Your property's cancellation policy: how to write it, show it and make sure Google and AI read it right (2026)

Updated: 10 November 2026

The cancellation policy is what travellers ask about most before booking, and the first thing an AI assistant has to show them. If it says one thing on Booking.com, another on your website and another in the confirmation email, nobody can repeat it correctly. We read the official help pages of Booking.com, Airbnb and Google, schema.org and EUR-Lex (links at the end). Where we could not confirm something, we say so.

Summary

The law does not impose a specific policy: you choose, but you must state it before booking, clearly and without disproportionate penalties (Directives 2011/83/EU and 93/13/EEC).
Dated accommodation has no 14-day right of withdrawal: your policy is what counts. We explain it at /right-of-withdrawal-hotel-booking-14-days.
Booking.com: you set the free period and what you charge afterwards, or use a non-refundable rate.
Airbnb: you choose among fixed policies (Flexible, Moderate, Limited, Firm…) whose deadlines you cannot change.
Google Hotels can show «Free cancellation until…» if your rate is flagged as refundable and your website says the same.

What EU law says

Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, Article 6(1), requires you to state before the contract, among other things:

The total price including taxes (point e) and the arrangements for payment and performance (point g).
That there is no right of withdrawal, where that is the case (point k). Article 16(l) excludes it for accommodation on a specific date or period.
That information forms an integral part of the contract (Article 6(5)): what you published is what applies.
Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms requires plain, intelligible language; where there is doubt, the interpretation most favourable to the guest prevails (Article 5).
Its annex lists as possibly unfair requiring a disproportionately high sum in compensation from a consumer who fails to perform (point 1(e)) and keeping sums paid when the consumer cancels without equivalent compensation if the trader cancels (point 1(d)).
Regional or national rules and charging no-shows are covered at /hotel-card-guarantee-no-show-fee-pay-at-property-2026; storms, closures and strikes at /force-majeure-cancellation-hotel-holiday-rental-refund-2026.

Booking.com: custom or non-refundable policy

According to its partner help:

You decide whether there is a free cancellation period and how many days before arrival it lasts.
You decide what you charge if guests cancel later or do not show up (or always, if there is no free period).
The policy is linked to one or more rate plans and guests only see it once linked. A new policy only applies to later bookings.
Non-refundable rate: the guest pays in full even if they cancel, change or do not show up. The help page does not say it has to be cheaper.
Its solutions page recommends free cancellation «until 1 or 2 days before check-in» and also describes deposits, prepayment and pre-authorisation. It publishes no data on how many guests filter by free cancellation.

Airbnb: fixed policies with exact deadlines

Help Centre, article 475, stays under 28 nights (deadlines in the listing's local time):

Flexible: full refund up to 24 hours before check-in.
Moderate: full refund up to 5 days before; after that, the host is paid one night plus 50% of unused nights.
Limited (bookings from 1 October 2025): full refund up to 14 days before; 50% between 14 and 7 days; under 7 days, no refund of nights.
Firm: full refund up to 30 days before; 50% between 30 and 7 days; under 7 days, no refund of nights.
Strict and Super Strict (30 and 60 days): by Airbnb invitation only.
24-hour window: full refund if cancelled within 24 hours of confirmation, provided the booking was made at least 7 days before check-in. Some non-refundable hotel listings are exempt.
Non-refundable option: the guest pays less in exchange for no refund. The article does not state the discount.
Stays of 28 nights or more: Firm or Strict. Airbnb requires the policy to follow local rules and has separate policies for Italy, Germany, South Korea and California, which we have not reviewed.

Google Hotels and free cancellation

The Hotel Center help page («Refundable rates policy») explains:

Google shows your cancellation policy next to your rates. If the rate is flagged as refundable, it can appear in the cancellable filter with «Free cancellation until <date and time>», the latest local hotel time with a full refund.
The recommended way is to send the <Refundable> element in the price feed (attributes available, refundable_until_days and refundable_until_time).
Requirements: full refund to the original payment method including taxes and fees; your booking page must clearly say the rate is refundable; the deadline must show at checkout and match the one sent to Google.
If it does not match, Google warns that your price accuracy score drops and ads and free booking links may be turned off.
Whoever connects your prices to Google (booking engine or channel manager) handles this. Ask them what they send.

Structured data: what exists and what does not

schema.org/LodgingBusiness (and Hotel) has no cancellation property of its own: it has checkinTime, checkoutTime, petsAllowed, numberOfRooms, starRating and little else.
It inherits hasMerchantReturnPolicy, designed for shop returns. Even so, Google does use it for hotels in its hotel price structured data reference: Hotel > makesOffer > hasMerchantReturnPolicy, with returnPolicyCategory (MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow, or MerchantReturnNotPermitted if non-refundable), merchantReturnDays as the deadline date and time, and restockingFee for partial refunds.
Note: according to that reference, if you omit the policy the rate is treated as non-refundable. The page does not say who can use this markup or whether it counts outside Google Hotels.
Google Search Central's vacation rental markup is limited to sites already working with Google through Hotel Center and has no cancellation field.
No official source says AI assistants read this data. The safe option is to have the policy as visible text on your page.

How to write it: one sentence, dates and percentages

One sentence per rate, with deadline, time and what is charged. Example: «Free cancellation until 3 days before arrival (23:59 hotel time). After that, or if you do not show up, the first night is charged».
Non-refundable, just as clear: «Non-refundable rate: if you cancel, change or do not show up, the full stay is charged».
Use days before arrival and local time, not «with reasonable notice» or «subject to availability».
Say when and how payment is taken (at the property, prepayment, deposit) next to the policy, not on another page.
The same policy, in the same words, on Booking.com, Airbnb, your booking engine, Google and the confirmation email. If you use a fixed Airbnb policy, copy it word for word on your website.
Publish it on your property's official page, next to the price and before the booking button.
Translate it into the guest's language (at least English and your main markets' languages) and check the dates match.
Avoid disproportionate penalties: charging the full stay for a cancellation months ahead on a rate not sold as non-refundable is what Directive 93/13 lists as a possibly unfair term.

Why it matters for AI

An AI assistant booking for a traveller has to show the policy before confirming. If yours is one clear sentence, the same everywhere, it can repeat it without errors. Nobody can guarantee that an AI will recommend you, but a confusing policy is a reason for the traveller to hesitate.

How iQuota helps

In iQuota every rate carries its cancellation policy and payment terms, and the connector's instructions ask the AI assistant to show them to the traveller and get confirmation before booking. Direct booking, payment at the property and 0% commission.

Want an official booking page AI can read, with a clear cancellation policy and your real prices, commission-free? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Which cancellation policy is mandatory for a hotel?

None in particular under EU law: you choose, but you must state it before booking, clearly and without disproportionate penalties (Directives 2011/83/EU and 93/13/EEC).

What are Airbnb's policy deadlines?

Flexible: 24 hours before; Moderate: 5 days; Limited: 14 days (50% until 7); Firm: 30 days (50% until 7). Strict by invitation only (Help Centre article 475).

How does free cancellation appear on Google Hotels?

If your rate is flagged as refundable in the feed and your website clearly says so, Google can show «Free cancellation until» with the deadline date and time.

Is there structured data for hotel cancellation?

schema.org has no LodgingBusiness property of its own; Google uses hasMerchantReturnPolicy on offers in its hotel price markup.

Sources

More guides for hotels

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