When a customer asks to cancel, start a record that separates their instruction, the supplier outcome and the movement of money. This gives the team a clear way to explain what has happened and what still needs attention.

This is an operational checklist. The customer’s entitlement depends on the booking and applicable law. UK package travellers have statutory termination rights in specified circumstances under regulation 12 of the Package Travel Regulations; supplier terms alone do not settle every case. Source: GOV.UK: Package Travel Regulations, regulation 12

Record the instruction precisely

Confirm which booking and travellers the request concerns. Record when the instruction arrived and whether it covers the whole booking or only part of it. This avoids processing a broader change than the customer intended.

Assign a case owner and an urgent review route where a deadline may be close. Keep the original instruction so another adviser can check what was requested without relying on a shortened note.

If the instruction is unclear, resolve the ambiguity before taking an action that changes the booking. Record the clarification alongside the original request to preserve the sequence.

Read the full policy and identify relevant rights

Check the actual offer’s cancellation terms, including any penalty windows and non-refundable dates. Expedia Rapid’s documentation shows these as separate parts of the policy and uses timestamps with timezone offsets. Keep the supplied time information intact rather than silently substituting your office timezone. Source: Expedia Group: cancellation policies

Record what the policy says and identify any legal question that needs appropriate advice. Review our Package Travel Regulations guide for the broader framework. Do not promise a refund amount from a general hotel example when the customer’s circumstances have not been assessed.

If the customer intends not to travel, do not treat absence as a completed cancellation. Expedia’s property collect guidance illustrates that failing to attend the first night can carry a no-show penalty under the applicable conditions. Source: Expedia Group: property collect payments

Verify the supplier outcome

Use the supplier’s supported cancellation route and retain the reference or response. Expedia Rapid, for example, documents separate operations to retrieve, change and cancel bookings. A local note saying “cancel requested” should not replace checking the resulting supplier record. Source: Expedia Group: managing bookings

If the response is unclear, retrieve the current booking state or contact the supplier through the agreed route. Record the uncertainty and next action before another adviser takes over. This establishes what is known without repeating an action on an assumption.

Keep the supplier outcome separate from any customer communication. A message sent to the customer shows that an update was sent; it is not the underlying cancellation evidence.

Track the financial step independently

Check whether the payment was captured before deciding which provider action applies. Stripe distinguishes cancelling an uncaptured payment from refunding a captured payment and explains that refunds can be pending or fail. Source: Stripe: refunds and cancellations

Record the original payment reference, refund reference, amount and currency. Then record the latest status and time checked. Stripe’s refund object includes pending, requires_action, succeeded, failed and canceled; use the meanings supplied by your own provider. Source: Stripe API: refund status

Do not give a universal arrival time based on this checklist. Use the applicable legal requirements, provider information and verified circumstances when explaining timing to the customer.

Write an update that matches the evidence

A useful update states the verified supplier outcome, the verified payment state and the next action. For an illustrative unresolved case: “The supplier has confirmed the cancellation. The payment provider still shows the refund as pending. We will check it again at the review time agreed with you.”

Only use those statements when the records support them. If either result is unknown, say which step is being checked and who is responsible. This is clearer than using “all sorted” while part of the case remains open.

Close the case with a traceable record

Before closing, check the customer instruction, supplier result, financial outcome and final communication together. Keep any unresolved question open with an owner. Retain records according to the business’s justified retention rules and applicable obligations, rather than choosing a duration from this general checklist.

Use the linked definitions of cancellation deadline, no-show and refund status when agreeing the process across the team.

Written and updated by Travelgenix. Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Worked examples and checklists are editorial illustrations and recommendations, not customer results.