Lay My Hat

Thanks everyone. This discussion has prompted me to do some google research and it's interesting to see the differences.

Gites de France T&C surprised me (see below). Someone cancels at 8 days notice and they get as much as 50% back! How likely is the owner to be able to rebook? Does this seem reasonable to you?

cancellation 30 days before the start of the holiday and 21st days inclusive before the start of the holiday: 25% of the total amount will be retained; 
cancellation between the 20th and 8th days inclusive before the start of the holiday: 50% of the total amount will be retained;
cancellation between the 7th and 2nd days inclusive before the start of the holiday: 75% of the total amount will be retained;
cancellation the day before or on the arrival date originally specified in the contract: 100% of the total amount will be retained.

SPJ wrote:Someone cancels at 8 days notice and they get as much as 50% back! How likely is the owner to be able to rebook? Does this seem reasonable to you?

No.

Our current policy is
100% refund from time of booking to 90 days prior to arrival
50 % refund up to 30 days prior to arrival
No refunds given less than 30 days prior to arrival

We haven't been doing this for very long but so far no issues. I like the idea of giving them the difference if we are able to rent it out to someone else so we may incorporate that.