Refundable Bookings Overview
Refundable Bookings
We have launched an innovative new feature for our clients called Refundable Bookings, which enables your guests to select upgraded Refund Terms when making a booking without any risk to your business or revenue!
- Full refunds - Guests receive 100% refund of their transaction (including any extras purchased in the booking)
- Increase guest booking confidence – Guests now have more confidence to book in advance knowing that they will receive a 100% refund if something unforeseen prevents them from attending their stay
- Refunds paid for you - Refunds paid entirely on your behalf; you keep the original payment & guests receive full refund
- Costless & Additional Revenue - All costs are passed onto the guest & you generate an additional 1.5% of each total Refundable Booking value
- Refund admin handled for you – All Refundable Refund Applications are handled entirely on your behalf through our administrators of the service who have a 4.7 star rating on Trustpilot here
- Quick Refunds within 72 hours – Guests receive a superior guest experience during difficult circumstances with average refund processing time of 4 hours from application submission!
- Entirely optional to guests – Refundable Bookings are recommended as an option to guests and is not mandatory however has been seen to increase
Refundable Bookings helps your guests book confidently knowing that if an unforeseen circumstance affects the guest and prevents them from travelling, each guest will be eligible for a 100% refund of their entire transaction paid entirely for you by our administrators of this service. We include as many circumstances as possible within the Refundable T&Cs that may affect any guest, including the example scenarios below:
- COVID-19 Infection – See Details
- Illness
- Accident / Injury
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Pregnancy Complications
- Death
- Public Transport Failure (to their booking)
- Mechanical Breakdown of your vehicle (to their booking)
- Adverse Weather (to their booking) Home Emergency
- Theft of Documents
- Jury Service
- Court Summons
- Armed Forces & Emergency Services Recall
- Relocated for Work
- Changes to Examination Dates
To view even more scenarios and the simple evidence required, please read the full Refundable T&Cs here
Refundable Bookings are offered to your guests during your booking process prior to payment and can be found as a small optional box for the guest to select. When selected, a small fee is added to their transaction for the upgraded terms and once the guest has paid, their upgraded Refund Terms will be active.
FAQs
How does this benefit our company?
Not only do Refundable Bookings ensure the guest has a more flexible cancellation policy in uncertain times, guests receive a superior customer experience all whilst you generate a lucrative revenue stream from this costless feature!
How much do the Refundable Bookings cost me?
Nothing! All fees are paid for by the guest at the point of booking and you even generate an additional 1.5% of the total booking value for transactions that guests have opted-in to be Refundable.
My guest can’t attend their Booking; how do they apply for a refund?
Once the guest has made their payment, they will receive a booking confirmation email from you as normal which now contains an additional section about their Refundable booking. The guest then clicks the direct link to the dedicated online application form and uses their standard booking reference to open their refund application and complete.
When can the guest apply for a refund?
The guest may apply for a refund via the online Refund Application Form any time up to the time of stay and even 60 days after, should the guest not have been able to attend.
How long does it take for the guest to receive their refund?
Once the guest has submitted their refund application, the guest will receive confirmation of receipt from the dedicated Customer Experience team and if approved, the guest will receive their refund within 72 hours directly to their chosen bank account (average processing time is 4 hours!).
The booking has been cancelled by you (the hotel or resort), is this included in Refundable Bookings?
Refundable T&Cs are only applicable for personal circumstances affecting the individual and therefore cancellation or delay by you is not included in the Refundable T&Cs. If their booking is cancelled you, the guest will follow your standard cancellation terms of sale.
What happens if the guest’s circumstance isn’t included in any of the Refundable Terms?
If your guest feels their circumstance is “unforeseen” and/or classed as an “emergency” then we would recommend the guest to still apply through the online Refund Application Form as the circumstance will be considered by our consumer-centric Customer Experience team.
What is excluded from the Refundable Terms?
Any circumstance that is not detailed in the T&Cs nor can be considered an unforeseen and/or emergency circumstance would not be eligible for a refund. Please find a list of generic exclusions in our Terms and Conditions under “Specific reasons where refunds will not be provided:”.
We can’t give you a full specific list of exclusions due to “emergency circumstances” which are handled on a discretionary basis, and as it would restrict our terms for your guests. However generally “I don’t want to attend or feel like attending/I can’t attend because of a reason that was foreseen at the time of booking” is not a valid reason for refund.
Refundable Terms do not include if the booking / event is cancelled by you. The Refundable Terms are only applicable to personal unforeseen and emergency circumstances preventing guests from attending their bookings.
Do these extended terms include COVID-19 related circumstances?
We adapted to the current climate to include most of the common COVID-19 related circumstances on an entirely discretionary basis. It is important to read our full Terms for these cases here, however in summary they include the following:
1. The guest, or someone within the guest’s Immediate Household, have contracted Covid-19 within the 14 days immediately prior to the Booking; supported by evidence of a positive test result.
2. The hospitalization, or death, of the guest’s Immediate Family Member due to Covid-19, within the 28 days immediately preceding the Booking; supported by a medical / death certificate.
3. A significant change in the guest’s pre-existing medical condition in the 14 days immediately prior to the Booking results in a Doctor recommending the guest do not Attend due to the risk of exposure to Covid-19.
Refunds are not issued where the guest does not attend because the guest is concerned about catching Covid-19 or are self-isolating without a positive Covid-19 test, or where the Booking is cancelled
These reasons for refund are considered on an entirely discretionary basis and are not to be taken as a guarantee of refund.
Now that you have an understanding of the benefits of the Refundable Bookings feature, click here to set it up in your Webready account!