Hotels typically replace their default cancellation policy with a more restrictive one during high-demand periods and compression dates. For example, a retail rate HTRET with a standard 24-hour cancellation policy and one-night penalty may be overridden during New Year's weekend (December 29–January 1) to become non-refundable.
When a reservation spans dates with different policies (due to seasonal variations), the more restrictive policy applies to the entire reservation.
Terminology and Implementation
| Cancellation Policy | The terms (timeframes and penalty amounts) related to how a reservation gets invoiced, in the event of a cancellation or no-show. |
| Staggered Policy | Defined as a Cancellation Policy with multiple windows leading to the check-in date that will result in different penalty amounts if canceled in those windows. |
For example, a Cancellation Policy called Winter Special CXL Policy is set up as below:
Window 1: Cancel within 48 hours of Arrival: Non-Refundable
Window 2: Cancel within 7 days of Arrival: 75% Penalty
Window 3: Cancel within 30 days of Arrival: 50% Penalty
A Seasonal Policy setup can be as follows:
HTRET has a default policy set to 1D-1N (cancellations done after 24 hours before check-in, will invoke a 1-night penalty).
The Hotel then chooses to override the default policy with the following season definitions:
Dec 14 - Dec 31: Staggered Policy Winter Special CXL Policy applies
The following table explains which policy will apply:
| Search Request/Stay Dates | Applicable Policy |
|---|---|
| Dec 12 to Dec 13 | 1D-1N (Default Policy) |
| Dec 24 to Dec 31 | Winter Special CXL Policy |
| Dec 10 to Dec 15 | Winter Special CXL Policy - Since the last stay date (12/14) is subject to Seasonal Policy |
| Dec 13 to Dec 14 | 1D-1N - Since the check-out date is not evaluated for applicable policy |
| Dec 31 to Jan 4 | Winter Special CXL Policy |
Restrictive Policy Applies
The availability of multiple policies on adjoining dates of a stay requires business rules that you will have to code into your search systems. The table below will help you understand how will the final applicable cancellation policy be decided in cases when one or more seasonal policies could apply for the duration of the stay:
| Does default policy exist? | Does seasonal policy exist? | Which policy will be applied? |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Default policy applies. |
| Yes | Yes, 1 policy | Seasonal policy applies (even if it is less restrictive in terms of the penalty amount or cxl window). |
| Yes | Yes, More than 1 Policy
None of them are staggered policies |
In this case, the seasonal policy with the highest penalty or the longest penalty period, per the rules below will apply to the entire booking.
While comparing seasonal policies, the rules that need to be implemented for identifying the most restrictive policies must be implemented in the order specified here: 1. If a non-refundable policy exists, then that will apply 2. If there are multiple non-refundable policies, then whichever policy has a longer season will apply. Example, Default: 1D-1N Season 1: NRF, 15 days before check-in Season 2: NRF, 30 days before check-in. Then Seasonal Policy 2 (NRF, 30 days before check-in) will apply, as long as one of the stay dates (excluding check-out) falls on the above-mentioned seasons. 3. If the penalty amount is the same for all, then the policy with the longest cancellation window will apply. Example, Default: 1D-1N Season 1: 75% penalty, 15 days before check-in. Season 2: 75% penalty, 10 days prior to check-in. Then Seasonal Policy 1 (75% penalty, 15 days before check-in) will apply, as long as one of the stay dates (excluding check-out) falls on the above-mentioned seasons. |
| Yes | Yes, 1 or more regular policies and 1 staggered policy are applicable | This scenario is extremely unlikely to occur in production. Should it occur, apply the very first Seasonal Policy to the entire stay.
Example 1: Default Policy: 1D-1N Dec 14 - Dec 24: Staggered Policy Winter Special CXL Policy Dec 25 - Dec 31: 90D-90%, charge 90% if canceled within 90 days of check-in. Stay Dates: Dec 12 - Dec 29 - The Winter Special CXL Policy applies as it is the first Seasonal Policy that is touched. Example 2: Default Policy: 1D-1N Dec 14 - Dec 24: 90D-90%, charge 90% if canceled within 90 days of check-in. Dec 25 - Dec 31: Staggered Policy Winter Special CXL Policy Stay Dates: Dec 12 - Dec 29 - The 90D-90% Policy applies as it is the first Seasonal Policy that is touched. |
| Yes | Yes, More than 1 staggered policy is applicable | This condition will not be allowed per the rules built in Hotel Trader. |
Metadata Export
The information related to seasonal, staggered, and regular cancellation policies and their association will be provided in the Metadata templates that the Hotel Trader Operations team shares with you.