Introduction
Starting on July 28th, 2021, all Outdoorsy reservations will use an Outdoorsy cancellation policy of your choosing.
Over the course of this year, we have seen data trends that show Outdoorsy renters are less likely to book a vehicle owned by a Wheelbase user when they’re using a “Custom” cancellation policy. In part, this is due to renters searching for specific cancellation policies, and custom policies are filtered out when they do this. We have also had feedback that many custom cancellation policies are confusing to renters, which also impacts your ability to get a booking.
To combat this, we’ve enabled the ability to select which standard Outdoorsy Cancellation Policy you want to use for Outdoorsy.com bookings. You can do this via Account Settings > Policies and Documents. This will not impact your cancellation policy that you use for your direct bookings from your business's website.
Setting your policy at flexible or moderate converts at almost 2X more than strict, and receives 50% more booking requests.
What do I need to know?
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Outdoorsy.com reservations will only use 1 of the 3 standard Outdoorsy cancellation policy options you select, not custom policies, effective July 28th, 2021 more info below.
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Outdoorsy.com Reservation Deposit amounts will be determined by the Cancellation Policy selected, consistent with all other Outdoorsy.com listings & what renters are expecting to see on Outdoorsy listings.
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“Remainder Balance Due” timing will be 14 days prior to departure, consistent with all other Outdoorsy.com bookings & what renters are expecting when booking on Outdoorsy.com.
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Outdoorsy.com reservations will automatically process ‘Cancellation Refunds.’ When an Outdoorsy renter cancels an Outdoorsy reservation, the refund will be processed automatically, based on the cancellation policy that you’ve selected.
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If you click “Cancel Reservation” in Wheelbase for an Outdoorsy.com reservation, it will trigger a 100% refund to the renter. This will only happenon Outdoorsy reservations, not your direct bookings. In the event an Outdoorsy renter indicates they need to cancel, instruct them to do so from Outdoorsy.com to process the cancellation and their refund.
What do I need to do?
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If you’re currently using the “Strict'', “Moderate”, or “Flexible” cancellation policies, the setting for Outdoorsy renters will default to the same policy you’re currently using. Click here to view your current settings. No action is required from you.
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If you’re using a custom policy, before July 28th, please navigate to Account Settings > Policies and Documents > to select a policy for Outdoorsy Renters.
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In the event you do not select a policy prior to July 28th, the setting will default to a “Strict” policy for Outdoorsy.com renters.
Changes to reservation payments, timing, & cancellation refunds
Remainder due charges for Outdoorsy reservations will be charged 14 days prior to pickup.
The reservation deposit for Outdoorsy bookings will now be determined based on the cancellation policy.
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Flexible: 25% Reservation deposit
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Moderate: 25% Reservation deposit
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Strict: 50% Reservation deposit (lowest conversion and booking requests)
Automated Refunds for Cancellations
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When an Outdoorsy.com reservation is cancelled, the system will automatically refund the renter any eligible refund based on the cancellation policy you’ve selected.
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Only refunds for cancelled bookings will be automated, any other refund will need to be processed by you following the normal steps.
What are the cancellation policy options that I can choose from?
Flexible: 100% refund of booking total up to 5 days before pickup, then renter is responsible for 25% of booking total for remaining days.
Moderate: Renter is responsible for 25% of booking total if cancelled up to 7 days before pickup, then 50% for remaining days
Strict: Renter is responsible for 50% of booking total if cancelled up to 14 days before pickup, then 100% for remaining days
The data we've been analyzing and the testing conducted both indicate that these changes make your listing more appealing to renters on Outdoorsy.com and therefore result in more bookings.
If you have any questions, please join our monthly Wheelbase Webinar on July 28th and don’t hesitate to reach out via the chat or respond to this email.