Bed & Breakfast Cancellation Policy

One difference between hotel accommodation and that offered by many bed & breakfast establishments centres on their respective cancellation policies. Hotels, being generally much larger, often have a very flexible cancellation policy. A traveller may have a sudden change of mind for any number of reasons and decide to cancel the booking at the last minute. "No problem," replies the desk clerk, and strikes your name from the register with barely a shrug. And why should he or she worry? One room may amount to less than 2% of the total capacity of the place and impromptu reservations are just as common as cancellations.

The B&B on the other hand usually stipulates a less flexible policy, sometimes extending to two or three weeks before the guest's scheduled arrival. Try to cancel after the cutoff time and you could be in for a shock--namely, an obligation to pay a hefty cancellation fee or even the full fare. That's because one reservation may amount to 25% or more of the total capacity of the house in the case of a B&B, and a sudden cancellation could produce an irretrievable loss in revenue.

The Carriage House B&B has a fair cancellation policy: give us at least 72 hours notice there is no penalty of any kind. After that, you are on the hook for at least one night.

Another way of explaining it might be like this: we are in the business of selling reservations for accommodation in our house to be available to you on the dates you specify. If you do not occupy that accommodation after you have reserved it, and fail to notify us of your desire to cancel your reservation at least 72 hours before your check-in time, you are still obligated to pay for it--for we have kept it available for you (to the exclusion of any others) when you requested it, as we promised.

So, plan your trip carefully and remember to call us as soon as possible if your plans change. If an agent books the reservation for you be sure to ask for a full explanation of this cancellation policy. Finally, in the event of an unforeseen circumstance, we may be able to offer you a rebate--IF we manage to resell your reservation to another party.

Thanks for taking the time to understand our Cancellation Policy!

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