Smart Policies FAQ

Yes. If a guest cancels their reservation via the Guest Portal, the Smart Policy rules (e.g., automated refunds or penalties) will apply automatically.

No. The system currently allows only one type of Smart Policy per reservation cart. You cannot combine rooms or rate plans associated with different Smart Policies within a single reservation.

You can configure Smart Policies by navigating to Settings > Policies. In the section “Cancellation and Pre-payment”, you can view templates and make adjustments.

You can configure a maximum of three cancellation periods/tiers/rules within a single policy.

Yes. You can now use the bulk assignment tool on the Policies page to assign a Smart Policy to all rate plans at once or select multiple rate plans in a single action, instead of editing each rate plan individually.

The internal name of the policy is not displayed to guests. Instead, the system displays the Policy Type (for example, “Fully refundable,” “Partially refundable,” or “Non-refundable”).

Guests can view the full Guarantee Policy, Cancellation Policy, and any supplemental details (e.g., pet policies) in the booking engine and confirmation emails.

The Booking Engine also displays dynamic cancellation messaging, such as “Fully refundable until [date]” while the cancellation window is still open, or “Free cancellation no longer available” once the refundable period has expired.

Supported payment methods include:

• Credit cards: Supported for all partial and full payments.
• Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) & Bank Transfers: Supported in Smart Policies (Version 2), provided there are no future automated scheduled payments.

Note: If the policy requires a future automated collection (like a remaining balance), Digital Wallets and Bank Transfers will not be displayed, as a valid credit card is required on file to facilitate the future automation.

Yes. For CBPay customers, cards are automatically validated at the time of booking to ensure the issuing bank permits charges.

In this scenario, you should configure the policy to “Capture credit card details” (collect card without immediate payment), which validates the card without placing a monetary hold or small authorization (like $1.00).

Yes, this specific workflow is possible using Smart Policies (Version 2), with the following configuration:

• At Booking: Set to “Collect card details” (validation occurs automatically via CBPay).
• Remaining Balance: Add a scheduled Authorization for 3 days prior to arrival (the system will place the authorization if the issuing bank permits).
• Capture: Set the policy to Capture (charge) the amount on the arrival date.

All automated actions occur at 12:00 AM (Midnight) local property time.

Yes. When payments are successful or declined, the system can send notifications, provided you have the relevant system notification for payment email notifications enabled.

All automated charges and policy triggers occur strictly at 12:00 AM (Midnight) local hotel property time on the scheduled date.

Example: If a check-in date is April 21st and payment is due 2 days before arrival, the payment processes at 12:00 AM (Midnight) on April 19th.

The result depends on the type of reservation change:

• Date changes: If you update the stay dates, the scheduled payment for the remaining balance automatically adjusts to reflect the updated total amount due.
• Room/rate changes: If the reservation is moved to a room or rate plan with a different price, the remaining balance and scheduled payment update as long as the Smart Policy is configured to collect the remaining balance.
• Items or add-ons: Adding an item or add-on does not update the existing scheduled payment through the charge-adjustment workflow.
• Adjust Charge: If you use Adjust Charge to reduce the reservation total, the pending scheduled payment is reduced to match the new balance. If the amount already collected covers the adjusted total, the pending scheduled payment is canceled.

Cloudbeds does not automatically refund an overpayment created by a charge adjustment. Any required refund must be processed manually.

This charge-adjustment behavior does not apply to reservations that are already checked in or to adjustments that increase the reservation total.

For more details, see How Smart Policies Apply to Reservations, Payments, and Cancellations.

Yes. Add-ons selected before the reservation is created are currently included as part of the deposit/prepayment calculation.

No. Smart Policies do not support specific custom times (e.g., 9:00 AM or 12:00 PM). All cancellation deadlines are based strictly on 12:00 AM (Midnight) local property time on the day the cancellation window closes.

Example: If check-in is April 21st and the policy requires cancellation “3 days prior,” the latest a guest can cancel for a refund is 12:00 AM (Midnight) on April 18th.

The No-show fee is supported, but it is technically equal to whatever is set as the Cancellation Policy.

Example: If your cancellation policy is “100% charge if canceled on arrival date,” the No-show fee will also be 100%. You cannot set a No-show fee that differs from the cancellation terms for that day.

Yes. During the cancellation flow, you can manually waive the automated cancellation or no-show fee by unchecking the Follow cancellation policy option.

When you do this, the system prevents the pending automated charge from being applied.

A Cancellation Note is required when overriding the policy, and this note is saved in both the Reservation Notes and the Activity History.

No. Overriding a Smart Policy only stops the system from applying pending automated cancellation or no-show charges.

If funds have already been collected, they must still be refunded manually through the folio.

The system compares the policy rules with the amount already collected:

• Refund: If the guest cancels within the designated cancellation period (e.g., fully refundable window), a full refund of the amount paid is issued automatically.
• Charge: If a guest cancels outside the cancellation window (e.g., late cancel), they are not refunded. If the penalty amount is greater than what has been paid, the system charges the outstanding balance.

No. The Smart Policy assigned to a reservation cannot be replaced with a different policy after the reservation is created, even if the reservation is moved to a different room or rate plan.

However, authorized users can turn Smart Policy automation off for an individual reservation. Turning Smart Policy off does not assign a different policy; it stops the remaining Smart Policy automation for that reservation and cannot be undone.

For details about turning Smart Policy off and what happens to scheduled payments, see Turn Off Smart Policy for a Reservation.

Yes. Users with the Override policy payment rules privilege can turn Smart Policy off for an individual reservation from the Folio tab.

When Smart Policy is turned off:

• Pending scheduled payments are canceled.
• Automatic payment processing stops.
• Automated collection or refund of cancellation and no-show fees stops.
• Payments already collected remain on the reservation.
• Any remaining balance or required refund must be handled manually.
• The reservation activity log records who turned Smart Policy off and when.

For the full workflow and permission requirements, see Turn Off Smart Policy for a Reservation.

When Smart Policy is active and pending scheduled payments exist, certain manual financial actions display a warning before you continue.

These actions include:

• Adding a manual payment
• Processing a refund
• Canceling a scheduled payment
• Voiding a payment or releasing an authorization
• Adding an item and charging for it during the same workflow

If you continue, the selected manual action is completed, pending scheduled payments are canceled, and Smart Policy is turned off for the reservation. Any remaining payments or required refunds must then be managed manually.

This does not apply to every manual reservation change. For example, using Adjust Charge to reduce the reservation total can update or cancel the pending scheduled payment while Smart Policy remains active.

For more details, see Managing Payments on Smart Policy Reservations.

The Payment policy not automated indicator means the reservation has been modified in a way that no longer fully follows the assigned Smart Policy payment automation.

When Smart Policy automation is bypassed, an alert indicator appears next to the rate plan in the Accommodations tab. Hover over the warning indicator to review the assigned policy details and confirm that the payment policy is not automated.

The bypass is also recorded in the reservation activity log. This bypass-tracking behavior applies only to reservations created after January 5, 2026.

This is different from the Smart Policy Off status. When Smart Policy is explicitly turned off for a reservation, pending scheduled payments are canceled and Smart Policy automation cannot be turned back on.

If you see Payment policy not automated, review the reservation's payment activity and scheduled payments to determine which actions may need to be handled manually.

To learn more about reservation-level Smart Policy behavior, see How Smart Policies Apply to Reservations, Payments, and Cancellations.

No. The system uses the existing table merge tag in confirmation emails. This tag automatically inserts the updated Guarantee Policy, Cancellation Policy, and Payment Schedule table into the email.

If your Smart Policy is configured to Collect Credit Card Details (capture card only), you can save the guest’s card without processing any payment when creating a manual reservation in the PMS.

To save the card without charging or authorizing:

1. In the Payments step of the reservation, leave the Amount field at 0.00.
2. Click Record existing payment.

When the amount is 0.00, Cloudbeds will:

• Save the guest’s credit card details
• Validate the card (if supported by your payment processor)
• Not charge or authorize any amount

This allows you to take a card as a guarantee for flexible rate plans without requiring upfront payment. If you enter an amount greater than 0.00, the PMS will follow the Smart Policy rules unless you manually override the action.

An interface improvement is planned to make this workflow clearer.

Smart Policy override actions are controlled by dedicated privileges in Roles & Permissions. Property administrators can decide which users can override payment rules, cancellation fees, no-show fees, and policy exceptions.

The Override policy payment rules privilege also controls whether a user can turn Smart Policy off for an individual reservation. Without this privilege, the user can view the Smart Policy information but cannot complete the turn-off action.

To review or update these privileges, go to the Account Menu > Settings > Users > Roles, then select the applicable role.

For more information, see Role privileges.

Yes. Staff can still create reservations. Without the Override policy payment rules permission, they cannot change the payment method, edit the deposit amount, or use the override option during reservation creation.

Yes. Staff can still cancel reservations and mark reservations as no-show. Without the related override permission, they cannot waive or change the Smart Policy financial outcome.

The user role likely does not have the Override policy payment rules permission enabled. When this permission is not enabled, the payment-type dropdown, editable deposit amount, and override option are hidden.

The user role may not have the Override cancellation fee permission enabled. Without this permission, the Smart Policy cancellation fee is enforced and the override controls are hidden.

The user role may not have the Override no-show fee permission enabled. Without this permission, the Smart Policy no-show penalty is enforced and the override controls are hidden.

The user role likely does not have the Create/Edit policy exceptions permission enabled. Without this permission, staff can browse, search, filter, sort, expand exception details, and view assigned rate plans, but they cannot create, edit, assign, enable, disable, or delete exceptions.

Smart Policy permissions are managed from the Account Menu > Settings > Users > Roles. Select the applicable role to review or update its privileges.

Smart Policy privileges include:

• Override policy payment rules: Allows users to override Smart Policy payment rules and turn Smart Policy off for an individual reservation.
• Override cancellation fee: Allows users to override the Smart Policy cancellation fee.
• Override no-show fee: Allows users to override the Smart Policy no-show fee.
• Create/Edit policy exceptions: Allows users to create, edit, assign, enable, disable, or delete Smart Policy exceptions.

These privileges are available when Smart Policies is enabled for the property.

For more information about configuring user roles and privileges, see Role privileges.

The Assign to rate plans action now also requires the Create/Edit Rate Plans permission. Without this permission, the action is hidden. Staff can still view, create, and edit individual policies if they have the required Hotel Policies permission.