As an essential platform for booking vacation rentals, flights, and stays, Booking.com allows travelers to organize their trips with ease. But what are the cancellation conditions for an order on this site in case of unforeseen circumstances? Discover everything you need to know about the different types of cancellation conditions and which one to choose to preserve the profitability of your rental offer.
Importance of Cancellation Conditions on Booking.Com
The presence of cancellation conditions on a website is mandatory as part of the general terms of sale. Indeed, individuals or legal entities that offer a service or product in exchange for monetary payment are subject to Article L221-18 of the Consumer Code. This text provides for a withdrawal period of 14 days following the date of purchase of the goods or service.
On the Booking.com reservation site, cancellation conditions are of different nature. Thus, free cancellation of a reservation can be made up to a number of days set by the owner, before the arrival of the occupants in the accommodation. In this case, the customer has the possibility to cancel their stay without any fees. Owners can also use non-refundable prepayment. This is an amount corresponding to a non-refundable reservation in case of cancellation. Furthermore, as an owner of a rental property, you can also set stricter conditions in case of cancellation, by applying fees corresponding to all or part of the total amount of the reservation, regardless of the date of cancellation by the customer.
Which Cancellation Condition Rules to Choose on Booking.Com?
The choice of cancellation conditions for a reservation on one of your properties depends on the financial guarantees you provide. Indeed, the flexibility offered by the Booking.com platform allows you to choose the most profitable solution for you, but also the simplest for your customers. For this, you can take into account several parameters. The first is to analyze the popularity of your offer. If there are many reservation requests, in this case, you can afford to set strict cancellation conditions with deductions from the amount already paid. Moreover, it is also essential to take into account seasonality. During the low season, cancellation conditions can be more flexible. This allows you, at the same time, to build a relationship of trust with your customers and to gather the most positive reviews from them.
Why is it Important to Display Cancellation Conditions on your Booking.Com Listings?
There are multiple circumstances in which customers are led to cancel a reservation. This ranges from personal convenience to last-minute unforeseen events. Whatever the case, in your rental offer, keep in mind the sense of customer service. It is essential to remain open, flexible, and understanding in the face of these cancellation requests. There may also be booking errors: confusion over dates, the number of nights booked, or the absence of a specific service.
To make the customer experience as simple and pleasant as possible, even in case of cancellation, ensure the clarity of the cancellation conditions. The ideal being to offer several cancellation formulas to let them choose the one that suits them best. However, when your cancellation policy is too permissive, it risks generating large revenue losses. It is therefore necessary to find a balance so that you can preserve the profitability of your rental offer on Booking.com.
In order to help you set the most suitable cancellation conditions for your accommodation, you can, for example, take into account customer reviews, the practices of your competitors for the same type of accommodation, having the same seniority in the market.
Another strategy is to apply multiple pricing with different cancellation conditions. This solution allows customers to choose the most flexible option for them, while avoiding financial loss in case of cancellation.
Call on Bnb Groom Services for Managing your Property
Managing a short-term rental property requires an excellent strategy. You must adapt to market variations, customer demands and expectations, as well as the profitability of your real estate property. For this, Bnb Groom Services accompanies you. Our expertise in the French Riviera region, particularly Cannes, Villefranche-sur-Mer, and Nice, allows us to offer you a 360° management service to guarantee you income, even in case of a cancellation of a reservation on Booking.com.
Sources:
Article L221-18 – Consumer Code – Légifrance. (n.d.). https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000032226842/
