Traveler-initiated cancellations and change requests

November 18, 2020

After reviewing feedback from our partners and travelers, we’re enabling travelers to request cancellations or reservation changes by emailing property managers. 

This does not impact your existing cancellation policies or communications procedures. Traveler-initiated requests simply allow you and your traveler to connect more quickly for a faster resolution.

• Travelers can now request reservation stay date changes and cancellations from directly within their MyTrips page.
• You’ll receive an email with the requested changes. (This will go to your account email.)
• You’ll then review and process the requests in your software the same way you do today.

You’ll own the communication from here per your normal processes to find a resolution with your traveler. Remember: You don’t have to accept every request, especially if the traveler is already outside your cancellation window. 

If a traveler requests to modify the booking, the subject line will be “Changes requested.” The body of the email will contain the reservation ID and listing ID. Do not change the reservation ID when you confirm the booking with the traveler.

If a traveler asks to cancel, the subject line will include “Cancellation request for: [reservation ID].” The body of the email will contain reservation ID and listing ID.  

If you want to adjust the payment or provide a discount, work with the traveler directly to agree on price changes. Our content directs the traveler to work with the property manager regarding price changes and expects partners to pass price change data to flow through the BUS, which would then go to MyTrips.  

If your traveler has trip insurance, tell travelers to contact their trip insurance provider directly and let them know about the booking change.  

If you use software and it doesn’t allow you to make booking modifications, you should follow your usual process when a traveler requests a modification. If you can’t modify the booking and need to cancel, make sure you select “initiated by traveler” as the cancellation reason code in your software.  

In many cases, travelers don’t realize they can ask to modify their booking if they need to change their dates or the number of guests. This can lead to travelers cancelling the booking completely. To help travelers more easily make updates and to reduce cancellations, we've simplified and improved the experience to modify a booking.  

• Request changes to dates based on your calendar availability
• Request changes to number of guests
• Request to cancel the booking
• Send a message using the free-text field

The traveler-initiated reservation change requests process will mirror the cancellation request process outlined above and is a custom message the traveler sends you from their dashboard. You'll update the reservation dates in your software once you confirm the new reservation details with the traveler.

Travelers can also “Request Change” through their MyTrips account. If you want to offer a credit instead, work directly with the traveler following your current process. Confirm with the traveler if they intended to cancel or change dates.