Handling cancellations and guest cancellation requests

Updated 3 weeks ago | 2 min read
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If a guest wants to cancel a booking, you can issue a cancellation request either via the Extranet or the Pulse app. By doing so, you avoid paying commission for the canceled booking. Read more below about the conditions to initiate a cancellation request and how to troubleshoot cancellations.


In this article:


Conditions of canceling a reservation

Depending on your set policies, a guest may be able to cancel their booking using a link in their booking confirmation email or via their Booking.com account. In some cases, you’ll be able to initiate a cancellation request if a guest asks you to or if you find yourself in one of the scenarios below: 

  • No-show – if the guest didn’t show up, mark the reservation as a no-show on the Extranet or in the Pulse app.
  • Invalid credit card – to learn how to handle bookings made with an invalid credit card, see this article.
  • No deposit/prepayment received – if you haven’t received these as expected, you can learn more about the actions you need to take in this article.
  • Double-booking – for help on what to do in case of double-bookings, contact our Customer Service team. To learn how to avoid double-bookings, see this article.

Read more below to find out how to cancel a booking upon a guest’s request. 


Canceling a reservation via the Extranet

If a guest asks you to cancel a reservation on their behalf, follow these steps to send a request to cancel the booking via the Extranet:

  1. Log in to the Extranet
  2. Click Reservations
  3. Select the reservation you want to cancel 
  4. Click Request to cancel reservation
  5. Select a reason for the cancellation
  6. Click Send

Your guest will receive an email with the cancellation request. The reservation will remain active until they accept the request. Once your guest accepts the request, you and the guest will receive a cancellation email.


Canceling a reservation using the Pulse app

If a guest asks you to cancel a reservation on their behalf, follow these steps to inform us of a cancellation using Pulse:

  1. Log in to the Pulse app on your phone
  2. Tap Bookings
  3. Select the reservation you want to cancel
  4. Tap Request to cancel reservation
  5. Select a reason for the cancellation
  6. Tap Send request

Your guest will receive an email with the cancellation request. The reservation will remain active until they accept the request. Once your guest accepts the request, you and the guest will receive a cancellation email.

You can also suggest your guest change their stay dates so they can keep their booking. For more information on how to make changes to a booking, see this article.


Consequences of canceling a booking for your guest 

We charge commission for reservations made on our platform, including on cancellation and/or no-show fees you’ve set for your reservations. We don’t charge commission if you choose to waive any cancellation or no-show fees owed by the guest. 

If you use the Request to cancel a reservation feature, the reservation will be canceled free of charge. For cancellation fees to apply, you should ask guests to contact our customer service or cancel their reservation directly via their booking confirmation or their account.

In case of cancellations, you can use the auto-replenishment feature to make sure your availability is updated on time. It allows you to automatically make the canceled room or unit available to be booked again by other potential guests.

Looking for more information on handling cancellation fees and commission?

Read more


Troubleshooting cancellations FAQs

  • Cancellation requests can be submitted up to 48 hours before check-in via the Extranet or Pulse. If a guest asks you to cancel their reservation less than 48 hours before check-in, inform them that you can’t handle the request on their behalf and advise them to contact Customer Service. 

    If the request to cancel is made after midnight on the check-in date, you can use the Extranet’s Mark as a no-show feature and charge any set no-show fees.

  • If you’re experiencing unforeseen issues and can’t accommodate your guests, you must report this to our customer service. They’ll support you with the cancellation request and relocation of the guests, if applicable.

  • If you’ve already requested the payment of the deposit or prepayment fee from your guest and they failed to provide it, you can cancel the reservation using the Extranet’s Request to cancel reservation feature. 

    If you have trouble collecting unpaid prepayments and want to keep the reservation, you can mark the credit card as invalid

    If you use Payments by Booking.com and you receive a cancellation, no-show, or modification—and you’re owed money—we’ll email you with updated virtual credit card (VCC) details. Read more on setting up a deposit, prepayment policies, and fees here.

  • You can report invalid credit cards on the Extranet or in the Pulse appRead more about handling invalid credit cards here.

  • To report guest misbehavior after the check-in date, you can use the Extranet’s Report guest misconduct feature. This can be done up to seven days after check-out.

  • By setting up cancellation policies, you can let guests know what to expect if they cancel or change their bookings. It also protects you from a potential loss of income. Read more about setting up cancellation policies here.

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