Reference
Cancellation
Cancellation terms are set by each host, on each experience they offer — not by us. Whichever level applies is shown to you before you pay, and it is the one enforced if you cancel.
No listing is open for booking yet. What follows is how it will work the moment a host opens theirs.
The four levels
Every one of these refers to the experience price — what the host charges, plus any equipment you rented. The service fee is separate and never comes back; it’s described below.
| Level | 7 or more days before | Under 7 days, 48 hours or more | Under 48 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible | Full | Full | Half |
| Moderate | Full | Half | None |
| Strict | Half | None | None |
| Non-refundable | None | None | None |
- Flexible
- Full refund of the experience price up to 48 hours before your visit, then 50%. If you cancel, the service fee is not refunded.
- Moderate
- Full refund of the experience price 7 or more days ahead, 50% inside 7 days, and no refund inside 48 hours. If you cancel, the service fee is not refunded.
- Strict
- 50% refund of the experience price 7 or more days ahead, and no refund inside 7 days. If you cancel, the service fee is not refunded.
- Non-refundable
- The experience price is not refunded if you cancel, at any point. If you cancel, the service fee is not refunded.
Most hosts leave this at Moderate, which is what applies if a host never changes it.
If the host cancels, or we do, you are refunded in full — the whole experience price and the service fee — whatever the date, including inside 48 hours, where the terms above would otherwise return nothing. Those terms cover cancellations you choose to make.
The service fee
Every price you see includes a service fee — 6% plus $1.50, once per booking, whatever the size of your party. The total on a listing is what you pay; underneath it the host’s own rate is shown separately, so you can see what each part costs before you go anywhere near a card.
The host receives their rate in full. The fee is ours, and it is the only thing HauntStay takes from the price.
If you cancel, it is not refundable. A month ahead or an hour ahead, the fee stays with HauntStay. It pays for taking the payment, holding the date against everybody else who wanted it, and the messages either side of the visit — work that a cancellation uses more of, not less.
That rule is the same under all four levels, and it is separate from them: the levels decide what happens to the host’s price, and a generous one still does not return the fee.
If the host cancels
You get the experience price and the equipment back in full — whatever level the listing was set to and however close to the date it happens. The host’s chosen terms govern your cancellation, not theirs.
The service fee comes back too. It is withheld when you call off a booking, not when one is called off on you — HauntStay absorbs it here rather than passing it to the host, who is usually cancelling because something went wrong with the building rather than with their intentions.
The same applies to a cancellation made by us, if we ever have to step in.
Moving your date instead
Booked the wrong date? Message the host — they can move your booking to another available night at no charge. Rescheduling costs nothing and does not count as a cancellation.
Two smaller things
Once it has started, it can’t be cancelled. After the start time has passed the option is gone, at any level.
You can never be refunded more than you paid. If you only paid a deposit, a refund is capped at that deposit — the percentages above apply to it, not to the full price.
This page explains how the refund system behaves. It is a summary for reading, not a contract — full Terms of Service are still being written. Questions about a specific booking go to support@hauntstay.com.