Cancel reservations and insurance policies

Learn how to cancel travel services within an existing order, including accommodation reservations, car rentals, and standalone car insurance policies.

v3.2 Beta

Cancellations can occur for various reasons, such as changes to travel plans, booking mistakes, or traveller requests.

Before submitting a cancellation request, always verify whether the travel service is eligible for cancellation and whether any cancellation fees apply.

This guide explains how to:

1. Retrieve the latest order details.
2. Verify that the travel service can be cancelled.
3. Review the applicable cancellation policy.
4. Submit the cancellation request.
5. Confirm that the cancellation has been processed.
6. Notify the traveller.

When you receive a cancellation request, first retrieve the latest order details to identify the travel service that needs to be cancelled and verify its current status.

Depending on the travel service, use one or more of the following endpoints:

• Use /orders/details to generate your reports with general order information.
• Use /orders/details/accommodations for accommodation-specific information.
• Use /orders/details/cars for car rental details or /orders/details/cars/live (if using Beta) for car rental details including associated car insurance information.

Provide the to-be cancelled reservation (or order) ID:

{
    "orders": [
      "509430129718799"
    ],
    "currency": "EUR",
    "extras": [
      "payment"
    ]
  }

Example response

The response contains information such as the order status, payment details, pricing, and the travel services included in the order.

{
  "request_id": "01jrab3s38cr3k4wxmd6rsxx0m",
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "25896535547",
      "accommodations": {
        "reservation": 121312354
      },
      "affiliate": 956509,
      "booker": {...},
      "cars": null,
      "created": "2026-02-04T10:24:59+00:00",
      "currency": "EUR",
      "flights": null,
      "payment": {
        "accommodations": {
          "authorisation_form": "https://secure-admin.booking.com/airplus_auth_form_pdf.html?token=anNvbl9hbXM0Xzg0ZmIyNWZhLTdmODAtNGRlZC04NTAxLWFiMDVhYmZhN2Q0OQ%3D%3D&lang=en-us",
          "receipt_url": null,
          "reservation": 121312354
        },
        "method": "card",
        "paid": null,
        "pending": null,
        "timing": "pay_at_the_property"
      },
      "price": {
        "commissionable": 0,
        "total": 276.94
      },
      "status": "booked",
      "updated": "2026-02-04T10:25:00+00:00"
    }
  ]
}

Before attempting a cancellation, verify that the travel service is currently eligible for cancellation.

Accommodation reservations can only be cancelled if their status is booked.

{
  "status": "booked"
}

The following statuses may be returned for accommodation reservations:

Car rental reservations can only be cancelled while their status is confirmed.

Car rental insurance can only be cancelled while their status is confirmed.

Before cancelling a travel service, determine whether cancellation is permitted and whether any fees apply.

The order details endpoints provide the information required to:

• Determine whether cancellation is still allowed;
• Calculate any applicable cancellation fees;
• Communicate the cancellation terms to the traveller before submitting the request.

The information available depends on the travel service.

Accommodation cancellation details include the deadline after which cancellation fees apply, together with the corresponding fee amounts.

{
  "request_id": "01fr9ez700exycb98w90w5r9sh",
  "data": [
    {
      ...
      "cancellation_details": {
        "at": "2026-11-02T00:00:00+00:00",
        "fee": {
          "accommodation_currency": 170.01,
          "booker_currency": 186.87
        }
      },
      ...
      "products": [
        {
          ...
          "policies": {
            "cancellation": [
              {
                "from": null,
                "price": {
                  "accommodation_currency": 170.01,
                  "booker_currency": 186.87
                }
              }
            ]
          },
          ...
          "status": "booked"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

This response indicates that:

• Cancellation is free until 2026-11-02T00:00:00+00:00;
• After that time, a cancellation fee of 186.87 (booker currency) applies;
• The reservation has not yet been cancelled, so its status remains booked and policies.cancellation.from is null.

By default, Booking.com offers free cancellation for car rentals until 48 hours before the scheduled pick-up time.

If the traveller cancels:

• More than 48 hours before the scheduled pick-up time, they receive a full refund.
• Within 48 hours of the scheduled pick-up time (including at the rental counter), they receive a refund minus the cost of 3 rental days. No refund is available for rentals of 3 days or less.
• After the scheduled pick-up time, or if they do not collect the vehicle, no refund is available.

Although Booking.com provides a standard cancellation policy, the schedule object in API response contains the actual cancellation rules for the reservation and should always be treated as the source of truth.

The response includes:

• The cancellation policy type.
• One or more cancellation windows.
• Whether cancellation is free during each window.
• Any applicable cancellation fee.

Example:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "reservation": "11223344",
      "car": {
        "policies": {
          "cancellation": {
            "type": "free_cancellation",
            "schedule": [
              {
                "from": "2026-10-14T10:00:00Z",
                "to": "2026-10-17T09:59:59Z",
                "free_cancellation": true,
                "price": null
              },
              {
                "from": "2026-10-17T10:00:00Z",
                "to": "2026-10-19T10:00:00Z",
                "free_cancellation": false,
                "price": {
                  "display": {
                    "value": 25.00,
                    "currency": "USD"
                  },
                  "pay": {
                    "value": 22.73,
                    "currency": "EUR"
                  }
                }
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Standalone car insurance policies are associated with a car rental reservation. Insurance eligibility and cancellation conditions are returned as part of the car order details response.

Before calling /orders/cancel for an insurance policy, retrieve the latest car order details and verify that:

• The reservation includes a car insurance policy;
• The insurance policy has not already been cancelled;
• Identify the policy_reference required by /orders/cancel.
• The associated car rental reservation is still active.

The cancellation workflow differs depending on the travel service.

After confirming that the travel service is eligible for cancellation and reviewing the applicable cancellation policy, call the /orders/cancel endpoint.

The endpoint can cancel one travel service per request:

• An accommodation reservation;
• A car rental reservation;
• A standalone car insurance policy.

The required request parameters depend on the travel service being cancelled.

Use the accommodation object to cancel an accommodation reservation.

{
  "order": "509430129718799",
  "accommodation": {
    "reservation": "1234567890",
    "reason": "My travel dates have changed and I need to book a different property."
  }
}

If cancellation fees apply, you can optionally set request_property_approval to true to ask the accommodation provider to waive the fee and approve a free cancellation.

Approval is entirely at the accommodation's discretion.

Use the car object to cancel a car rental reservation.

{
  "car": {
    "reservation": "1234567890",
    "reason": "My travel plans have changed and I no longer need this car rental.",
    "booker": {
      "country": "es"
    }
  }
}

Use the insurance object to cancel a standalone car insurance policy without cancelling the associated car rental reservation.

{
  "insurance": {
    "car": {
      "reservation": "1234567890",
      "policy_reference": "38df45ff-a6fb-4e24-a1d2-66fc3af23d76",
      "booker": {
        "country": "es"
      }
    }
  }
}

If the cancellation request is accepted, the endpoint returns a response indicating the initial status of the cancellation.

Accommodation cancellations are processed synchronously. A successful response confirms that the reservation has already been cancelled.

{
  "request_id": "01fr9ez700exycb98w90w5r9sh",
  "data": {
    "status": "successful"
  }
}

Car rental and standalone car insurance cancellations are processed asynchronously. A successful response confirms that the cancellation request has been accepted for processing, but does not confirm that the cancellation has been completed.

{
  "request_id": "01fr9ez700exycb98w90w5r9sh",
  "data": {
    "status": "processing"
  }
}

After receiving a processing status, retrieve the latest car order details later to confirm that the cancellation has completed successfully (see next step).

Depending on the travel service, you may need to retrieve the latest order details to confirm that the cancellation has been completed.

For asynchronous cancellations (car rentals and standalone car insurance):

• Allow up to one hour for the latest status to become available.
• Retrieve the latest details using:
  • /orders/details/cars; or
  • /orders/details/cars/live (Beta).

{
  "data": [
    {
      "reservation": "1234567890",
      "status": "cancelled",
      "cancellation_details": {
        "at": "2026-11-02T00:00:00+00:00",
        "fee": {
          "accommodation_currency": 170.01,
          "booker_currency": 186.87
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

The orders/details/accommodations response confirms that:

• The accommodation reservation has been cancelled (status: cancelled).
• cancellation_details reflects the applied cancellation terms.
• The applicable cancellation fee is returned, if any.

In this example:

• The cancellation fee is 186.87 in the traveller's currency;
• The fee becomes payable on 2026-11-02T00:00:00+00:00, according to the applicable cancellation policy.

For car rental reservations and standalone car insurance policies, retrieve the latest car order details after the cancellation request has been processed.

{
  "request_id": "01fr9ez700exycb98w90w5r9sh",
  "data": [
    {
      "reservation": "11223344",
      "status": "cancelled",
      "pickup": {
        "datetime": "2025-10-15T10:00:00"
      },
      "dropoff": {
        "datetime": "2025-10-18T10:00:00"
      },
      "car": {
        "supplier": {
          "confirmation_number": "ZYX987"
        }
      },
      "insurance": [
        {
          "policy_reference": "1a8192e7-cc40-41a0-9bc1-801d95dc0c23",
          "status": "cancelled"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

This response confirms that:

• The car rental reservation has been cancelled (status: cancelled).
• The associated insurance policy has been also cancelled (status: cancelled).

This scenario occurs when the car rental is cancelled - therefore the insurance is also cancelled.

{
  "request_id": "01fr9ez700exycb98w90w5r9sh",
  "data": [
    {
      "reservation": "11223344",
      "status": "confirmed",
      "pickup": {
        "datetime": "2025-10-15T10:00:00"
      },
      "dropoff": {
        "datetime": "2025-10-18T10:00:00"
      },
      "car": {
        "supplier": {
          "confirmation_number": "ZYX987"
        }
      },
      "insurance": [
        {
          "policy_reference": "1a8192e7-cc40-41a0-9bc1-801d95dc0c23",
          "status": "cancelled"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

This response confirms that:

• The car rental reservation remains active (status: confirmed)
• The insurance policy has been cancelled (status: cancelled).

After confirming that the cancellation has been processed successfully, notify the traveller of the outcome.

The notification should include:

• Confirmation that the travel service has been cancelled;
• Any applicable cancellation fees or refunds;
• Any important dates or deadlines, where relevant.

Example: