How to set a cancellation policy

Most cancellation policies are written after the booking that needed one. Write yours now, in three sentences, and put it where clients see it before they book. The point is not to punish anyone; it is to make the next cancellation a non-event.

The three cases

1. The client cancels with notice. Usually a full refund of any deposit, or a free reschedule. Decide what "notice" means: 24 hours is common for short bookings, longer for long ones.
2. The client cancels without notice, or does not turn up. Usually the deposit is kept. Say so.
3. You cancel. Always a full refund, and ideally the first choice of a new time. Saying this builds more trust than anything else in the policy.

Wording that works

Short, specific, no legal tone. "Reschedule or cancel free up to 24 hours before. Inside 24 hours, or if you don't show, the deposit is kept. If I need to cancel, you get a full refund and first pick of a new time." That is the whole policy.

Where to put it

• On the booking page, near the Book button.
• In the confirmation email, repeated.
• In your reply when someone asks to cancel, as a quote, not a surprise.

Deposits and refunds

If you take deposits, the policy is really about the deposit. Make sure your booking tool can refund it, in full or in part, from the booking, and that a refund returns any platform fee as well. A policy you cannot execute is worse than none.