Cancel for Any Reason - Everything you need to know

Gabriela Garcia

Updated February 11, 2026 17:06

Overview

The Cloudbeds Cancel for Any Reason product is a valuable new 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.

Availability of Cancel for Any Reason

The Cancel for Any Reason add-on is currently being released in phases. Following the initial pilot, it is being gradually enabled for all eligible Cloudbeds properties through Q1 2026.

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.

Prerequisites

Smart Policies Requirement: Cancel for Any Reason is dependent on and will only be enabled for customers who have transitioned to Smart Policies.
Dynamic Display: The appearance of Cancel for Any Reason during guest checkout on the booking engine is dynamic. It is based on variables such as the risk of that reservation being canceled and existing hotel policies.

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.
Language Support: All languages are supported.

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

Properties will be informed when a reservation includes Cancel for Any Reason coverage during the cancellation process.

When attempting to cancel a reservation with Cancel for Any Reason protection, a notification will appear confirming that the guest purchased the add-on. This ensures the hotel staff is aware that the cancellation is eligible for processing through HTS and can guide the guest accordingly.

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.
Reporting: At this time, canceled Cancel for Any Reason reservations will not be flagged or documented differently in reports or cancellation logs within the PMS. There is also no current reporting visibility for how many bookings included Cancel for Any Reason or the revenue generated from Cancel for Any Reason fees.
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.

Behavior depends on reservation conditions

Cancel for Any Reason is only shown to guests when it’s relevant — for example, for non-refundable or partially refundable rates.
If the property already allows free cancellation up until arrival, Cancel for Any Reason will not be displayed since it would not provide additional value to the guest.
Cancel for Any Reason will also not appear for same-day bookings made after the listed check-in time.
Cancel for Any Reason availability is dynamically managed by Cloudbeds and the HTS integration, not by the property.

About Cancel for Any Reason Reporting and Visibility

At this stage of the limited release, Cancel for Any Reason activity is not yet visible in Cloudbeds reports. Information such as cancellation log flags, Cancel for Any Reason fee details, or specific filters and reports related to Cancel for Any Reason bookings are not currently available.

These capabilities may be introduced in future releases as the product evolves.

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