A cancellation policy for your bookings: what to decide
A clear cancellation policy spares you awkward conversations and tells customers what to expect. Here are the things worth deciding before you open online booking.
Cancellation deadline
Decide until when an appointment can be cancelled or rescheduled free of charge, for example 24 hours before. Base the deadline on how easily you can fill a slot that becomes free.
Late cancellations and no-shows
Decide whether you charge a fee for late cancellations or no-shows, and how much. If the customer has paid in advance, you can set how much of it is refunded after the cancellation deadline.
Rescheduling
Allow rescheduling on the same terms as cancellations, so customers move their appointment rather than simply not turning up. A self-service link in the confirmation message makes rescheduling easy.
Show the terms before booking
Customers must be able to see the terms before they book: on your booking page, in the confirmation message and on your website. Keep them short and easy to understand.
When selling to consumers, your terms must be reasonable. If you are unsure, check with a business association or a lawyer, for example. This guide is not legal advice.
How Calendo helps
- Your own cancellation and rescheduling deadlines in hours
- A refund share for late cancellations of prepaid bookings
- The cancellation and rescheduling deadlines are shown to customers on the booking page
- Customers reschedule or cancel on their own from the link in the confirmation message