Major private lodging intermediary website operator Airbnb Inc. has canceled reservations for private lodgings in Japan that are not in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the company said on Friday.
Such lodgings are called "minpaku" in Japanese.
The move comes after the Tourism Agency on June 1 urged relevant intermediary website operators to cancel reservations of unlawful minpaku as the housing and accommodation business law comes into force on June 15.
The U.S. vacation rental giant has canceled accommodation bookings made for check-ins on June 15-19. The company will refund all accommodation fees to customers who made bookings and will also pay for airline ticket fees incurred due to the cancellations.
"It was a tough decision" to cancel reservations, an Airbnb employee in charge of the matter said. "We express a sincere apology for causing much concern and inconvenience."
The company originally said it would respond to the new law's enforcement by not posting minpaku facilities that do not meet relevant laws and regulations, but previously made reservations at these facilities had been left untouched.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
