Weather cancellation policy
A weather cancellation policy is the set of rules for when a rental refunds a deposit on weather-driven cancellations: wind, rain, storm. It matters most in water sports and boat charter.
Definition
A weather cancellation policy defines under which weather conditions a customer can cancel without losing the deposit (or part of it). Rules typically rest on objective thresholds from official meteorological sources (in Poland, IMGW alerts): wind above a set speed, heavy rain, a level-1 weather alert. The policy is in the contract and shown to the customer at booking.
How it works
Setup: define policies per niche/product (for example a lower wind limit for kayaks and SUPs than for boats, and any IMGW alert for jet-skis). Some systems monitor the forecast for the rental's location and, 24h before booking, email the customer a free-cancel or reschedule option. On sudden weather changes (squall), staff mass-cancel all active bookings in a category. The deposit refund follows the policy.
Why it matters for a rental company
Without a policy: ad-hoc decisions (disputes either way, customer never happy), the infamous 'day-before weather but customer pays' = Google-reviews damage. With a policy: clear, objective rules accepted by the customer at booking = no dispute. In water sports it's industry standard, and customers expect it.
What OneRental does
In OneRental a weather cancellation works like any other: staff cancel the booking in the app and enter the reason, and the customer gets a cancellation e-mail with that reason. Refund rules based on how many hours before pickup the customer cancels are set in the cancellation policy in your online booking settings. You record the refund in the booking's payment history and describe weather exceptions in your own rental terms.
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