This page explains how cancellations and refunds work on DirectStay. It summarizes the cancellation provisions of our Terms of Service, which govern in full.
The policy you book under is the policy that applies
Every listing displays its cancellation policy before you book, and that policy is locked to your booking the moment you confirm it. If a Host later changes the cancellation policy on their listing, the change has no effect on any booking already made — including yours. You will never be held to terms you did not see at checkout.
1.Before you book
- The cancellation policy for each property is shown on the listing and again at checkout, together with the full price breakdown — nightly rate, fees, and applicable taxes. Read it before confirming; policies vary by property, and by design we do not impose a single platform-wide rule on Hosts.
2.How your refund is worked out
- Each listing's cancellation policy sets how much you get back depending on how far ahead of check-in you cancel. The earlier you cancel, the more you get back. Before you book, the listing and checkout show the exact dates and refund amounts for your stay, for example 'cancel by March 3 for a full refund'. The same dates appear in your booking details. The refund applies to the nightly rate and the cleaning fee. Some listings set a minimum notice period; if you cancel inside it, you receive the refund shown for the final period before check-in. Taxes and third-party charges are refundable only as their own rules allow.
3.How to cancel
- Cancel through your booking in the Platform. On the day of check-in, or once your stay has started, you can't cancel directly. Instead, send a cancellation request through your booking and the Host will review it. Unused nights are not refunded automatically. The eligible refund is calculated automatically against your locked policy and shown to you before you confirm the cancellation. Your Host issues your refund. They will always refund at least the amount your policy allows and may choose to refund more. Refunds are issued to the original payment method, and the time it takes to appear depends on your bank or card issuer.
4.If the Host cancels
- If a Host cancels a confirmed booking, you receive a refund consistent with the circumstances, and we will make reasonable efforts to help you rebook. Host cancellations are recorded and addressed between DirectStay and the Host.
5.If you cannot occupy the property
- If you arrive and cannot occupy the property as booked — no working access with no prompt fix, the property is occupied, or it is genuinely uninhabitable — report it through the Platform immediately so it can be verified while it can still be addressed. Where a failure of this kind is verified, your remedy may include a full refund regardless of the listing's cancellation policy, together with rebooking assistance. Brief, promptly resolved problems and conditions outside the Host's control are handled differently; we look at evidence from both sides before making a determination.
6.Extenuating circumstances
- Where an event beyond anyone's reasonable control makes a stay unsafe, unlawful, or impossible — for example an evacuation order or a declared disaster affecting the property's area — DirectStay may permit cancellation with a refund that overrides the listing's policy. Inconvenience, ordinary weather, and changes of plan are not extenuating circumstances; for those, the locked policy applies, and travel insurance is worth considering.
7.Changing a booking instead of cancelling
- Where the Platform offers modifications, price differences are charged or refunded through your original payment method. A modification takes effect only once confirmed — and if it is declined or a payment fails, your original booking stands unchanged on its original terms, with your cancellation policy intact.
8.Refunds we always make
- Billing errors are corrected and refunded in full, without exception.
9.Questions
- Contact [email protected]. Full terms: Terms of Service · Privacy Policy.