For every rental listing, you pick the cancellation policy that decides how much a renter gets back when they cancel a confirmed booking. You can choose from three ready-made levels, from the most relaxed to the strictest, or build your own. This article explains how much is refunded in each case and how the special situations work, like the grace period or a cancellation by the studio.
The three cancellation levels
Cancellation policies apply to confirmed bookings, and the refund is based on how much time is left before the rental starts at the moment of cancellation.
Flexible
Cancel 24 hours or more before the start: 100% is refunded.
Later: nothing is refunded.
Standard
Cancel 7 days or more before the start: 100% is refunded.
Cancel between 7 days and 24 hours before the start: 50% is refunded.
Less than 24 hours before the start: nothing is refunded.
Strict
Cancel 14 days or more before the start: 50% is refunded.
Later: nothing is refunded.
The policy that's in effect when a booking is made is saved with it. Even if you later change the policy on the listing, bookings confirmed earlier follow the terms that applied when they were made.
Custom cancellation policies
If none of the three ready-made levels fit, choose Custom and set up the refund levels yourself. Each level says: "cancel X hours or more before the start, and Y% is refunded." You can have up to five levels; below the lowest one, nothing is refunded. The renter sees the exact terms on the listing before booking.
Custom policies are saved with the booking the same way — in the wording that applied when it was made. Later edits to the listing affect only new bookings.
The grace period after payment
Right after paying, the renter has 24 hours to cancel with a full refund, whatever cancellation policy you've chosen. It's a safety net against mistakes and rushed bookings.
The grace period applies only when there are more than 72 hours left before the rental starts. For last-minute bookings it doesn't kick in, and the listing's cancellation policy applies straight away.
Cancelling a pending request
While a request is still waiting for your approval, the renter can cancel it and always gets 100% back. That's because the cancellation policy only applies once a booking is confirmed. Before you approve the request there's no commitment yet, so the full amount paid is refunded.
Cancellation by the studio
When you, as the studio, cancel a confirmed booking, the renter always gets 100% back, no matter how little time is left before the start. You have to give a reason for the cancellation, which is sent to the renter along with the refund details.
Use this only in exceptional cases, such as when the room becomes unavailable. Cancelling a confirmed booking is a real inconvenience for the renter, so handle it with care.
How refunds are paid out
A card payment is refunded to the card the renter paid with — depending on the bank, it usually takes 5 to 10 days to land. A PayPal payment is refunded automatically to the renter's PayPal account. A bank transfer or a payment at the studio that's already gone through, you refund to the renter directly: the order is marked as pending a refund in the Orders section, and once you've sent the money, you mark it as refunded with a button. If the renter hasn't paid anything yet (transfer on its way, payment at the studio), there's nothing to refund. You'll find the details in the article Rental payments and refunds.