offer travel protection? for details.
Your safety and satisfaction are our top priorities. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact our customer service team — we're here to help.