Airbnb is about to become the latest travel company to do away with pandemic-era policies that protect consumers against COVID-related travel issues.  

Starting May 31, Airbnb will no longer include COVID infections as part of its extenuating circumstances policy. That means a guest or host contracting COVID-19 interrupts the company. Reservations made before May 31 for travel taking place later in the year will still be eligible for refunds.  

“The safety of our community is our priority, and we continue to monitor the situation closely,” Airbnb said in a statement last week.  

According to Airbnb, almost two-thirds of the platform listings still offer cancellation policies that vary in terms of flexibility. Precautious travelers who want to be on the safe side can always filter their search for short-term rentals that provide “free cancellation.”  

Airbnb is not the only company to relax its COVID-related policies. After a federal judge in Florida struck down the CDC’s federal mask mandate, all major U.S. airlines and other transportation companies like Amtrak and rideshare apps canceled their mask requirements. 

These changes from Airbnb and other travel companies come ahead of what they expected to be the industry’s biggest summer since 2019. They also come with several countries worldwide that have lifted or eased their COVID-related entry requirements. 

Though many people and places around the world are relaxing their safety protocol, according to Reuters’ global COVID-19 tracker, infections are still rising in 31 countries, including in the U.S. Countries reporting the newest illnesses per day are: Germany (88,163), the U.S. (57,701), France (53,262), South Korea (52,310), and Italy (51,789). 

Despite the current rise in COVID infections, Reuters’ data shows that only two countries—Taiwan and Montserrat—are still reporting conditions close to their peak number of cases.  

Early last week, a federal judge in Florida struck down the transportation mask mandate enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ruling set into motion the latest battle over rules and regulations in the travel industry. All major U.S. airlines and Amtrak, Greyhound, Megabus, Lyft, and Uber have lifted their mask mandates considering.
the news, but the CDC is now taking steps to appeal the decision.

Considering the COVID-19 situation and the current spike in cases throughout the U.S., the CDC has determined that its order requiring masks on planes, trains, and buses is still necessary. This determination gave the Justice Department the green light to appeal the federal judge’s ruling that overturned the mandate.

“It is CDC’s continuing assessment that an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health,” the health agency said in a statement last week. “CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.”

Although the Justice Department filed an appeal following this statement from the CDC, it did not request a stay of the judge’s ruling, a move that would have immediately reinstated the mask requirement.

The federal mask mandate, which would have expired on April 18, had only recently been extended to May 3 when the federal judge overturned it. Though political experts fear the fallout for President Biden should the mask mandate be reinstated, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the appeal is necessary to preserve “CDC authority over the long-term” should the pandemic get worse. “Because as we’ve noted from here, we expect there to be difficulties of the pandemic. And we certainly want the CDC to continue to have this authority.”

In the meantime, some local authorities, like in the city of New York, have enforced their mask mandates for airports, public transportation, and rideshares. The CDC is also still advising passengers on all forms of transportation that a face covering is recommended.

Greece is gearing up for the boom in summer tourism by making it easier for travelers to visit the country. Starting May 2, the Mediterranean nation will lift all COVID-19-related entry rules.  

That means visitors will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination to enter Greece, whether they arrive via land, air, or sea. Greece will do away with all testing requirements regardless of a traveler’s vaccination status. In the U.S., they have lifted the nationwide mask mandate.  

“[We’re] not ignoring the pandemic, but we are entering a new regularity by lifting the restrictions, although we will be ready for the autumn and another vaccination rollout,” the Greek minister for health, Thanos Plevris, told The Points Guy. 

Plevris also added that these safety protocols were not being dropped indefinitely. The Greek government is considering reintroducing them in September, depending on how the COVID-19 situation develops over the next few months.  

The lifting of these regulations will be a significant change for a country with some of the strictest COVID-19-related laws in Europe. Currently, unvaccinated travelers can only enter Greece with proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Still, once in the country, they aren’t allowed to dine in indoor restaurants or enjoy other indoor activities such as theaters, stadiums, nightclubs, and museums. Greece also currently has a strictly enforced mask mandate and only allows a maximum of three passengers from the same family to ride in a taxi together.  

As the countdown begins for these rules to expire, Greece expects to receive an enormous surge in visitors between June and August. According to The Points Guy, numbers may reach up to 80% of 2019 levels, a record-breaking year. 

Travelers interested in visiting Greece this summer should book their accommodations as soon as possible as hotels and resorts are selling out fast and raising prices. 

For non-European Union residents dreaming of living la dolce vita—the sweet life—in Italy, that dream will become easier to reach thanks to the country’s newly-approved digital nomad Visa.  

The Italian government voted the digital nomad visa into law on March 28, joining the ranks of several other nations that have developed similar programs throughout the last two years, hoping to attract remote workers as a replacement—or supplement—to tourists. 

The new law will allow remote workers who don’t live in the European Union to spend a year living in Italy, but only those who are “highly qualified” will be awarded visas. The exact requirements of what will be considered “highly qualified” have yet to be defined. Still, some Italian officials have suggested that there may be a minimum income requirement for applicants to be successful.  

“We are happy to have approved the proposal, but we are also aware of the next steps. The government has to work on a new bill to implement the law, defining all the procedures and details,” Italian MP Luca Carabetta, a proponent of the digital nomad visa, told The Local. 

“Requirements for the remote worker are the availability of suitable accommodation, adequate income, health insurance, and a clean criminal record,” he added. 

Beyond the exact visa qualifications and application process, remote workers are also eager to know whether the new digital nomad visa will allow them to bring their families and eventually apply for extensions to stay longer than a year.  

While some visa options already exist for non-EU remote workers looking to live in Italy—like the self-employment Visa, intra-company Visa, and the EU Blue Card—the new digital nomad Visa will make the process much easier, especially for freelancers. 

Other European countries already welcoming remote workers through special visa programs include Germany, Spain, and Portugal. 

For the first time in two years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer advise travelers against sailing aboard cruise ships.  

The change came last week as the CDC updated its website regarding cruise travel and removed all references to its 4-tier risk assessment system. Typically, the CDC uses these warning levels to inform travelers about the rate of COVID-19 transmission in certain countries and the cruise industry overall. 

Although the agency keeps its system advising travel to countries worldwide, the “CDC is removing the COVID-19 Cruise Ship Travel Health Notice,” CDC spokesperson Dave Daigle told USA Today. “Travelers will make their risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings.” 

According to Daigle, the decision to remove the notice was based on the current state of the pandemic and the decrease of COVID-19 cases stemming from cruise travel over “the past several weeks.” 

This decision also comes just over two weeks after the CDC lowered its risk assessment level of cruise travel from “Level 3,” signifying a high risk of transmission, to “Level 2,” a moderate risk. 

Despite the CDC no longer actively advising against cruise travel, the health agency’s COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships remains, outlining the health and safety protocols that cruise lines should take. As a part of the program, which is optional for cruise lines to join, travelers can check for the color code of the specific ship they plan to sail on. 

According to the CDC website, the “color-coding system gives travelers the information they can use to make informed decisions before choosing to travel. Color status designations show the number of COVID-19 cases reported for each ship in the program, whether an investigation is needed, additional public health measures a ship is taking, and whether a ship has opted out of the program.” 

The CDC recommends that travelers are “up to date” with their COVID-19 vaccines before sailing aboard a cruise ship. Those at a greater risk of severe illness from coronavirus. Such as immunocompromised travelers, the CDC advises “[talking] to your healthcare provider about what they may need additional precautions before, during, and after travel.”  

The health agency recommends that travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, should get tested “as close to [the] time of [the] cruise departure as possible,” as well as three to five days after the cruise.