Agoda is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings, an online travel agency and metasearch engine that helps travelers book hotels, vacation home rentals, flights, airport transfers, and activities.
Agoda is very popular in many Asian countries, so if you want to reach travelers from Asia, this OTA platform can be a good option for listing your vacation rental property.
To help you make an informed decision, in this blog, we'll talk about the Agoda cancellation policy—it's a critical aspect for hosts to consider because it directly impacts flexibility and potential revenue.
If you want to learn more about this OTA website, check out our article where we compare Agoda vs. Booking.com. Here, you can find details about what each platform offers for vacation rental hosts.
Agoda Cancellation Policy: How Flexible Is It?
Agoda has a strong presence in Asia and lists more than 2 million properties globally, making it easier for STR hosts and property managers to connect with potential guests worldwide. So if your rental is in a tourist hotspot or unique destination, Agoda can be a good option to list your Airbnb property as an additional channel.
A multichannel strategy will allow you to reach more travelers, potentially get more bookings, and maximize your revenue. Managing listings on several platforms won't be a problem if you opt for vacation rental software like Hospitable. You can automate 90% of routine tasks and manage all your listings from a single, convenient dashboard.
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While Airbnb has a standardized approach to cancellation policies that hosts can set for their listings, Agoda gives vacation rental hosts more flexibility. The platform allows you to customize cancellation policies for your listing based on room or offer types and specific dates. That means you can adjust cancellation policies for peak seasons or special promotions to protect your interests while accommodating your guests' needs.
Hosts can set their cancellation policy in Agoda YCS (Yield Control System). Agoda YCS is a partner's Extranet where property owners can manage their property content, rates, and availability on the Agoda website.
The YCS has two platforms where hosts can set their Agoda cancellation policy, choosing from a few different options: Cancellation Policy Setup and Rate Plan Setup.
Note that if you do not set up any policies for your listing, the Agoda system will apply the default cancellation policy automatically. Its terms are:
"Any cancellation received within 1 day prior to arrival date will incur the first night charge. Failure to arrive at your hotel will be treated as a No-Show and will incur the first night charge."
How Do You Set Up Agoda Cancellation Policy, and What Are Your Options?
In the Cancellation Policy Setup, you can add cancellation policies for different periods, such as Christmas or New Year's Eve.
- You need to go to Property and click Cancellation Policy Setup.
- After that, you need to click the Add Cancellation Policy button and select a date range, cancellation policy, and rate plan you would like to apply.
- Finally, you need to click on the Save button.
Remember that the strictest cancellation policy will be applied if you set more than one policy in the same period.
You can set a general policy for rate plans in the Rate Plan Setup, regardless of the season. Rate plans are structured pricing strategies that include a mix of factors such as booking flexibility and amenities.
Follow these steps to set your cancellation policy for a certain rate plan.
- Go to Rates & Availability and click Rate Plan Setup
- Select the Rate plan that you would like to set the cancellation policy
- Under Basic, search Cancellation policy. You can also click Select a cancellation policy.
- Choose the cancellation policy by clicking on the bullet and then click the Confirm button.
- Finally, click the Save button to save the rate plan setup.
Free and non-refundable cancellations
Agoda hosts can choose from several Free cancellation rate plans that allow guests to cancel their bookings without penalty. These plans look attractive to many travelers who prefer flexibility and need peace of mind to make a booking.
Offering free cancellation policies can help you attract more guests, but minimizing cancellations and no-shows' impact on your business is also essential. The best practices here are diversifying your rate plans to offer more choices to potential guests and being responsive to ensure fast answers to guests' questions after bookings.
You'll never miss any message from your guests and ensure quick responses if you opt for vacation rental software like Hospitable. Our system will also allow you to create a personalized message flow for each guest and automate 90% of your guest communication with the help of AI.
Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep
You can allow your guests to cancel for free at any time. Then, you select from the following options:
- Any cancellation received will be free of charge
- Cancellation is free any time before check-in time; no-show—the first-night charge
- Cancellation is free any time before check-in time; no-show—100% charge
- Cancellation is free any time before the check-in date. If you do not check in or cancel by then, the property will give no refund.
You can take advantage of a free cancellation plan by allowing your guests to cancel up to one day before check-in and select from the following options:
- Cancel 1 day before the arrival date is free of charge; no-show—the first-night charge
- Cancel 1 day before the arrival date is free of charge; no-show—100% charge
Hosts can also join the Agoda EasyCancel program that allows properties to offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before check-in on all existing and future bookings made during the activation period. Then, your listing will get an EasyCancel badge displayed on your Agoda webpage.
You can also offer your guests Non-refundable rate plans to attract guests looking to save money on bookings. Such guests are typically committed to their stay and would like a cheaper rate. Setting rate plans with the non-refundable cancellation policy will secure revenue for your property and reduce the likelihood that your rental will stay vacant due to last-minute cancellations.
Final Thought
As you see, Agoda offers hosts more flexibility in setting their cancellation policies, and you should take advantage of it. Setting different rate plans and adding different cancellation policies for specific periods will make your listing attractive to various types of guests and increase your chances of securing more bookings.
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