This Policy describes when and how a guest can cancel a Stays booking, what refund applies, and what happens when a host cancels.
1. Property-Level Policies
Each property listed on Stays selects one of three cancellation tiers, displayed clearly on the listing before you book. The tier governs how much of the booking total is refundable when you cancel.
| Tier | Free cancellation window | After the free window | Within 24 hours of check-in or after check-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible | up to 24 hours before check-in | 50% refund of nightly total | no refund of nightly total |
| Moderate | up to 5 days before check-in | 50% refund of nightly total | no refund of nightly total |
| Strict | up to 7 days before check-in (only within 48 hours of booking) | 50% refund up to 7 days before; otherwise no refund | no refund of nightly total |
In all tiers:
- Service fees charged to the guest are refunded if cancellation is within the free-cancellation window of the tier; otherwise non-refundable.
- Cleaning fees are refundable if you cancel before the free-cancellation window; otherwise the host may retain them per their listed policy.
- Already-charged taxes are refunded proportionally to the refundable amount.
The exact refund is computed at the time you cancel and shown before you confirm.
2. How to Cancel
Cancel through the booking screen in the app. Cancellations are time-stamped against the property's local time zone and the cutoff in §1.
3. Cancellation by the Host
If a host cancels your booking before check-in, you receive a full refund automatically. Where Zuta has alternative inventory in the same area, we may offer rebooking assistance, but you are not obligated to accept it.
4. Cancellation by Zuta
Zuta may cancel a booking — with full refund — when there is evidence of fraud, listing misrepresentation, safety concerns at the property, regulatory or platform-policy violations, or operational failure.
5. Major Disruptions and Force Majeure
When a major external event (e.g., natural disaster, official travel restriction, or a similar event affecting the property's market) makes a stay impossible or unsafe, Zuta may apply a major-disruptions override that allows cancellation with full refund regardless of the property tier. The criteria for activating an override are documented internally and are applied uniformly across affected bookings.
6. No-Show
If you do not arrive and do not cancel by check-in time, the booking is treated as a no-show and is not refundable except where required by law.
7. Modifications
A change of dates is treated as a cancellation of the original booking and a new booking under the property's currently published policy. Where the host approves the change, Zuta may waive the cancellation portion at its discretion.
8. Refund Timing
Approved refunds are issued to your original payment method, typically within 5–10 business days depending on processor.
9. Repeated Cancellations and Abuse
Zuta may suspend the booking privilege or restrict the account when there is evidence of repeated last-minute cancellations, coordinated fraud, or chargeback abuse.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy. Material changes are versioned and may require re-acceptance before your next booking.