Owner FAQs

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BOOKINGS

What happens when I receive a booking?   

When a guest books through us, we’ll instantly send you an automated booking confirmation email. The guest will receive your contact details, directions, and check-in details on their confirmation. Feel free to get in touch to say hello or pass on any information you normally send. If you need to sort out sleeping arrangements, activities, extras like champagne or flowers, this happens directly between you and the guest.  

Can guests book all day, every day? How much notice will I have?     

The majority of our bookings take place online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (We don’t let guests book online for the same day, though – so tomorrow’s booking will be confirmed by midnight tonight.) We’re always on the end of the phone handling enquiries and bookings during our office hours, but we’ve tried to include as much helpful information as possible on the site itself. We’ll be in touch with you first if we receive unusual requests, or for bookings made less than a day in advance – so no surprises.  

What if the price, dates, extra requirements or anything else looks unusual?  

If something seems odd about the booking, then please get in touch with us as soon as you can and we will do our best to resolve the issue. 

How do I block dates out on my calendar?   

You have 24/7 access to our Owner Booking Management System, so you’ll always be able to block out dates as soon as they become unavailable, for whatever reason. It’s a good idea to check your Canopy & Stars availability calendar before you confirm and take payment for a direct booking, if applicable. For a guide on how to block dates see the Quick Reference Guide  

Tip: as well as direct bookings, remember to block out any dates when you’re on holiday yourself, have family or visitors staying in your space, or a noisy event (such as an air show) taking place nearby.  

What if I have double booked those dates and can’t honour the booking?  

Put simply, this shouldn’t happen. You are responsible for updating your own availability calendar. Part of our agreement is that you will notify us of any bookings or unavailable dates by registering them on the Owner Booking Management System. If a booking isn’t logged in this system, we don’t know about it - we will be displaying full availability for those dates and a guest may book them online, in which case we and you are bound to honour the booking made through Canopy & Stars. Our guests have to feel 100% confident they can book and pay online and secure their dates, so we are unable to cancel a booking that’s been made through us if you fail to block the dates on your calendar. If you’d like to talk this through with us in more detail, please get in touch. 

What happens if I need to cancel a guest due to unforeseen events?  

It’s in the nature of the accommodation we market that they’re not run-of-the-mill hotels or B&Bs. We understand, on occasion, a place might be subject to particularly extreme weather conditions or encounter unforeseen maintenance issues. If the accommodation is uninhabitable or a guest will not be able to stay with the facilities as advertised, please let us and the guest know as soon as possible. If our office is closed and there is a delay, please contact the guest directly. You are obliged to offer either alternative accommodation or a full refund, unless the guest is happy to simply move their stay to another time. Please make us aware of any potential problems and let us know if we need to process any cancellations or refunds from the office. 

What happens if a guest wants to cancel?  

Please take some time to familiarise yourself with our Guest terms and conditions. We do say that all bookings are non-refundable within ten weeks of the arrival date. In practice, we pride ourselves on excellent customer service so we treat every problem on a case-by-case basis. Feel free to redirect any cancellation enquiries for Canopy & Stars bookings to our bookings team. At your discretion, we are often able to offer alternative dates to a guest who cannot make the original dates of their stay. Alternatively, we can release the dates on the website and if another guest books through us or through you directly, we can refund or rebook the original guest. We think this is a fair way of handling what can be a stressful situation for a guest, and retains the goodwill of the customer while making sure you don’t lose out.  

Guest Terms & Conditions: Terms | Canopy & Stars (canopyandstars.co.uk) 

What happens if I need to refund a guest?  

We can do this through our booking system to minimise inconvenience for you and the guest. We will agree with you beforehand how much the guest is entitled to. We refund the guest directly from Canopy & Stars, and inform our Finance Department how much has been refunded and why. Finance will invoice you for the refund amount on your next itemized statement and deduct it from the total transferred.  

Can you take a damage deposit from guests on my behalf? 

As the booking agent, we don’t take damage deposits on behalf of our owners. Our recommendation is to avoid charging one, if possible, as it can act as a financial barrier for potential guests, potentially impacting your bookings and earnings more than any potential damage.  

Damage deposits are more commonly associated with group bookings. If you decide to implement a damage deposit, we'll need to include this information in your listing, and the transaction will be managed directly between you and the guest after the booking is confirmed. As your business partner, we're always here to support you. If any damage occurs after a guest's stay, feel free to reach out, and we'll gladly provide advice and assistance. 

Do you have a way of preventing certain guests from re-booking my space?

We don’t have a way of blacklisting guests in our system, and they could always book again under a different name/email address. However, we always make a note of any reported issues or damages associated with a guest's booking on our system if we hear from an owner. If you as the owner see another booking come through in future using the same name/email address, you just need to let us know and we will promptly contact the guest to let them know their stay can't go ahead. 

OWNER BOOKING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

We’ve designed our own booking management system to be easy to use: here you can view up-to-date availability for your accommodation, block out any unavailable dates, and see full details and contact information for upcoming Canopy & Stars guests.  

See: Quick Reference Guide for how to view calendar and how to block dates out.

I’ve forgotten my password to the Owner Booking Management System 

To reset your password, please go to the Log In page as normal and click ‘Forgotten your password?’ to enter your email address and receive a reset link by email.  

I have dates to block out on my calendar, but can’t access the system 

It’s very important you let us know about any unavailable dates as soon as possible, even if you can’t log in or block dates on the calendar for any reason. Please email owners@canopyandstars.co.uk or call 0117 204 7830 (leave a message out of hours) and we will block the dates for you as soon as we can. We can’t guarantee this will be immediate and can’t consider a direct booking confirmed unless it’s blocked on the system. We’re sorry, but any booking we have already confirmed will take precedence. 

Why are some available dates showing as grey, not green?  

First, check there are no Owner Bookings or Canopy & Stars bookings listed below the calendar for these dates. Before we can take bookings, we need to set pricing and booking rules for dates when you will be open. When you’d like to start taking advance bookings for next year, please let us know so we can set up your calendars. If neither of the above apply, please contact us and we’ll investigate.  

Can I block out dates even if my guest hasn’t paid yet?  

If a direct enquiry is not yet paid and confirmed, but you wish to hold the dates for your guest – for example, while you wait for a cheque or bank transfer - that’s fine too. We would much rather you block the dates on the Canopy & Stars calendar than we take a booking in the meantime and have to disappoint your guest. 

PAYMENTS

When and how will I receive payment for Canopy & Stars bookings?                    

We take payment direct from guests in pounds sterling and process a monthly bank transfer in sterling or euros of all bookings that have become due before the 1st of that month, minus our commission + VAT. We send the payment and email you an itemised remittance of booking details mid-month.  

What does ‘due before the 1st’ mean? When do guests pay you?  

We always take payment to confirm a booking. This can be…  

“Paid in full” Bookings made within ten weeks of the check in date must be paid in full. We can’t transfer a booking value to you until it’s been paid in full – and our cut-off date is the first of each month. For example, any ‘paid in full’ bookings we take today will be totted up on the 1st of next month and they’ll appear on next month’s statement, which comes through to you in the next midmonth transfer.  

“Deposit paid” If a booking is more than ten weeks away, we take a 25% non-refundable deposit from the guest, which remains in a holding account. At the balance due date, 10 weeks before check in, the guest’s remaining balance is taken automatically. We transfer the payment for a booking only after the holiday has become non-refundable and the balance is paid, even if the guest chooses to pay the balance before this date. This allows us to refund the balance if the booking is cancelled at any point before the balance due date. This date counts as the ‘paid in full’ for payments, so a balance that has become due today and been paid in full will then be totted up on 1st of next month. It will appear in the next mid-month transfer.  

Why do you charge VAT?  

The amount we transfer for each booking will always be the full booking value less our commission + VAT at the current level of 20% (if in the UK). We know not all of our owners are VAT-registered, but as we are VAT-registered, our income from commission bookings for UK properties is subject to VAT, so we are obliged to add this to the commission we take. If you are outside the UK, you will receive the total booking value less commission.  

DIRECT ENQUIRIES 

What happens if I receive an enquiry direct from a guest who mentions Canopy & Stars, looking for a shorter stay or a cheeky discount?  

Part of our agreement is that we sell the same dates at the same rates as our owners (subject to exchange rates if applicable). We work in a partnership, which means we don’t compete to undercut each other and drive booking values down. We charge no fees to join or to be a member of Canopy & Stars, so our only income is the commission on bookings we take through our site. If a guest has found you on our site as a result of our PR and marketing efforts, please redirect them to book through Canopy & Stars. However, if a guest wants a discount or a shorter booking not possible through the website, this is at your discretion, and we are happy to be flexible at your instruction. Please just let us know the details of the booking and we will be in touch with the guest to handle any exceptions to the booking rules. 

FEEDBACK

How does feedback about my place appear on the website?  

We email each guest an invitation to complete a feedback survey three days after check-out. This is incentivised by entry into a draw to win a £250 Canopy & Stars voucher. Please tell your guests to look out for the email invitation. We only use testimonials from these surveys on the website, as we can guarantee they’re from Canopy & Stars guests who have booked through us based on the information on the website, and we’ve asked for permission to publish them. Feedback surveys help us keep up-to-date with the experience guests are having, both during the stay itself and when browsing and booking through Canopy & Stars. Feedback from guests is invaluable when it comes to making sure each space is as special as it can be. If you would like to discuss guest feedback on your place in more detail, please get in touch. 

What happens if someone complains about my place?  

Part of our role is to market your place to attract the guests who will love it, and not those guests who would be happier elsewhere. We succeed a very high proportion of the time, but we’ve also learned different guests can have incredibly different experiences of the same place. While it’s true you can’t please everyone all of the time, it’s very important to us that we represent places accurately to give people a good idea of what to expect based on the website. If there’s ever anything you feel could mislead guests, please let us know – we can make changes any time. We take negative feedback very seriously, and are always open to constructive criticism on how the experience of staying at a Canopy & Stars place could be improved. On the very rare occasions we receive a complaint, we will pass it straight on to you as you are the first point of contact for guests after they’ve completed their booking. We’ll always listen to your side of the story, and take into account past feedback and our own experience of visiting your place and working with you. Though, as accommodation provider, it’s your decision how to handle any negative feedback, we’re always on hand to offer impartial and objective advice. Fortunately, negative feedback is very rare, and please remember we wouldn’t be working with you if we didn’t think you were amazing at what you do! 

How do I submit feedback on Canopy & Stars? 

If there’s ever anything you feel we could do better or should be improved, please feel free to be frank and let us know. We’d rather have the opportunity to solve any problems that may come up, than to learn later that things haven’t quite been working as well as they could.