Chapter 6

HomeAway Cancellation Policy

Last updated: March 2024

HomeAway is now Vrbo. View our Ultimate Vrbo Host Guide to get the most updated information, or click here to learn about current cancellation policies.

HomeAway’s cancellation policy allows owners to choose what they feel is good for the vacationer to choose for cancellation.

When someone has an emergency, and they need to cancel their stay with the vacation rental, they should have an option or be made aware of the HomeAway rental cancellation policy that is set in place.

When you have one of these, you can ensure that the person cancels on time so that you can either rent the property out to someone else or you can hold a part of the deposit that they had made to hold their spot in the property.


Disclaimer: If you’re a Lodgify customer and want to connect via API with HomeAway, please get in touch with our customer support team to request changes in cancellation policies. For more information: Connect Lodgify to HomeAway/VRBO

Which cancellation policy should I choose?

To avoid scams, HomeAway hosts are able to choose from five different HomeAway host cancellation policies that are standardized in the system. This is there to protect not only the guests but also the hosts.

Firm Cancellation Policy

This is a more firm HomeAway cancellation policy that ensures that the HomeAway owner of the rental is compensated for holding that spot and gives them enough time to find a replacement guest.

Those that are looking to cancel can do so up to 60 days in advance of the stay to receive all of their money back and the owner is not charged any booking fees for this stay.

Those who cancel up to 30 days in advance of their stay can get half or 50% of their money back, and the owner is charged booking fees on the money kept for the stay.

Strict Cancellation Policy

With no options whatsoever on this cancellation policy for HomeAway, it just states that a guest only has 60 days to get a 100% refund of the money they put down, and the owner is not charged booking fees.

Moderate Cancellation Policy

For those that want something that is more laid back for everyone, the guest has up to 30 days before their expected arrival to get a 100% refund of their money, and the owner of the property is not charged any booking fees.

They also have the option to cancel up to 14 days in advance to get half or 50% of their money put down for the rental back. The vacation rental owner is charged booking fees on the amount that was paid for this.

Relaxed Cancellation Policy

There is also a more relaxed approach which is the most relaxed, that many can choose from that gives the guest 14 days or two weeks to cancel their stay and receive their money back completely, while the vacation rental owner is not charged booking fees.

The other option is that the guest can get 50% of their money back if they cancel within 7 days from their day, and then the vacation rental owner is charged booking fees for that amount.

No Refund Policy

There is also a no-refund policy that an owner can choose to go with, which just states that no refund is offered for cancellations of any kind at any point in time.

How to cancel a reservation as a HomeAway owner

If you want to cancel a reservation that someone has made on a property then you have to:

  1. Go into your HomeAway account and click on the listing that you wish to cancel if you have multiple listings.
  2. Find the reservation on the calendar that you wish to cancel and then click on Open the Details.
  3. You will have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and then click on Cancel Reservation.

How to adjust the cancellation policy as a HomeAway user

  1. You have to log into your HomeAway account and click on the property you want to edit if you have more than one.
  2. Go to that property’s settings panel and click on the Rental Agreement and Cancellation policy.
  3. Click on the Cancellation policy section and select which policy you’d like to go without of the five standard options that are offered and then make sure to click Save.

How to adjust the HomeAway cancellation policy from Lodgify

If you want to adjust your HomeAway cancellation policies and are a Lodgify customer connected via API, please get in touch with our customer success team to request changes. For more information, check out our Knowledge base article here.