Handling cancellation fees and commission
We charge commission on confirmed stays and non-refundable bookings – regardless of whether or not the guest stayed at your property. However, there are some situations when you don’t need to pay commission. We’ve also built a tool to help you automatically accept free cancellation requests that guests make within a timeframe of your choice.
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Commission and canceled bookings
We charge commission on confirmed stays, regardless of whether or not a guest stays at your property.
You also pay commission when:
- You charge guests for non-refundable or partially refundable no-shows or cancellations
- You charge guests who cancel after the free cancellation period ended
You don’t have to pay commission when:
- You decide to waive the cancellation fee for non-refundable or partially refundable bookings
- A guest doesn’t arrive for their booking, you choose to waive the fee and mark the guest as a no-show either on the Extranet or Pulse app
- You mark a credit card as invalid because you couldn’t charge the guest
How the Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool works
Even if a guest booked a non-refundable rate, they can ask to cancel this for free. Our research shows that guests are most likely to cancel accidental bookings within 24 hours. In fact, 25% of all cancellation requests are made within this period.
It’s always your choice whether you accept these requests, but you can use the Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool to automate the process.
The tool enables you to automatically allow free cancellation if the guest requests it during a certain period, such as within 24 hours of booking. When you use the Cancellation Fee Exception tool, your calendar will update and the canceled rooms or units will become available for bookings again immediately.
If you haven’t set this tool up or a guest asks us to cancel their reservation after your chosen time period expires, we’ll reach out to ask if you’ll agree to waive the fee.
Even though we always explain the booking conditions to guests, waiving fees is a friendly gesture that may help prevent complaints and encourage satisfied guests to book with you in the future. Of course, it’s entirely up to you whether you use the Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool and waive cancellation fees.
How to use the Cancellation Fee Exceptions tool
- Log in to the Extranet
- Click Property, then Policies
- Under Cancellations and prepayment policies, click Edit next to the policy you want to make an exception to
- Under Is there a period when the guest can cancel free of charge? check Yes
- Specify the conditions you want to set for the exception
- Click Save
To find out more about when you can cancel a reservation, take a look at this article.
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Your Reservations