Overview
The Cloudbeds Cancel for Any Reason product is a valuable optional add-on integrated directly into the Cloudbeds Booking Engine. It offers guests the flexibility to cancel their reservation and receive a refund for the accommodation portion, regardless of their reason for cancellation, by paying a small, non-refundable fee.
Cancel for Any Reason doesn’t just benefit guests — it’s also designed to support your property’s revenue, efficiency, and competitiveness.
Here’s how:
📈 Increase Booking Conversion |
By offering guests a way to mitigate cancellation risk, especially for non-refundable rates or bookings far in advance, hotels can reduce hesitation and abandonment, leading to more completed bookings. |
💰 Create a New, Guaranteed Revenue Stream |
When a guest adds a Cancel for Any Reason policy to their reservation, they’re more likely to follow through with a cancellation. In cases where the original rate plan is non-refundable or partially refundable, your property retains that guaranteed revenue. With the room now available again, you can resell the inventory to another guest, maximizing occupancy and revenue potential. |
🧭 Gain a Competitive Edge |
Offering Cancel for Any Reason helps your hotel stand out from competitors and drives more direct bookings away from Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) that may offer similar protections. |
⚙️ Reduce Administrative Workload |
Cancel for Any Reason claims and refunds are managed by a trusted third-party partner, HTS, freeing your staff from handling complex cancellation requests and refund processing. |
What is Cancel for Any Reason?
Cancel for Any Reason allows guests to purchase an optional add-on during the standard Booking Engine process. By paying a small, non-refundable fee on top of their reservation cost, guests gain the ability to cancel their booking up to a specified time before check-in and receive a refund for the accommodation portion of their reservation, regardless of their reason for cancellation.
Example:
- If a guest books a 2-night stay for $200 and adds Cancel for Any Reason protection for an additional $30 (total cost $230), they can later cancel their trip for any reason within the allowed timeframe and receive a refund for the original $200 reservation cost.
- The $30 Cancel for Any Reason fee is non-refundable.
The appearance of Cancel for Any Reason during checkout is dynamic and controlled by HTS AI models to ensure the protection is offered only when it provides a meaningful benefit to the guest.
For example, if a hotel's policy allows guests to cancel their reservation right up until arrival, Cancel for Any Reason would not be displayed as it would offer no additional benefit to the guest. More on this below.
The interface is fully localized and supports all languages currently available in the Cloudbeds Booking Engine.
Availability of Cancel for Any Reason
For applicable properties, Cancel for Any Reason is enabled by default.
- The property must use Cloudbeds Payments or have a connected payment gateway.
- The property must have Smart Policies enabled.
Properties using Stripe Direct are excluded.
Managing your Cancel for Any Reason status
For applicable properties, Cancel for Any Reason is enabled by default. Authorized users can disable it in the Booking Engine Settings.
This setting is visible and editable only to Super Admins and users with permission to view credit card details.
How it Works
For the Guests
1. Purchasing Cancel for Any Reason
Guests will see the Cancel for Any Reason option and its cost displayed prominently during the Booking Engine booking flow, before final payment. They can choose to add this optional protection to their reservation.
2. Understanding the Cancellation Cut-off
- To be eligible for a refund via Cancel for Any Reason, guests MUST cancel their reservation before the date communicated at the time of booking. This information is specified in their purchase confirmation email.
- Cancellations made after this specified cut-off time will fall under the original booking's standard cancellation policy.
3. Initiating a Cancellation with Cancel for Any Reason
- Via Guest Portal: Guests can click a link sent to them in their Cancel for Any Reason email, which will route them to the guest portal to complete the cancellation process.
- Via HTS Portal: Guests can directly access the third-party cancellation portal using the link provided in their Cancel for Any Reason email.
- By Calling the Hotel: Guests may call the hotel directly, as they normally would. The hotel staff will be informed that the reservation has a Cancel for Any Reason policy attached to it.
4. Receiving a Refund
- What's Refunded: The original cost of the room reservation, including applicable taxes, surcharges, fees, and charges recovered on that room cost.
- What's NOT Refunded: The Cancel for Any Reason fee itself is non-refundable. Any other non-refundable add-ons or fees purchased separately are also not covered by Cancel for Any Reason.
- Processing Time: Refunds will typically be processed back to the original payment method within 5-7 business days.
- Partial Refunds for "Pay Later" Bookings: If a booking with Cancel for Any Reason doesn't require payment to the hotel until a few days before check-in, and the guest cancels prior to that payment, there would be no refundable amount from HTS as the hotel hasn't charged anything yet.
For your Hotel Staff
1. Handling Cancel for Any Reason-Protected Cancellations
- If a guest contacts the hotel to cancel a Cancel for Any Reason-protected reservation, the hotel staff should cancel the reservation within Cloudbeds just as they normally would by changing the reservation status to "Cancelled". No additional actions are necessary from the hotel's side.
- Crucial Communication Point: your staff needs to inform the guest that their reservation has a Cancel for Any Reason policy attached and that they should reach out to HTS for any details regarding their refund.
2. Identifying Cancel for Any Reason Reservations in PMS
You can easily identify reservations protected by the Cancel for Any Reason policy directly within Cloudbeds PMS. A dedicated HTS badge is visible on any protected reservation for quick identification.
Additionally, a warning notice will appear if you begin the cancellation process, confirming that the reservation is covered by this protection and ensuring your staff can handle the request correctly.
For a detailed walkthrough and visual examples, please refer to our guide: How to Identify the Cancel for Any Reason Policy.
Important Considerations
- Not Insurance: HTS Cancel For Any Reason™ is a service, not insurance or an insurance contract.
- No Partial Cancellations: For multi-guest or multi-room reservations with Cancel for Any Reason, cancellations apply to all guests and all rooms listed on the reservation. Partial cancellations are not permitted.
- Logs and Reports: Changes to the Cancel for Any Reason setting are recorded in Logs. However, Cancel for Any Reason is not currently available in Cloudbeds Standard Reports or Insights reports, including reporting for bookings with Cancel for Any Reason or related fee revenue.
- Support for Technical Issues: If a guest experiences a technical issue preventing them from exercising their Cancel for Any Reason product, HTS agents will troubleshoot. If manual intervention is required, HTS will contact the hotel directly to cancel the reservation and issue a manual refund to the customer.
- Adding Cancel for Any Reason to an Existing Reservation: It is not possible to add Cancel For Any Reason to a reservation after it has been finalized.
Key Constraints and Availability Logic
The availability of the Cancel for Any Reason add-on during the guest checkout process is not static. It is managed based on specific criteria to ensure the protection is only offered when relevant:
- The 17-Hour Rule: Cancel for Any Reason is not offered for any booking made within 17 hours of the scheduled check-in time, regardless of whether it is a same-day booking.
- 17–48 Hour Window: For non-refundable bookings with a lead time between 17 and 48 hours before check-in, eligibility for the Cancel for Any Reason offer remains strong at approximately 80%.
- AI-Driven Dynamic Offering: For bookings made more than 48 hours in advance, eligibility is determined by AI models based on trip characteristics and cancellation risk.
- Rate Plan Relevance: Cancel for Any Reason is primarily shown for non-refundable or partially refundable rates. If a property's standard policy already allows for free cancellation until the time of arrival, Cancel for Any Reason will not be displayed to avoid guests paying for a redundant benefit.
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