Late Cancellations
Late Cancellations
Appreciate this subject has been covered before in different topics which I've searched for and read, but a specific question..............
What do forum members' T & Cs state for a late cancellation by clients regarding 100% retention of booking fee by the property owner...........
7 days before
14 days before
21 days or more before?
What do forum members' T & Cs state for a late cancellation by clients regarding 100% retention of booking fee by the property owner...........
7 days before
14 days before
21 days or more before?
Our contract states:
4. Cancellation of the booking by the holidaymaker should be made in writing. If such cancellation is made prior to eight weeks before the start of the holiday then the holidaymaker’s liability shall be limited to the forfeit of the deposit paid. If cancellation is made within eight weeks of the start of the holiday then the full rental amount will be forfeit. The owners strongly recommend that the holidaymaker takes out suitable travel insurance to cover any loss due to unforeseen circumstances leading to cancellation of the holiday.
If I received a cancellation then I would re advertise the week concerned at a substantial discount. I would then probably refund the original person who booked whatever I manage to get for the week minus a small amount for admin costs - purely as a gesture of goodwill.
Hope that helps,
James.
4. Cancellation of the booking by the holidaymaker should be made in writing. If such cancellation is made prior to eight weeks before the start of the holiday then the holidaymaker’s liability shall be limited to the forfeit of the deposit paid. If cancellation is made within eight weeks of the start of the holiday then the full rental amount will be forfeit. The owners strongly recommend that the holidaymaker takes out suitable travel insurance to cover any loss due to unforeseen circumstances leading to cancellation of the holiday.
If I received a cancellation then I would re advertise the week concerned at a substantial discount. I would then probably refund the original person who booked whatever I manage to get for the week minus a small amount for admin costs - purely as a gesture of goodwill.
Hope that helps,
James.
Here is the clause in my T&C's
3. Cancellation of your booking by you must be notified in writing. If cancellation is prior to the 6 weeks of the holiday commencement date then only the 25% deposit will be forfeited. Notice of cancellation received in writing less then 6 weeks prior to departure will result in the loss of the total cost of your booking. Please ensure that you have adequate travel Insurance cover at the time of booking which would include cover for cancellation and for the total booking period. Should the property become unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control, a full refund will be given. Any refund is restricted to the property hire costs.
I too would make a refund less admin costs if I were able to re-book.
Ruth
3. Cancellation of your booking by you must be notified in writing. If cancellation is prior to the 6 weeks of the holiday commencement date then only the 25% deposit will be forfeited. Notice of cancellation received in writing less then 6 weeks prior to departure will result in the loss of the total cost of your booking. Please ensure that you have adequate travel Insurance cover at the time of booking which would include cover for cancellation and for the total booking period. Should the property become unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control, a full refund will be given. Any refund is restricted to the property hire costs.
I too would make a refund less admin costs if I were able to re-book.
Ruth
-
- Posts: 750
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:19 pm
With great difficulty!The Olive Grove wrote:Quick question - if they have only paid the deposit how do you enforce the payment of the balance?
There was a thread that went into cancellation and non payment a while back, you might find some useful info here too
viewtopic.php?t=3059&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
If I re-let I would refund in the same way as J&J and Kip have explained.
Since our average lead time for bookings is running at around 148 days in advance of arrival, and we use an online availability calendar to block out dates, we don't refund at all unless it is rebooked at the same rate or higher rate, otherwise the difference is forfeit. If rebooked at full rate, advance monies are refunded in full less a small admin charge to cover possible need for extra advertising.
As a practical matter, it's not possible to enforce payment of the balance of rent owing once it has been cancelled, which is why we ask for payment in full with sufficient advance notice to expect another booking in time.
Many folks here ask for payment in full 60 days in advance, but we only have 45 days, because we can usually rebook easily in that time frame. Also, we have only had 1 cancellation in the last 2 years, a total of 3 cancellations in 5 years, so we don't view it as a major risk.
Hope this helps.
As a practical matter, it's not possible to enforce payment of the balance of rent owing once it has been cancelled, which is why we ask for payment in full with sufficient advance notice to expect another booking in time.
Many folks here ask for payment in full 60 days in advance, but we only have 45 days, because we can usually rebook easily in that time frame. Also, we have only had 1 cancellation in the last 2 years, a total of 3 cancellations in 5 years, so we don't view it as a major risk.
Hope this helps.
tatally agree with you.we touch wood have not had that mis fortune,but have had a booking cancelled for wich we kept deposit.also takinga refundable deposit on return of keys and a report that the place was left ok,as last year someone spolied all the marble floors with sun oil,had to be polished out cost to us 300 euros plus they lost a lounger and the apartment was dirty,causing longer and more money for cleaners,so they lost their bond,not very happy people,but they sign a contract for these reasons.it cost us far more than the £100 deposit,but we had somethingkipper889 wrote:Hi Olive..
Basically you don't bother to enforce it, if you insist on payment eight weeks before, it at least gives you a couple of months to re-book, You keep their deposit anyway, which helps towards the shortfall if you can't.
Thankfully I have never experienced a cancellation.
Ruth
Oskar, do you make it plain on your form/T&C's that guests should have insurance to cover cancellations? I'm in the U.K and most of my guests are the U.K market. I guess they don't really think they need it as they aren't travelling overseas. However, I put a gentle reminder that like any other holiday their U.K break will benefit from insurance if anything happens to prevent them travelling.
I have an annual travel insurance policy. A lot of people don't realise this covers you for breaks in the U.K too, even short weekends away.
Joanna, mine is 6 weeks but I think the 8 is much more sensible and as you say, gives you more time to rebook. One for next year!
I have an annual travel insurance policy. A lot of people don't realise this covers you for breaks in the U.K too, even short weekends away.
Joanna, mine is 6 weeks but I think the 8 is much more sensible and as you say, gives you more time to rebook. One for next year!
-
- Posts: 797
- Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:24 am
- Location: North Norfolk
- Contact:
Re: Late Cancellations
Oskar, as you want specific responses.oskar wrote:Appreciate this subject has been covered before in different topics which I've searched for and read, but a specific question..............
What do forum members' T & Cs state for a late cancellation by clients regarding 100% retention of booking fee by the property owner...........
7 days before
14 days before
21 days or more before?
We never "charge" for cancellations but we do ensure that we always get the full value of the booking, if necessary taking the customer to court. So far, we have never come up short.
For me, it is a quid pro quo - if we get a rebooking for the full price, the cancelling customer gets all the deposit back, if we do not succeed in booking it at all, they have to pay the full price (which is what they contracted to do) - this has never happened.
We do not take any account of the extra time, trouble and postage - we reckon that this is part and parcel of running a business.
John
hi Oskar
we take 50% deposit and if anyone cancelled (not had one yet) this would be kept unless we re-let. In that case I would refund, less expenses.
If they cancel after they have paid their final balance (5 wks before) again the above would apply. As they're liable for the full cost if they cancel within the final 5 wks
As Sue has mentioned I also suggest quite strongly that they should take out insurance that includes cover for cancellations etc.
Mouse
x
we take 50% deposit and if anyone cancelled (not had one yet) this would be kept unless we re-let. In that case I would refund, less expenses.
If they cancel after they have paid their final balance (5 wks before) again the above would apply. As they're liable for the full cost if they cancel within the final 5 wks
As Sue has mentioned I also suggest quite strongly that they should take out insurance that includes cover for cancellations etc.
Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
- Ben McNevis
- Posts: 846
- Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 10:07 am
- Location: Scotland (for) The Brave
- Contact:
Hi, Oscar.
We've had 7 cancellations and one no-show over 3 properties in the past two years.
On our booking form the renter signs up to this text:
I've never offered a reduction on the cancellation charge due to being able to re-sell the week(s). Once, the reason for cancellation was so tragic that I didn't make the charge at all.
Our cancellation charge reaches a maximum of 75%. That seems a reasonable ceiling to me, as
1. There's a bit of a chance of selling the week(s) last-minute
2. If unsold, there's no wear and tear, no electricity/water and no cleaning expense
3. It provides a chance for me to visit and do some maintenance.
We've had 7 cancellations and one no-show over 3 properties in the past two years.
On our booking form the renter signs up to this text:
Yes, it's tricky if they cancel at between 4 and 8 weeks before the stay as they have only paid a £50 deposit but according to our terms they are liable to more. However, we always suggest that they take out holiday insurance, so it's often no pain for them to pay up as it's an insurance claim.CANCELLATION: If we have to cancel our reservation we will inform the owners as soon as possible. If we cancel with at least 8 weeks notice, we will receive all prepaid money less a charge of £10. With notice of between 6 and 8 weeks we will be charged 25% of the booking value. With notice of between 4 and 6 weeks we will be charged 50% and with less than 4 weeks notice we will be charged 75%.
I've never offered a reduction on the cancellation charge due to being able to re-sell the week(s). Once, the reason for cancellation was so tragic that I didn't make the charge at all.
Our cancellation charge reaches a maximum of 75%. That seems a reasonable ceiling to me, as
1. There's a bit of a chance of selling the week(s) last-minute
2. If unsold, there's no wear and tear, no electricity/water and no cleaning expense
3. It provides a chance for me to visit and do some maintenance.
Cheers, Ben
www . scotland-cottage.com www . scottish-cottage.com
Visiting Glenrothes? It's one of your Fife-a-day
www . scotland-cottage.com www . scottish-cottage.com
Visiting Glenrothes? It's one of your Fife-a-day