Booking.com Replaced Its Damage Programme for US Listings

Booking.com no longer runs its damage programme for holiday rentals in the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Per the Partner Hub damage policy page, “the damage programme has been replaced by Host Property Insurance as of November 10, 2025” (as of 16 July 2026).

What changed, and for whom

The switch covers listings in the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and applies to stays booked through the platform while the host remains opted in (Partner Hub, as of 16 July 2026). The same page indicates that enrolment is automatic once a property is listed, and that hosts who were in the old programme before the launch can still file damage programme requests for stays that started before 10 November 2025.

Hosts outside those territories keep the old choice: a damage deposit the host collects and manages entirely themselves, or the damage programme (Partner Hub, as of 16 July 2026).

Why the old programme was worth replacing

The damage programme has no payment guarantee. Booking.com’s own FAQ says of it: “we can’t guarantee payment and you’ll only receive it if the guest agrees to pay”, because Booking.com holds no money upfront and only transfers what it collects from the guest (Partner Hub, as of 16 July 2026). That makes it structurally weaker than a held deposit: Booking.com facilitates the request, contacts the guest and pays out by bank transfer if the request is accepted, but a guest who refuses to pay generally ends the matter.

The evidence rules still catch hosts out

For hosts still on the programme, the filing window is 14 days from checkout, and the evidence rules are stricter than most expect. Booking.com accepts a detailed damage description, “clear and relevant photographs of the damage”, and invoices or receipts. It will not accept “security camera footage of guests”, “screenshots of conversations between you, staff or the guest”, or invoices that include private addresses or phone numbers (Partner Hub, as of 16 July 2026).

That last list matters if you host on more than one platform: chat logs that support an Airbnb claim are inadmissible on Booking.com, so a cross-platform evidence pack has to be built per platform.

What it means for hosts

US, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands hosts should check their extranet’s damage policy section to confirm what cover now applies to their listing, since claims for new stays run through Host Property Insurance rather than the old request flow. Hosts elsewhere should weigh the programme’s no-guarantee caveat when choosing between it and a self-managed deposit. Platform policies change without notice; everything above was checked against the live Partner Hub page on 16 July 2026.