Cancellation policies on Booking and Airbnb: which to choose for a flat on the Costa del Sol

Short answer: on the Costa del Sol, a flexible or moderate policy out of season (free cancellation until 5-14 days before) and a stricter one in summer and on key dates (non-refundable or with a penalty from 30 days before) works well, because in August a last-minute cancellation gets resold and in February it does not. The policy can be changed by date and by rate; you do not have to choose one for the whole year.

What options are there?

Airbnb (September 2026): flexible (free cancellation until 24 hours before arrival), moderate (until 5 days before), limited (until 14 days before; new since October 2025), firm (until 30 days before) and strict (by invitation only, with penalties from 7 days before). For stays of 28 nights or more there are two: firm (30 days) and strict (48 hours after booking and at least 28 days before). In all of them, the guest has 24 hours of free cancellation after confirming. The host chooses one per listing; they can offer a discount for non-refundable.

Booking: there are no preset policies; the property sets the deadlines on each rate: free cancellation (free until X days before, afterwards the first night or the total), non-refundable (with a discount, charged at booking) and partially refundable. They can be combined and applied by date. With a non-refundable rate, Booking charges its commission even if the guest does not come, unless you waive the charge from the extranet (then there is no commission). Booking's "force majeure" can only be invoked by the guest (new dates, voucher or full refund).

Vrbo: seven fixed policies, from "the day before" to "no refund", via relaxed (14 days), moderate (30) and firm or strict (60).

Which combination is best?

Offering both rates at the same time (flexible at the normal price and non-refundable with a discount) is what converts best: the guest chooses.

What happens if the guest does not show up?

• Airbnb: charged according to the policy; the host does not have to do anything.
• Booking: the booking is marked as "no-show" in the extranet within the following 48 hours and the policy's penalty is charged; if Booking handles the payment, Booking charges it. If you take the payment yourself, it is your virtual card or your charge, and it sometimes fails: that is why it is worth letting Booking handle payments even if it costs 1.3 % more.

What does the law say if nothing has been agreed?

Decree 28/2016 (art. 8) lets price, booking, deposits and cancellation be governed by what is agreed, as long as it is "detailed and advertised before contracting" (the Booking or Airbnb cancellation policy fulfils that function, and the listing must show it). But if you take a direct booking and have agreed nothing, the decree's default rule applies:

• You can ask for an advance of up to 30 % of the total stay.
• If the guest cancels more than ten days in advance, you can keep up to 50 % of the advance; with fewer than ten days, the whole advance.
• If you cancel, you return the advance and, if it is with fewer than ten days, you compensate them with 30 % of the price of the stay.
• For force majeure ("circumstances beyond the control of the party invoking them, abnormal and unforeseeable") there is no penalty for either party.
• At booking you must provide a receipt with the total price, the advances and the applicable penalties.

Can I cancel a booking myself?

You can, but the platforms penalise it. Airbnb has it set: if you cancel more than 30 days ahead, a fee of 10 % of the booking price; between 30 days and 48 hours, 25 %; with fewer than 48 hours or once started, 50 % of the nights not stayed, with a minimum of 50 dollars; it also blocks those dates on your calendar, you can lose Superhost status and, if it repeats, they suspend the listing. Only documented "extenuating circumstances" are exempt. Booking and Vrbo do not publish a fee for cancelling, but they penalise ranking and can relocate the guest at your expense. And on a direct booking the decree obliges you to return the advance and compensate with 30 % if you give fewer than ten days' notice. Only for justified cause (serious breakdown, force majeure) and as early as possible. A double booking from a badly synced calendar is the most common and most avoidable cause: a channel manager or a manager solves it.

And cancellations due to force majeure?

Platforms have "extenuating circumstances" policies (disasters, serious illness) that let the guest cancel at no cost. They cannot be avoided; they are accepted as part of the business. Cancellation insurance is the guest's business, not yours.

What we do

Flexible and non-refundable rates in parallel, with a stricter policy in the strong weeks, and payments handled by the platforms so that no-shows are charged without arguments. Every cancellation is resold the same day by lowering the price slightly; in summer it almost always works.