---
title: "Refund Policy | LakeBooking.com"
description: "How refunds work on LakeBooking for angler cancellations, host cancellations, fishing experiences and disputed sessions. The simple version, no surprises."
canonical_url: "https://lakebooking.com/legal/refund-policy"
locale: en
meta:
  "og:description": "How refunds work on LakeBooking for angler cancellations, host cancellations, fishing experiences and disputed sessions. The simple version, no surprises."
  "og:title": "Refund Policy"
---

# **Refund Policy**

How refunds work on LakeBooking for angler cancellations, host cancellations, fishing experiences and disputed sessions. The simple version, no surprises.

## Refund Policy

**Last updated:** 19.10.2026

LakeBooking is a marketplace. When you book a session, you pay a **booking fee** online (a flat 10% of the total booking value) to secure your booking. The **remaining balance** (90%) is paid directly to the host at the lake on arrival. The booking fee counts toward the total booking value. It isn't an additional charge.

Refunds work differently for each portion. This page covers both.

This policy works alongside our [**Terms & Conditions**](https://lakebooking.com/legal/terms-and-conditions). In case of conflict, the Terms govern.

## The two portions of a booking

| **Portion** | **Paid to** | **Paid when** | **Refund handled by** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Booking fee (10%)** | LakeBooking | At booking, online via Stripe | LakeBooking |
| **Remaining balance (90%)** | The host directly | At the lake, on arrival | The host, per their house rules |

When this policy talks about a "refund", we mean the **booking fee**, which is the money we hold and can return. The remaining balance is between you and the host; we don't hold it and can't refund it.

## Your right of withdrawal

A booking on LakeBooking is for a fishing session or a fishing experience on a set date, which is a leisure service. The 14-day right of withdrawal that applies to many online purchases does not apply to it (Article 16(l) of Directive 2011/83/EU; in Romania, Article 16 letter l) of Government Emergency Ordinance No 34/2014; in the United Kingdom, regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013). The booking fee is part of the price of the session. You can still cancel under the rules on this page, which give you more than the law requires. If you cancel a lake session more than 48 hours before check-in, the booking fee is refunded in full.

## When the angler cancels

This section is about lake sessions. A fishing experience follows its host's cancellation window instead (see "Fishing experiences" below).

The booking-fee schedule is platform-wide and simple. Any policy the host publishes on the lake page applies to the remaining balance and the on-site relationship, not to the booking fee.

| **Time before check-in** | **Booking fee refunded** | **Remaining balance owed** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| More than 48 hours | 100% | None |
| 48 hours or less | 0% | None, unless the host's policy includes a no-show fee |
| No-show | 0% | Per the host's house rules; commonly the value of the first day or night |

Your booking shows the exact free-cancellation deadline, and the cancel dialog states whether the fee will be refunded before you confirm. A booking you never paid for can be cancelled at any time at no cost.

Refunds go back to the original payment card in full, typically within **5 to 10 working days** depending on your bank.

To cancel, go to dashboard → bookings → the booking → "Cancel". You'll see the refund outcome on screen before confirming.

## When the host cancels

If the host cancels your booking for any reason other than a documented incident (see "Lake closures" below):

- **100% of the booking fee** is refunded automatically within 24 hours.

Repeated host cancellations affect the host's standing on the platform.

## Fishing experiences

A fishing experience is a dated event led by a host (a course, a guided trip, a day fishing with the host), with a minimum and a maximum number of participants for each date. You pay the booking fee online when you book your places; the rest of the price is paid to the host on the day. As everywhere on this page, a refund means the booking fee.

| **What happens** | **Booking fee** |
| --- | --- |
| You cancel at least as long before the start as the host's cancellation window (24, 48 or 72 hours, or 7 days, shown on the listing and at checkout) | Refunded in full |
| You cancel later than that, or do not turn up | Not refunded |
| The date does not reach its minimum number of paid places by its confirmation deadline | Refunded in full, automatically |
| The host cancels the date | Refunded in full, automatically |
| LakeBooking cancels the date (for example after suspending a listing) | Refunded in full, automatically |
| The host moves the date | If you booked before the move, you can cancel for a full refund until the new confirmation deadline |
| Your payment reaches us after your hold expired, or does not match the booking | Refunded in full, and no place is booked |

- The cancellation window that applies is the one shown when you booked, even if the host changes it later.
- A host may choose to run a date that missed its minimum with the participants who booked. The date then goes ahead and the table above applies as usual.
- The rest of the price is paid on the day, so none of it is owed when a date is cancelled. Anything you paid the host outside LakeBooking is between you and the host.
- A hold you never paid for can be cancelled at any time at no cost, and is released on its own after a few minutes.
- Bad weather does not refund the fee by itself. If the host cancels or moves the date because it cannot be run safely, the rows above apply.
- Before you confirm a cancellation from your bookings, the dialog shows whether the fee will be refunded. Refunds go back to the original card, as described above.

## Weather

Bad weather is part of fishing. Rain, wind, and unseasonal cold aren't refundable by default.

Some hosts publish their own weather policy in their house rules (for instance, moving a session when conditions are not safe). It applies to the remaining balance and to any rescheduling you agree with the host; the booking fee follows the rules on this page.

## Lake closures

If the lake is unfit to fish for documented reasons outside the host's control (algal bloom, authority-mandated closure, infrastructure failure, force majeure), the angler is **fully refunded** (100% of the booking fee).

## Disputed sessions

Sometimes you arrive and the lake isn't what was advertised (the swim is unusable, the stock isn't there, the amenities are missing). The path is:

1. **Flag from the gate.** Open the booking and message the host, with photos. This timestamps the issue.
2. **Try with the host first.** Most hosts will move you to a different swim, refund the remaining balance, or rebook at no charge. The platform records the resolution.
3. **Escalate to LakeBooking** if it isn't resolved within 6 working hours. Email [**contact@lakebooking.com**](mailto:contact@lakebooking.com) with your booking ID.
4. **We mediate**, with access to the message thread, the host's photos, the lake gallery, and your evidence.

Mediation outcomes:

- **Listing materially misrepresented (substantiated):** full booking-fee refund.
- **Reasonable but unfortunate (e.g. fish weren't feeding):** no refund, but reviews stand on the public record.
- **Inconclusive:** we explain why and what we'd need to revisit.

We aim to resolve mediation within **5 working days** of escalation.

## Receipts and invoices

For your records, you'll receive a confirmation email at the time of booking that shows the booking fee you paid and the remaining balance still owed at the lake. The host issues their own receipt or invoice for the remaining balance when you arrive, as they always have.

## Stripe chargebacks

You retain your right to file a chargeback with your card issuer. We prefer the dispute path above (it's faster and considers context the bank can't see), but the chargeback option is always available.

## When refunds aren't available

- Disappointment with catch quantity or quality that doesn't violate the host's published declaration.
- Personal scheduling conflicts inside the 48-hour non-refundable window.
- Coming unprepared (wrong hook type for a barbless lake, missing a permit, etc.).
- Bait or method restrictions clearly listed on the host's page.

## Edge cases

**My card is closed. Where does the refund go?** Stripe attempts the original card. If it bounces, Stripe holds the amount and your issuing bank typically credits your replacement card automatically. If not, contact your bank with the Stripe reference (we'll provide it).

**I paid the remaining balance in cash and the host won't refund me.** That's a contract between you and the host, governed by their published house rules. We can mediate but can't compel a refund of money we never held.

**The host says they'll refund "next time".** Get it in writing on the platform message thread if you accept it. Verbal arrangements are hard for us to enforce.

## Contact

For any refund question, email [**contact@lakebooking.com**](mailto:contact@lakebooking.com). We aim for a first response within 6 working hours during business days (Mon to Fri, 09:00 to 18:00 EET).

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