Inevitably, there will be occasions when your guest may need to cancel their booking for your holiday home. It is important that you have a clearly communicated procedure for this event.
You should make your cancellation procedure clear in your booking contract.
Sometimes you may have to cancel a booking. Having a strategy in place for this scenario is advisable too. It is essential that you make your cancellation policy clear in your booking contract.
We hope that the following provides you with a grounding in how to best deal with cancellations:
What to do if a guest cancels
Refer guests to the cancellation clause in your booking contract This should set out a time frame for refunds. For example:
Have a time frame for refunds. For example:
Days until arrival
Refund
56+ days
Full booking deposit
29-56 days
50 per cent of total cost
15-28 days
25 per cent of total cost
1-14 days
10 per cent of total cost
0
Nothing refunded
Check that any previous payment from the guest has cleared in your bank account before making any refunds - protect yourself from falling victim to a scam.
Ask for confirmation of receipt of any refund for your records.
Offer the guest an alternative week if they wish.
Readvertise the week(s). Re-advertise the week and, if it is short notice, try offering a Late Deal.
Remember that your guests may be covered by their travel insurance for cancellation due to circumstances such as:
death (either of a member of the holiday party or a close relative)
illness
redundancy
jury/witness service
being unable to travel due to the weather (ie flooding and heavy snowfall) or an accident en-route
What to do if you need to cancel a booking
Be as helpful as possible. Remember, the guest is likely to feel disappointed so be understanding. Offer them alternative weeks, or if there are other holiday homes in your area, take the time to pass on the details to your guests.
Offer a full refund if you are the one cancelling the booking.
As a gesture of goodwill, you might like to offer the property at a later date for a discounted rate.
If you are forced to cancel a stay due to weather-related incidents and other 'Acts of God', your guests' insurance should cover them and you are not obliged to offer a refund.
