Understanding cancellation policies and refunds
If you need to cancel a booking, your refund will be determined by the cancellation policy included in the booking agreement for your event. Even though you will make one full payment at the time of booking, cancellation policies will break your payment into separate amounts (a deposit and balance), each with different terms. This is because the deposit is sent to the provider in advance of the event, so it’s often non-refundable.
Cancellation policies
Every provider sets their own cancellation policy, which determines what happens to the deposit and balance payment if you cancel the booking.
Here is an example of one possible cancellation policy:
In this example, the deposit is non-refundable, so if you cancel at any time after booking, the provider will keep it. The balance in this example is refundable if you cancel at least 7 days before the event. If you cancel less than 7 days before, the provider will still be paid the balance. This is a moderately strict cancellation policy.
The strictest cancellation policy would be non-refundable deposits and balances with long cancellation windows. This is not very common. The most lenient policy would be always-refundable deposits and balances, meaning you’d get a full refund regardless of when you cancel. This, too, is uncommon.
The most common cancellation policy is a non-refundable deposit and a refundable balance.
GigSalad’s service fee is always non-refundable if you are the one who chooses to cancel the booking.
Note: If a cancellation policy states a refundable deposit or balance within a certain cancellation window, and you book the provider and make your payment after that window has already closed, that payment will be non-refundable if you cancel. For example, if the policy says the balance is refundable if you cancel within 7 days of the event, but you book them just 4 days before the event, that balance will not be refunded if you cancel.
Refunds
To receive a refund, you must cancel your event through GigSalad. When you cancel, you’ll receive a summary of the cancellation policy and the payments to be refunded. Once we’ve confirmed your cancellation, we will issue the required refund through the payment method used for that booking. This process could take 1-2 business days. Once the refund is issued, it may take 3-5 business days to appear in your account.
If the cancellation policy states that no refund is owed, GigSalad will not be able to return any payments to you directly. However, you are welcome to discuss the issue with your provider to see if they’d be willing to reschedule their services or offer a partial refund. If they agree to a partial refund, that should be arranged directly between you and the provider.
Where to find the cancellation policy
When you get a new quote, there will be a link labeled "View cancellation policy." Click to see the refund policy for both the deposit and the balance payment. When you click Book now to proceed to the checkout page, you can review the terms again in the Details dropdown on the event summary.
Once you’ve booked your event, you can always refer to the cancellation policy in your agreement, which you can access by clicking "View/Print" next to the booking number.
Provider cancellations
The cancellation policies mentioned above apply only if you cancel the booking. If the provider cancels the agreement, you are covered by our Worry-Free Guarantee. You will receive a full refund of your payment, and we’ll also do everything we can to help you find a replacement for your event.