Closing dates, cutting availability or leaving a platform: how to pause or remove your property on Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia/Vrbo and Google without losing bookings or overpaying (2026)

Updated: 10 November 2026

You want to stop selling some dates, a season, or leave a platform altogether. The expensive mistake is not pausing: it is cancelling confirmed bookings or leaving the calendar open by accident. This guide sums up what Airbnb's official help and Booking.com's documentation say (checked on 10 November 2026). For marking a seasonal closure on Google and what the law asks, see our seasonal closure guide; for writing your cancellation policy, see the dedicated guide. Whatever we could not confirm is marked «not confirmed».

The short answer

The essentials:

Pausing cancels nothing: on Airbnb and Booking.com confirmed bookings remain and must be honoured.
Airbnb: you can unlist for set dates (up to 6 months) or indefinitely, and remove the listing only when no reservations are pending.
Booking.com: for a pause, close availability. Leaving is «Terminate contract» and, once started, it cannot be stopped.
Cancelling as an Airbnb host costs 10% to 50% of the reservation amount (minimum USD 50), plus other consequences.
Expedia/Vrbo: we could not check their procedure in an official help page (not confirmed).

Airbnb: unlist, block or remove

According to Airbnb's Help Centre (articles 476 and 447):

Unlist for set dates: up to 6 months, with a start and end date. Unlist indefinitely: the listing leaves search until you relist it.
Careful: unlisting future dates does not block them; if you don't want bookings, also block those nights on the calendar («Blocked»).
Permanent removal is for hosts who stop hosting, and is not possible until all reservations are completed.
The listing's reviews stay on your profile and cannot be deleted, even if you unlist it.
Nights from reservations you cancelled, from linked calendars or blocked for legal reasons cannot be unblocked.

Airbnb: what cancelling a booking costs

According to article 990 (cancellations from 9 October 2023):

48 hours or less before check-in, or after: 50% of the reservation amount for nights not stayed.
Between 48 hours and 30 days before: 25%. More than 30 days before: 10%. Minimum USD 50.
The amount includes base rate, cleaning and pet fees, excluding taxes and guest fees. For stays of 28 nights or more it is calculated on the 30 days after the cancellation.
Also: no payout for that booking, Airbnb may block those dates, you may lose Superhost and, if you cancel without a valid reason, the listing or account may be suspended.
Fees may be waived for major disruptive events or documented reasons beyond your control; Airbnb decides.

Booking.com: close availability or terminate the contract

According to the Partner Hub page (community) and Booking.com's connectivity documentation:

Temporary closure: close availability for the dates you need. A property «Closed (requested by hotel)» is hidden from travellers.
If you have no rooms available for any date in the next 365 days, Booking.com closes it automatically («Auto closed») and it can reopen within 24 hours once availability is restored.
Leaving: extranet > Inbox > Booking.com messages > Compose new message > Account > Terminate contract. If you don't see the option, contact customer support with the topic «Account».
You must honour pending reservations and pay outstanding invoices; if you cannot honour a booking, you pay for the guest's relocation. Close all rooms for future dates.
The agreement ends within 14 days or once reservations are honoured and invoices paid. Commission on bookings honoured after requesting termination: not confirmed.
Don't close the property just to update photos or texts: Booking.com advises against it.

Expedia/Vrbo and Google

What we can say:

Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo: we did not read an official help page on pausing or terminating in this review. Ask your market contact or partner support for the procedure in writing (not confirmed).
Google: for a seasonal closure you use «Temporarily closed» on your Business Profile; we explain it in the seasonal closure guide (/seasonal-closure-google-booking-airbnb-2026).
If you leave a platform but stay open, don't mark your Google profile as closed.

What to do this week

Practical tips:

List the confirmed bookings on each platform for the dates you want to close, before changing anything.
Close availability (or block the calendar) first and only then unlist or request termination: a booking can arrive right after closing, and Booking.com says it cannot rule this out 100%.
If you use a channel manager, close it there too so it does not reopen dates.
Keep screenshots of what you do and Booking.com's termination letter.
Don't cancel bookings to leave sooner: on Airbnb it costs 10% to 50%, and on Booking.com relocation is on you if you cannot honour them.

How iQuota helps

iQuota connects your property with AI assistants for direct booking, with no commission and payment at the property:

Your availability and terms are written in your listing, and you can close dates as on any channel.
We don't promise bookings or that a given AI will show you: it depends on each assistant.

Frequently asked questions

Does unlisting on Airbnb cancel my bookings?

No. Confirmed bookings remain and you must honour them. And unlisting future dates does not block them: block them on the calendar too.

Can I remove my Airbnb listing with pending bookings?

No: Airbnb does not allow permanent removal until all reservations are completed.

How much does cancelling an Airbnb booking cost me?

From 10% (more than 30 days before) to 50% (48 hours or less), minimum USD 50, plus other consequences such as blocked dates.

How do I leave Booking.com?

In the extranet: Inbox > Booking.com messages > Compose new message > Account > Terminate contract. Once started it cannot be stopped; pending bookings must be honoured and invoices paid.

How do I pause my property on Expedia or Vrbo?

We could not check it in an official help page: not confirmed. Ask Expedia Group for the procedure in writing.

Sources

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