Cancellations and no-shows

Q: Where does the refund due go?

It is created for you as a pending refund on Payments › Refunds and adjustments . A manager approves it and it is paid out from there ( Refunds and payment adjustments ). Nothing is paid back automatically.

Q: What does a no-show pay?

What the booking's policy says under Charge a no-show : nothing, the first night, a percent or a fixed amount. The new-hotel default is the first night. Policies are set in Hospitality configuration › Cancellation policies .

Cancelling a booking or marking a no-show charges the fee the booking's policy sets. The deposit pays the fee; the rest becomes a refund due to the guest.

Hospitality Reservations and rates

5 min read

Updated October 20, 2026

For Front desk Night auditor Manager

The cancellation policy

Every booking carries a cancellation policy (from its rate plan): free until a number of hours before arrival, then a charge (nothing, the first night, a percentage or a fixed amount), and what a no-show pays. The default policy of a new hotel is free until 24 hours before arrival, then the first night; a no-show pays the first night. Policies are set in Hospitality configuration › Cancellation policies.

Cancel a booking

Open the booking and choose Cancel booking
Who
Front desk
Where
Reservations > the booking > Cancel booking
What changes
The drawer shows the Cancellation policy, the Deposit held, the Penalty and the Refund due to the guest, marked Free cancellation or Penalty applies.
Give the Reason
Waive the penalty if agreed
Where
Waive the penalty (manager approval)
Approval
A manager approves; in a new hotel a manager may waive up to 5,000 alone.
Confirm
What changes
The booking is cancelled and its rooms are free again. With a penalty, the fee is charged and invoiced on its own; the deposit pays it; the rest is a refund due to the guest.

Worked example: cancelling a two-night booking

A Deluxe room for two nights at 5,000 a night, arriving on the 20th. The hotel's check-in time is 14:00 and its policy is the new-hotel default: free until 24 hours before arrival, then the first night. The guest paid a deposit of 8,000. A fee is charged like any charge, here with a service charge of 10% and VAT of 13% on the amount plus service charge (the values set up for this example): the first night is 5,000 + 500 + 715 = 6,215.

The guest cancels	Hours before arrival	Cancel booking shows	What happens
On the 18th at 16:00	46	Free cancellation; Deposit held 8,000; Refund due to the guest 8,000	The booking is cancelled and the rooms are free again. No fee
On the 19th at 20:00	18	Penalty applies; Cancellation penalty 6,215; Deposit held 8,000; Refund due to the guest 1,785	The fee of 6,215 is invoiced on its own and the deposit pays it. 1,785 is left to pay back
On the 19th at 20:00, Waive the penalty (manager approval) ticked	18	Cancellation penalty 0, with a note that the refund due is worked out again	The waiver needs approval (see below). When you confirm, the whole deposit of 8,000 is refund due

The free period is counted back from the hotel's check-in time on the arrival day. In a new hotel a manager may waive a penalty of up to 5,000 alone, counted with its service charge and VAT. This one is 6,215, so a second approver's PIN is needed as well; a penalty of 5,000 or less would not need it.

No-shows

A guest who does not arrive is marked no-show: at the night audit under Pending arrivals, or from the booking (Mark as no-show). For each arrival not checked in, choose:

Choice	Result
Mark no-show	The no-show fee of the booking's policy is charged and invoiced; the deposit pays it
Move arrival to the next day	The booking waits one more day (only if it has a later night)
No-show, waive the fee (approval)	Marked no-show without a fee; a manager approves

A booking can be marked no-show only on or after its arrival date: before that, cancel it. On a booking with several rooms, each room is handled on its own, and each room's share of the deposit meets its own fee.

Worked example: the same guest does not arrive

On the 20th the guest has not arrived by the night audit. Night audit › Pending arrivals offers three choices for this booking (arrival on the 20th, a stay to the 22nd, deposit 8,000, a no-show fee of the first night).

You choose	Result
Mark no-show	The no-show fee of 6,215 is invoiced on its own; the deposit pays it; 1,785 is a refund due to the guest
Move arrival to the next day	The booking waits for the 21st. Only possible because the booking has a later night
No-show, waive the fee (approval)	Marked no-show with no fee; approved as above; the whole 8,000 is a refund due

A no-show is never in the free period. A booking can be marked no-show only on or after its arrival date: on the 19th, cancel it instead.

The money left over

The deposit pays the fee; anything above the fee is a refund due to the guest. Pay it out from Payments › Refunds and adjustments (see Refunds and payment adjustments).

Common questions

Where does the refund due go?

It is created for you as a pending refund on Payments › Refunds and adjustments. A manager approves it and it is paid out from there (Refunds and payment adjustments). Nothing is paid back automatically.

A booking with three rooms: one room does not come.

Each room is handled on its own, and each room's share of the deposit meets its own fee.

The policy has no penalty. What does the screen show?

A policy whose charge is "nothing" (or a booking with no policy at all) has no fee: the penalty is 0 and the whole deposit is a refund due.

What does a no-show pay?

What the booking's policy says under Charge a no-show: nothing, the first night, a percent or a fixed amount. The new-hotel default is the first night. Policies are set in Hospitality configuration › Cancellation policies.