Cancellation policy

[Tracy737]

Hi, 

Tim and I have just started hosting and we have our first guest arriving today.  I was just looking at the various cancellations policies and wondered if more experienced hosts could help us decide which one to adopt with our listing.  Please could someone help and give us an idea of which one to choose and which one has worked best for them either - flexible, moderate or strict.  

Many thanks

Tracy

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tracy737 My vote is for strict. even this isn't very strict but at least it gives you something. With flexible the guest can literally change their mind the day before arrival AND during the stay and you will have zero hope of rebooking

[Elena87]

@Tracy737 

There isn't a scientific answer to what to select.

Keep in mind, on flexible a guest can book your place as a back-up, see a cheaper last minute alternative and then bale out on you. Unless you have an eager queue of last minute bookers, it's a lemon.

You can start out on moderate and see how it goes for you. If you find there are continuous cancellations  you can be minded to flip over to strict.

Some say with strict policy, you may get more reliable guests who are committed and stick to their plans.

With moderate, some argue you perhaps attract more bookings this way.

It's trial and error, plus you should consider the seasonal aspect of your listing as well.

[Sarah977]

@Tracy737  As you say you have your first guest arriving today, I don't quite understand why you are now asking about a cancellation policy. What was it set on when this guest booked?

Any settings you change, amenities you list, etc., only apply to bookings made after the changes. They are not retroactive. 

[M199]

@Tracy737 

It really depends on your market what works best for you.  We are seasonal and have a flexible policy because we know that cancellations by guests will be very quickly rebooked.  For example, I had a guest book about 6 months ago for August, if I recall correctly.  For some unknown reason she cancelled last week.  Yeah, ok.  In less than 90 minutes we had another booking.

Hope this helps.

[Emiel1]

@Tracy737 

I use "moderate" which works fine for me. I personally would never book a listing with "strict" (or strict 30 / 60) cancellation policy.

[Tracy737]

Thanks everyone for your advice