Deposits, non-refundable or not?

[The_Sanctuary]

Your advice please....

How big a deposit do you ask for?

Is 10% enough?

Can we charge extra for online payment transaction fees?

Is it OK if we say it's non-refundable?

What happens if a guest cancels early enough but asks for their deposit back?

You might think these are dumb & basic questions, but we have only just reached the point where the number of no-shows has become an aggravation. In our first seven years, we only had two cancellations and only one no-show. But this year we've already had five cancellations and two no-shows. Something has changed, not sure what, but it's not a change for the good. :-(

[greenbarncottages]

What's your line of business? I've spent some time looking for information on this sort of subject for self-catering, but I suspect each sector has its own issues, so may not be much use to you if you're not a s/c provider.

[joyce_taylor]

Whatever sector you are in google some local `competition` and go onto their terms and conditions page of their website you will soon find out what is the norm for your type of business and your area.

[Sue: White Horse Walking Holidays]

I have a B&B and charge the first night when booking. It's non-refundable but that would depend if and when they actually cancelled and if I'd turned down other bookings. I've never had a no-show.
My payment structure is different for walking holidays. Then I charge 30% deposit, and a further payment of 60% 4 weeks before arrival. That's because I put a lot of time into researching the walks. I've only had 1 cancellation, which was a walking holiday and I gave him a credit note for his payemntes less the initial 20% - he's since taken his holiday.

[ronnoellebolzern]

I hope someone can help with this situation. We had a party send a deposit for a booking. We advised them that we take a 20% deposit at the time of booking with the remainder due 6 weeks before arrival. Some months later we were advised that they were not sure if they would be coming due to their circumstances. The deadline for payment came and went and my husband contacted them 2 weeks later and said that they must have forgotten. They said they had not forgotten but still did not know if they were coming. My husband said if they were not paying we would have to remove the booking from the website and could not hold the house for them. They said that they understood.We said that if the house was still available and it turned out they wanted it we would honour the booking despite the fact we felt they had messed us about.
We had people who wanted the house for two weeks rather than one over the period but they found something else because we had said that we were not sure what the other people were doing. Eventually we managed to take another booking and informed the first party that the house was no longer available.
They said that they wanted their deposit back and cited the fact that they had not seen any terms and conditions.We have run things without publishing them which as I understand is not a legal requirement although with hindsight a good idea.
We always tell peopld the requirements and in this case had followed up the payment delay and given them longer to pay. We know that if they had paid the full amount and then cancelled we would have a duty to try to relet which we did and they could have their money back but the deposit was to secure the property until final payment and we honoured our side of the contract even though they were in breach of theirs without paying. They clearly wanted us to assume all the risk and hold the house until they came or did not come for 20% deposit.
Can anyone advise as to whether we must refund their deposit? The second booking was for a few pounds more than the first so we could withold the deposit minus the difference.
Thanks.

[_grockles]

Are your T&c's on line? If they visited your web site they had a chance to view them. Try printing T&C's on the back of your booking confirmation. Don't refund if they were aware of the T&C's. If they really weren't maybe a good will of 50% return would be nice to prevent any poor reviews

[Manju]

Hi,

Today I had booked for a B&B accomodation and I had to cancel the accomodation due to change of plan. I had checked on the website of B&B and below is the policy they have in place on there website.

I cancelled the booking and I was told I will not be refunded my deposit. Please let me know whether I can get the deposit refunded as they haven't mentioned about non-refundable deposit on there web site.

################################################## ######
Deposit Required

We will request a deposit to confirm the booking, this can be paid by cheque, bank transfer, debit or credit card (no extra charge for deposit paid by card).

Cancellation

Please let us know as soon as possible if you wish to cancel the booking.

Any cancellations within 7 days of the expected arrival date will be charged unless we are able to re-let the room.

################################################## #########

Thanks,
-Manju

[Martin]

Hi Manju,

It seems abundantly clear to me that you will have to pay for your change in plan, not the b&b. You may also be liable for the full amount of the booking, not just the deposit, depending on how lenient the b&b owners are.

I suggest that you check your travel insurance policy to see if they will reimburse you.

Regards,

Martin.

[Manju]

Hi Martin,

The booking was done almost 30 days in advance. I had booked for B&B for 21st July on 23rd June. So does this still mean I can't get back the deposit even though I cancelled almost a month in advance.

Thanks,
-Manju