Cancellation Policies
Configure cancellation tiers, cancel bookings and events, and settle no-shows and refunds.
Overview
A cancellation policy defines what happens when a booking is cancelled: whether cancel is allowed, how much is refunded, whether a fee applies, and whether meter deductions are restored.
Policies live in a catalog for your organization. You can set an organization default, override it on a specific event, or attach a different policy to a single price option. When someone books, Members keeps the policy rules that applied at that time on the booking, so later catalog edits do not change how that booking settles.
Manage policies in the admin dashboard. Link them when you create events or set price options.
Policy tiers
Each policy has ordered tiers based on how far before start the cancel happens:
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hours before start | Minimum hours before the slot start for this tier to apply |
| Allow cancel | Whether cancellation is permitted in this window |
| Refund percent | Share of the paid amount to refund |
| Fee amount | Flat cancellation fee |
| Refund deductions | Whether meter benefit deductions should be restored |
Members picks the matching tier from the booking's schedule and the time of cancel. Before you confirm a cancel, you can preview the refund, fee, and any benefits that will be restored.
Example: standard class policy
A typical house rule might read:
Cancel more than 24 hours before start for a full refund. Within 24 hours, a $10 late cancel fee is applied but any membership credits are restored. Within 2 hours of start and no-shows, a $20 no-show fee is charged.
That policy as tiers:
| Hours before start | Allow cancel | Refund percent | Fee amount | Refund deductions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Yes | 100% | None | Yes |
| 2 | Yes | 0% | $10 | Yes |
| 0 | No | 0% | $20 | No |
Create and manage policies
Create and manage cancellation policies during event creation.
- Create a named policy with one or more tiers.
- Optionally set it as the organization default.
Archiving removes the policy from the active catalog. Bookings that already used the policy will keep the rules they booked under.
You can add a cancellation policy in three places:
- Organization default (lowest priority)
- Event-specific policies
- Price-specific policies (highest priority)
Organization default
Mark one policy as the organization default. Events that do not set their own policy inherit that default. Use a clear default for paid classes so every event gets sensible rules without choosing a policy each time.
Event-specific policies
On an event, choose a cancellation policy when that activity should differ from the organization default (for example a stricter workshop policy, or a looser social). If the event has no policy set, the organization default applies.
Price-specific policies
A price option can use its own cancellation policy. That overrides the event and organization default for bookings that use that option.
A common pattern is an Insured ticket: a higher price with a policy that allows free cancellation anytime (for example one tier at 0 hours before start, allow cancel, 100% refund, restore deductions). Members who choose Insured get flexible cancel rules; everyone else on the standard rate keeps the usual event or organization policy.
Cancel a booking
Open the booking in the admin dashboard and cancel it. Only confirmed or held bookings can be cancelled. Holds are exempt from cancellation policies.
A cancellation preview dialog shows the refund, fee, and any benefits that will be restored, based on the time remaining before the booking start. Staff can override the precalculated refunds or fees.
Depending on the outcome, a credit note or invoice may be created, and the booking payment method can be charged for the invoice.
Members cancelling in the member website and app always follow the policy. Only staff can override settlement. See Cancel a booking.
Cancel an event
Mark an event (or one occurrence in a series) as cancelled from the event details so it does not take new bookings. Existing bookings still need handling: move members, cancel under policy, or communicate separately. Cancelling an event is separate from cancelling one member's booking, and the cancellation policy will not be applied to existing bookings.
No-shows
A no-show is a lack of attendance, not a booking cancellation. The attendance is kept seprate to ensure traceability. Mark a confirmed booking as no-show when the member did not attend.
The no-show fees or refunds will still read from the booking's cancellation policy. It will use the policy tier closest to the event start (the last tier that applies as the start time approaches). If you want different rules for no-shows than for late cancels, add a tier at 0 hours before start.
You can preview any no-show fee before you settle.
Members cannot mark themselves as no-shows, and they are prevented from cancelling their own bookings after the booking start time. Only staff can record no-shows.