Cloudbeds Smart Policies Overview

Cloudbeds Smart Policies help properties manage payment, cancellation, and no-show rules while automating financial processes that would otherwise require manual intervention.

Unlike regular global policies, Smart Policies can be assigned to individual rate plans and adjusted for specific date ranges. They can also automate payment collection, refunds, and applicable cancellation and no-show fees.

This article explains how Smart Policies work, where they appear in Cloudbeds PMS, how they apply to reservations, and which permissions control financial overrides.

In this article

• How Smart Policies work
• Where to find Smart Policies settings
• Smart Policy permissions
• How Smart Policies apply to reservations
• Cancellation and no-show fees on the folio
• Where Smart Policy information appears

How Smart Policies work

Smart Policies connect financial rules to the rates guests book. Instead of relying only on one set of property-wide policies, properties can configure different rules for different rate plans and automate supported financial processes.

A Smart Policy can define four main components:

• Guarantee Method: Defines the guarantee requirements associated with the reservation.
• Remaining Balance Payment: Defines the payment plan for the remaining reservation balance.
• Cancellation Policy: Defines the financial terms that apply when a reservation is canceled.
• No-show Policy: Defines the financial terms that apply when a guest does not arrive.

These components help properties manage financial expectations consistently across reservations while reducing manual work for property staff.

Smart Policies also support:

• Rate plan assignments: Apply different policies to individual rate plans.
• Date-based exceptions: Override a standard policy for selected dates, such as holidays, special events, or peak seasons.
• Financial automation: Automate supported payment, refund, cancellation fee, and no-show fee processes.
• Role-based permissions: Control which staff members can override financial outcomes or manage policy exceptions.

The applicable policy is determined by the reservation's rate plan and any active exception that applies to its stay dates.

Where to find Smart Policies settings

When Smart Policies is enabled, several areas of Cloudbeds PMS are updated. These settings allow administrators to manage policies and help staff identify which rules apply to reservations.

Policies section

Within the existing Policies section, two tabs separate Smart Policies from channel deposit settings:

• Payment & Cancelation: View and manage Smart Policies, including guarantee methods, remaining balance payment plans, cancellation policies, and no-show policies.
• Channel Deposit: Manage the existing deposit and payment processing rules used for OTA reservations. These settings remain separate from Smart Policies for direct reservations.

Within Smart Policy cancellation settings, you can also configure whether no-show fees follow the cancellation policy or use a separate amount.

Rate Plans and Packages

On the Rate Plans and Packages page, the Policy dropdown allows you to assign a Smart Policy to an individual rate plan.

The optional Policy Exceptions tab on the same page allows you to create, manage, and monitor date-based policy overrides across the property.

For detailed configuration instructions, see Set up Smart Policies and Use Smart Policy Exceptions to Override Cancellation Policies for Specific Dates.

Other affected settings

• Payments and Processing: The Processing Method for Booking Engine source is removed because payment behavior for direct reservations is managed by the applicable Smart Policy.
• Roles & Permissions: Property administrators can control which staff members can override Smart Policy financial outcomes or manage policy exceptions. These permissions appear only when Smart Policies is enabled.

Smart Policy permissions

Smart Policies include four permissions that control who can change financial outcomes or manage date-based policy exceptions. Property administrators can manage these permissions on the Roles & Permissions page.

Reservation permissions

Under Reservation Permissions, the following permissions control financial overrides:

• Override or turn off Smart Policy automation: Allows staff to override or disable Smart Policy automation for a reservation.
• Override cancellation fee: Allows staff to waive cancellation fees calculated by the applicable Smart Policy.
• Override no-show fee: Allows staff to waive no-show penalties calculated by the applicable Smart Policy.

Rates permissions

Under Rates permissions, the Create/Edit policy exceptions permission controls whether staff can create, edit, assign, enable, disable, or delete date-based policy exceptions on rate plans.

Default permissions and custom roles

The initial permission settings depend on the role:

• Admin roles: Retain full access by default.
• Existing custom roles: Receive Smart Policy permissions based on related permissions they already had when Smart Policies was enabled.
• New custom roles: Have all four Smart Policy permissions turned off by default. Administrators can enable them as needed.

Administrators should review the assigned permissions when determining which team members can waive financial penalties, disable automation, or manage policy exceptions.

How Smart Policies apply to reservations

Cloudbeds determines the applicable Smart Policy using the reservation's rate plan and stay dates. Understanding this behavior helps staff explain the applicable terms and identify the correct financial rules.

Default Smart Policies and rate plans

• The default Smart Policy applies to the property's Base Rate and to rate plans without another Smart Policy assigned.
• Properties can assign different Smart Policies to individual rate plans.
• An active Smart Policy Exception can temporarily override the standard policy for the Base Rate or a rate plan during a specified date range.

How date-based exceptions are evaluated

When Smart Policy Exceptions are configured, Cloudbeds evaluates each night of the reservation, starting with the check-in date and excluding the checkout date.

The first night that matches an active exception determines which Smart Policy applies to the entire reservation.

This means the applicable policy is not determined independently for each night. One resolved Smart Policy applies to the reservation based on the exception evaluation.

To configure date-based overrides, see Use Smart Policy Exceptions to Override Cancellation Policies for Specific Dates.

Cancellation and no-show policies

Smart Policies can define separate financial outcomes for cancellations and no-shows.

• Cancellation Policy: Determines the amount a guest owes when a reservation is canceled, according to the configured cancellation terms.
• No-show Policy: Determines the amount a guest owes when a reservation is marked as no-show.

Properties can configure no-show fees using one of the following options:

• Same as cancellation policy: The no-show fee follows the applicable cancellation policy. If the cancellation terms change, the no-show fee remains aligned with those terms.
• Custom amount: A separate no-show fee can be configured as a percentage of the total, a fixed amount, or the first night's price.

The applicable no-show fee is used whenever a reservation is marked as no-show, whether the status is updated manually by staff, by a connected system, or during the nightly audit.

For additional information about how Smart Policies affect reservation and payment workflows, see How Smart Policies Apply to Reservations, Payments, and Cancellations.

Cancellation and no-show fees on the folio

For eligible reservations with active Smart Policy automation, Cloudbeds can automatically post cancellation and no-show fees to the reservation folio, including applicable policy taxes and fees.

The posting behavior depends on the configured Smart Policy, the fee type, and whether the reservation is eligible for automation.

For detailed information about fee posting, applicable taxes and fees, existing folio transactions, payment processing, overrides, and troubleshooting, refer to Automatically Post Cancellation and No-show Fees to the Folio.

Where Smart Policy information appears

Once a Smart Policy is applied to a reservation, its information is available in different parts of the guest and staff experience. This helps staff review the applicable rules and helps guests understand their payment and cancellation terms.

Expand the sections below to see where Smart Policy information is displayed.

For property staff in Cloudbeds PMS

When creating or reviewing a reservation, staff can see the applicable policy alongside the room and rate plan information.

Policy summaries help staff review:

• Guarantee requirements.
• Remaining balance payment rules.
• Cancellation terms.
• No-show terms.

If an active Smart Policy Exception applies to the reservation dates, the displayed policy reflects the applicable exception.

For guests on the Booking Engine

The Booking Engine displays the applicable Smart Policy for each room and rate plan.

Depending on the selected rate, guests can review:

• The deposit due at booking.
• Upcoming payments.
• Applicable cancellation terms.
• Applicable no-show terms.

When a Smart Policy Exception applies, the Booking Engine displays the resolved policy based on the guest's selected stay dates.

In guest emails

Smart Policy information is automatically included in supported guest email templates.

Depending on the applicable policy, this information can include payment rules, cancellation terms, and no-show terms.

With these settings and visibility points, property staff can identify the policy associated with a reservation, understand its financial terms, and recognize when additional configuration or permission changes are needed.

Related articles

Explore the following guides to configure Smart Policies and understand how they affect reservation workflows:

• Set up Smart Policies: Configure Smart Policies and assign them to rate plans.
• How Smart Policies Apply to Reservations, Payments, and Cancellations: Understand how Smart Policies affect reservations, payment collection, cancellations, and no-shows.
• Use Smart Policy Exceptions to Override Cancellation Policies for Specific Dates: Configure date-based overrides for selected rate plans or the Base Rate.