Cancellation Policy

Your cancellation policy decides what happens when a guest cancels — how much they get back, when the cutoff is, and whether last-minute cancellations are refundable at all. It's set per property and pushed to every connected channel that supports the policy you pick.

Quick reference: Cancellation, refund policy, refund window, refundable, non-refundable, partial refund, grace period, free cancellation, cancellation window — these all map to the same setting in Vanio: Listings → [your property] → Content → Policies → Cancellation Policy.

Where to set it

Listings → [your property] → Content → Policies

The first card on the page is Cancellation Policy. Pick one option from the list and the change auto-saves. Vanio pushes the new policy to every connected channel that supports it (Airbnb honors all standard options, Booking.com and VRBO have their own equivalents Vanio maps to automatically).

How guest self-serve cancellation works

Guests can cancel their own reservations directly from their trip portal without contacting you first. When they visit their reservation link, they'll see:

• Exact refund amount — calculated in real-time based on how close they are to pickup
• Clear cancellation tiers — grace period, early, late, or no-show with transparent explanations
• One-click cancellation — no back-and-forth needed for straightforward cases

When a guest cancels:

1. Refund processes automatically — issues within minutes to their original payment method
2. Calendar reopens — those dates become available for new bookings immediately
3. You get notified — email and dashboard notification with cancellation details
4. Tasks update — any scheduled cleaning or prep work gets removed

Rental-specific cancellation tiers

For vehicle rentals, Vanio uses a tiered system that's more precise than traditional accommodation policies:

Grace Period (100% refund)

• Within 1 hour of booking — full refund, no questions asked
• 48+ hours before pickup — full refund of trip cost and cleaning fee

Early Cancellation (100% refund)

• 24-48 hours before pickup — full refund (same as grace period)

Late Cancellation (partial refund)

• Less than 24 hours before pickup — trip cost minus one day's average, cleaning fee fully refunded
• Trips of 2 days or less — trip cost minus half day's average

No-Show (minimal refund)

• 2+ hours after scheduled pickup, never picked up — trip cost minus two day averages, cleaning fee fully refunded
• Trips of 2 days or less — trip cost minus three-quarters of a day average

Security deposits are always released regardless of cancellation timing.

Standard accommodation policies

These are the policies most hosts use for traditional stays. Pick the one that matches how flexible you want to be.

Flexible

Guests get a full refund if they cancel at least 24 hours before check-in. After check-in, they pay for the first night plus any nights they actually stayed.

Best for: hosts who want maximum bookings and don't mind last-minute changes.

Moderate (default)

Full refund if they cancel at least 5 days before check-in. After that, they pay for the first night plus any nights stayed, plus 50% of all unused nights.

Best for: most hosts. This is Vanio's default. It balances guest flexibility with revenue protection.

Firm

Full refund if they cancel at least 30 days before check-in. Between 7 and 30 days out: 50% refund. Less than 7 days out: non-refundable.

Best for: properties with high demand where late cancellations are hard to rebook.

Strict

Two refund windows: full refund within 48 hours of booking AND at least 14 days before check-in. Between 7 and 14 days out: 50% refund. Less than 7 days out: non-refundable.

Best for: peak-season properties, weekend rentals where last-minute relistings rarely fill.

Limited

50% refund if they cancel between 7 and 14 days before check-in. After that, non-refundable.

Best for: shorter-term protection without going fully strict.

Super Strict 30 Days

50% refund if they cancel at least 30 days before check-in. After that, non-refundable. (Note: this is 50%, not 100% — even early cancellations only get half back.)

Best for: high-end properties with major prep costs.

Super Strict 60 Days

Same as above but the 60-day window. 50% refund if they cancel at least 60 days out. Otherwise non-refundable.

Best for: villas, large properties, anything that needs months of advance planning.

Non-refundable

The booking is non-refundable from the moment it's confirmed. Only cleaning fees come back if they cancel.

Best for: discounted rates where the guest gets a price break in exchange for committing.

Italy-specific policies

If your property is in Italy, Airbnb requires Italy-specific cancellation policies that follow local consumer protection law. Vanio offers all five:

• Flexible (Italy) — full refund 24h+ before check-in
• Moderate (Italy) — full refund 7+ days before check-in
• Strict (Italy) — full refund 30+ days before check-in
• Super Strict 30 Days (Italy) — full refund 30+ days, non-refundable after
• Super Strict 60 Days (Italy) — full refund 60+ days, non-refundable after

These behave like their standard counterparts but follow Italian timing rules and refund-calculation methods. Use these for Italian listings — the standard policies will not sync correctly to Airbnb for an Italy-based property.

Long-term policies

For stays of 28 nights or longer, Airbnb uses a different policy structure. Vanio supports all three:

• Firm (Long-term) — full refund 30+ days before check-in. After that, the guest pays for nights stayed plus 30 additional nights.
• Strict (Long-term) — full refund within 48 hours of booking AND at least 28 days before check-in. After that, nights stayed plus 30 additional nights.
• Long-term (Italy) — Italy-specific long-term equivalent.

These only apply to bookings of 28+ nights. Shorter stays still use your standard policy.

When guests can't cancel themselves

Self-serve cancellation isn't available in these situations:

• Trip already started — once they've picked up keys/vehicle, contact them directly to arrange early return
• Payment still processing — reservations in "pending payment" status need to complete first
• Already cancelled — prevents duplicate cancellation attempts
• Completed trips — finished reservations can't be retroactively cancelled

In these cases, guests see a clear message explaining why they need to contact you instead.

Managing cancellations as a host

When unusual situations arise, you have full override control:

Dashboard → Reservations → [reservation] → Actions

• Manual refund — refund any amount up to the total paid, regardless of policy timing
• Approve identity manually — for guests who can't complete automatic verification
• Override cancellation — cancel on the guest's behalf with custom refund amounts

[Screenshot: reservation actions menu showing refund and cancellation options]

What syncs to which channel

• Airbnb — every policy above syncs natively. The exact name and timing match Airbnb's host dashboard.
• Booking.com — Vanio maps to Booking.com's closest equivalent. Booking.com's policy structure is different (they use "free cancellation until X" with custom dates), so the mapping is best-effort. For perfect parity, set your cancellation rules directly in Booking.com's extranet — Vanio's calendar sync still respects them.
• VRBO — VRBO uses Relaxed / Moderate / Firm / Strict / No Refund tiers. Vanio maps Vanio policies to the closest VRBO tier on connect.
• Direct booking website — uses your Vanio-set policy verbatim. The guest sees the exact wording on the booking page and in the confirmation email.

How refunds happen when a guest cancels

When a guest cancels through Airbnb, Vanio syncs the cancellation within minutes — the reservation moves to "cancelled" status, the calendar reopens, and any cleaning task already scheduled gets removed. If a refund is owed, Airbnb processes it directly to the guest's original payment method (Vanio doesn't touch the money for OTA bookings).

For direct bookings on your branded website, Vanio handles the refund through payment processing using whichever portion your policy allows. The refund hits the guest's card, your payout for that reservation reverses (or partially reverses), and the audit trail records who triggered it and why.

Common scenarios

"I want to be flexible during low season but strict during peak." Vanio doesn't have seasonal cancellation policies (Airbnb itself doesn't support that). Pick one policy that matches your most common case. For peak-only stricter terms, use the per-date overrides on the calendar to add a "non-refundable" pricing rule on those specific dates instead.

"My guest is asking to cancel outside their refund window — can I refund them anyway?" Yes. Use the dashboard reservation modal → Refund action. You can refund any amount up to the total paid, regardless of policy. Useful for goodwill cases (guest illness, family emergency).

"Can I require a non-refundable deposit on top of a moderate policy?" Not via the cancellation policy itself. Use the Damage Deposit field on the same Policies page — that's held separately and refunded after checkout if there's no damage.

"A guest booked on Booking.com — what cancellation rules apply?" Booking.com uses whatever policy you set in their extranet, NOT what's in Vanio's Policies page. Vanio respects their cancellation when it syncs, but the rules themselves are managed there. Going forward, channel-native cancellation editing inside Vanio is on the roadmap.

"Why can't my guest cancel their rental themselves?" The most common reason is they haven't completed identity verification yet. For security, guests must verify their identity before they can access pickup instructions or cancel. If verification is complete but cancellation still isn't available, check if the trip has already started or if there's a payment issue.