Pick one clear cut-off — commonly 24 or 48 hours before departure, longer for trips where you commit to a boat, a permit or a staff rota further out. Say plainly what happens on each side of it: a full refund before, and the deposit retained after. Two sentences beat a table of sliding percentages nobody reads, and a policy your guests actually understand is a policy you can enforce without a row.
Weather is the one case where the guest has done nothing wrong, so treat it separately from a change of mind. State who makes the call and when (you, by a set hour on the morning), and what the guest gets: a reschedule first, a full refund if no date works. Be specific about the conditions that ground a trip — wind speed, water level, visibility — so a cancellation reads as a safety decision rather than a judgement call.
A policy buried on a website page is worthless if the booking was made in a chat. Send it in the confirmation message, repeat the key line when you ask for a deposit, and include it in the reminder before the trip. If a guest has seen it three times in the thread they booked in, a late cancellation stops being a dispute and becomes a known term.
Frequently asked questions
Should the deposit be non-refundable?
After your cut-off, usually yes — that is what makes the deposit work as a commitment. Before the cut-off, refund it: a guest who cancels early has cost you nothing and may well book again.
Refund or credit for a weather cancellation?
Offer the reschedule first and mean it, but keep a full refund available if no date works. Forcing a credit on a guest who is leaving the country is how a safe decision turns into a bad review.
More guides
How to take bookings on WhatsAppHow to reduce no-shows for toursHow to take deposits for tour bookingsHow to price your toursHow to get more direct bookingsSetting up WhatsApp Business for bookingsHow to write a tour cancellation policy