A cancellation email on a Monday
A guest cancels a two-week summer booking. They booked direct, paid a deposit and half the balance, and bought cancellation cover through a third party. Another guest cancels a weekend booked through Booking.com under a flexible rate. A third cancels through Airbnb under the property's own policy setting. Each needs a different answer about money.
Behind each one, the cleaner still has the changeover in their diary, the laundry still expects the linen, and the owner's forecast still shows the income.
Why cancellations cause so much work
The refund rules depend on where the booking came from. Channels apply their own policy settings and handle the money themselves, while direct bookings follow your terms and your payment provider. Staff need to know which applies, and direct booking refunds usually need calculating by hand.
The knock-on changes, such as schedules, linen, statements, owner notifications and re-marketing, are separate tasks that depend on someone remembering them.
What inconsistent cancellations cost
Refunds calculated wrongly lead to disputes, chargebacks and complaints. Cleaners turn up to empty properties or are paid for cancelled jobs. Owners see bookings disappear from their statements without explanation. And freed dates, especially at short notice, go unsold because nobody was told to promote them.
The cancellation handling we build
We build a cancellation workflow that applies the right rules and tidies up every downstream effect. The policies are yours and the channels'; we do not set them.
- Detection: cancellations are picked up from your property management system, including those processed on channels.
- Policy match: the booking's source and rate determine which policy applies. For channel bookings, the channel's outcome is recorded. For direct bookings, your terms are applied to draft the refund.
- Refund draft: the draft refund, with the calculation shown, goes to your team to confirm, and is then processed through Stripe or your payment provider.
- Downstream updates: the cleaning job, linen order and any extras are cancelled or rescheduled, and the cleaner is told.
- Owner update: the owner's forecast and statement are adjusted, with a short note explaining the cancellation and any retained amount.
- Gap flag: the freed dates are flagged for your team, with a note of how soon they are, so a short-notice offer or a change to minimum stay can be considered.
| Booking source | Refund handled by | What we automate |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | Airbnb under the listing's policy | Recording the outcome, downstream updates |
| Booking.com | Booking.com under the rate policy | Recording the outcome, downstream updates |
| Direct booking | Your agency, under your terms | Refund draft, processing after approval, updates |
| Owner stay | No refund | Releasing dates, schedule updates |
After the change
Every cancellation follows the same path, whatever the source. Refunds for direct bookings are calculated consistently and confirmed by a person. Cleaners and laundries hear about changes straight away. Owners understand what happened to their booking. And freed dates reach the people who can resell them while there is still time.
Over a season, you also get a clear record of cancellations by channel and by rate, which helps when deciding which cancellation policies to offer.
Recognise this?
- Direct booking refunds are calculated by hand.
- Staff are unsure which cancellation policy applies to a booking.
- Cleaners have turned up for cancelled changeovers.
- Owners are surprised by cancellations on their statements.
- Short-notice gaps from cancellations go unsold.