How do I prepare a vacation rental for hurricane season?

A hurricane brings three problems at once: guests who need to know whether to come or leave, a house to secure, and questions about cancellations and damage. You can settle most of them before June. Below are the season dates, how to find your evacuation zone, the Airbnb and Vrbo storm rules, two checklists and a guest message you can send as is.

When hurricane season is

The National Hurricane Center (opens in a new tab) says the Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30 and the eastern Pacific season runs May 15 to November 30. The Atlantic peak is September 10, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October.

Two terms matter for your timeline. The National Weather Service (opens in a new tab) issues a hurricane watch when hurricane conditions are possible, 48 hours before tropical-storm-force winds are expected, and a hurricane warning when they are expected, 36 hours before. So the storm checklist below starts at 72 hours.

Know the home's evacuation zone

Look the address up before the season, not during a storm. In Florida, the Division of Emergency Management's Know Your Zone (opens in a new tab) map shows an address's zone, lettered from A, the most vulnerable and usually evacuated first. The page notes that not every zone is ordered out in every storm, so guests need to watch local alerts. Outside Florida, your county emergency management office publishes zones and evacuation orders.

Ready.gov's hurricane sheet (opens in a new tab) says to know your evacuation zone, plan where you'd go and how, and evacuate immediately if ordered. Put the zone letter, the evacuation route and the county alert sign-up in your house manual and on your emergency info sign.

What Airbnb says about hurricane cancellations

Airbnb's Major Disruptive Events Policy (opens in a new tab), read Nov 4, 2026:

• Foreseeable weather is excluded. Airbnb's own example is hurricanes in Florida during hurricane season.
• The exception. A foreseeable storm can still be covered if it causes a covered event that prevents the stay, such as a government-issued mandatory evacuation. Large-scale, prolonged power or water outages are also covered events.
• Airbnb decides the area and dates. It activates the policy for a specific area and timeframe, and guests have to contact Airbnb to check whether their trip is eligible.
• If it applies. Guests can cancel for a refund or credit regardless of your cancellation policy. You can cancel without fees or penalties, the dates are blocked on your calendar and you get no payout for the canceled nights. If Airbnb already paid you, the refunded amount comes out of future payouts.
• If it doesn't apply. Your listing's cancellation policy governs, and any extra refund is your choice.
• Damaged home. Separately, Airbnb says hosts must cancel if the listing is uninhabitable, and failing to can lead to account action.

What Vrbo says

Vrbo's help article About Extenuating Circumstances Policy (opens in a new tab) (read Nov 4, 2026) says the policy may apply when large-scale travel disruptions prevent a guest from starting or completing a stay. Vrbo decides at its discretion whether it applies, to which area and to which reservations. Guests may get a refund regardless of your cancellation policy, and hosts may be eligible for a cancellation fee waiver. The full policy page returned an error when we tried to open it.

Vrbo's June 27, 2024 hurricane season release (opens in a new tab) gives mandatory evacuations and large-scale power outages as examples, says hosts must refund affected reservations when the policy applies, and says not every hurricane qualifies. Check the current policy in your Vrbo account before you rely on it.

Before the season checklist

Do this in May, before the June 1 start.

• Evacuation zone. Look it up, write it in the house manual and on the emergency sign.
• Flood coverage. Ready.gov says standard insurance policies don't cover flooding. FEMA's 2018 flood insurance notice (opens in a new tab) says a flood policy generally takes effect 30 days after purchase, so buying when a storm is named is too late. Ask a licensed agent what your short-term rental policy pays for wind, flood and lost bookings, and read our insurance basics guide.
• Baseline photos. Photograph and video every room, the roof, windows, fence, pool equipment and appliances with their model plates. Save them with the date in shared cloud storage. This is your "before" set for any claim.
• Windows and openings. Ready.gov says to install hurricane shutters or reinforce windows. The Florida page says protecting places where wind can get in is the most important step. Decide who puts shutters up and store them labeled at the home.
• Outdoor items. List everything that has to come inside or be tied down (patio furniture, grills, umbrellas, kayaks, planters, trash bins). Ready.gov says to secure or bring in outdoor items.
• Drains and gutters. Clear them, per Ready.gov.
• Supply kit for guests. Ready.gov's kit list (opens in a new tab) calls for 1 gallon of water per person per day for several days, a several-day supply of non-perishable food, a battery or hand-crank radio (plus a NOAA Weather Radio), a flashlight, a first aid kit, spare batteries, a whistle, a manual can opener and phone chargers with a backup battery. Size the water to your maximum occupancy.
• Documents. Ready.gov says to keep important documents in a fireproof, waterproof box and keep password-protected digital copies. Keep your policy numbers and your insurer's claim line in that set.
• Alerts. Sign up for the county's emergency alerts for the rental's address, not your home address.
• Storm plan with your team. Write down who secures the house, who messages guests, who decides on cancellations and who takes photos. Share it with your cleaner and co-host. Our cleaner turnover message is a good place to add the storm steps.
• Your own offer. Decide now what you'll offer guests in a storm's path when no platform policy applies, and save the message template below.

72-hour checklist when a storm is forecast

About 72 hours out

• Track the National Hurricane Center (opens in a new tab) forecast and your county's emergency pages.
• Message current guests and anyone arriving in the next week (template below).
• Check whether Airbnb or Vrbo has activated its policy for your area.
• Confirm your cleaner or handyman can get to the home and back out safely. Nobody should stay behind to protect a house.

About 48 hours out (around a watch)

• Take a fresh set of dated photos and video of the house, inside and out.
• Bring in or tie down every outdoor item on your list.
• Put up shutters or window protection.
• Clear drains and gutters.
• Check the guest supply kit is complete.
• Remind guests that Ready.gov says to run generators, grills and camp stoves only outside, at least 20 feet from windows, doors and garages, because of carbon monoxide.

About 36 hours out (around a warning) or when an order is issued

• If the home's zone is under an evacuation order, tell guests to leave now. Ready.gov says to evacuate immediately when ordered and not to drive around barricades.
• Cancel or move arriving stays that can't safely happen, through the platform so the record is there.
• If guests stay, remind them of Ready.gov's advice to stay indoors away from windows and never walk, swim or drive through floodwater. Ready.gov says six inches of fast-moving water can knock you down.

Guest message template

Copy this, fill in the brackets and send it through the platform's messaging. The guest messages tool saves it with your other templates.

After the storm, and the owner and co-host angle

Ready.gov says to return only when local authorities say it's safe, have a professional inspect damage before cleanup or repairs, stay out of floodwater, photograph damage, file an insurance claim and register with FEMA for assistance.

If you co-host or manage for an owner, agree on these before June:

• Who takes the "before" photos at 48 hours and the "after" photos on the first safe visit, same rooms, same spots, date visible.
• Who calls the insurer and holds the policy documents.
• Who can cancel bookings and approve emergency repairs, and up to what amount.
• How fast you'll report to the owner.

If the home can't be lived in, Airbnb says you must cancel the affected stays. Track repair costs and lost nights in the rental expense spreadsheet, and run our safety checklist before the next guest.