The English version of this page governs. Where a translated version exists elsewhere and the two disagree, this English version is the one that applies.
This page explains, honestly and specifically, what happens when you cancel a paid order on OUTSTAY — not generic boilerplate. It is generated directly from our booking system's cancellation logic, so it cannot disagree with what actually happens at checkout or when you cancel.
How to cancel
Cancel a booking from Account → Orders → order details → Cancel. Because cancellation can trigger a real refund, we require a one-time verification code (OTP) sent to your registered phone/email before the cancellation is processed. An order can be cancelled any time it is in Pending, Payment processing, or Confirmed status — once an order is already cancelled, failed, or (for villa stays) already checked out and settled, it can no longer be cancelled through this flow.
If you never paid
An order that is cancelled while still Pending (i.e. before payment was completed) involves no charge and therefore no refund — there is nothing to return.
Refund amount, by product
For a paid order (status Payment processing or Confirmed) at the moment you cancel:
Flights
- Refundable fare: 100% of the amount paid.
- Non-refundable fare, no Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) protection purchased: the airline's fare rule governs and no refund is issued for the fare itself. This reflects the airline's own fare conditions at the time of booking, not a fee retained by OUTSTAY.
- Non-refundable fare, active CFAR protection purchased and confirmed on the booking: 90% of the amount paid, regardless of the underlying fare's own non-refundable rule.
Hotels, Homestays & Villas, Private Jets (including empty-leg charters), Yacht & Houseboat Charter, Buses, Cabs, Rail, Travel Insurance, Visa Assistance, and Holiday Packages
Cancelling any paid order in these categories refunds 100% of the amount paid. This is deliberately more generous than what a search result or listing page may display — some listings show supplier-stated language such as "non-refundable," a cancellation fee, or "free cancellation until N days before check-in." That language describes the underlying hotel/operator's own stated terms and is not currently enforced as a platform cutoff or fee by OUTSTAY's cancellation flow — every cancellable order in these categories refunds in full today, independent of any displayed deadline or fee. We are disclosing this gap between displayed and enforced policy honestly rather than leaving it implied.
Villa security deposits
A refundable security deposit collected on a villa booking is released back to you in full alongside your cancellation refund — it is not retained, even if the listing's own stated cancellation-notice period had already passed.
How refunds are paid
Refunds are issued back to your original payment method through our payment processing partner. If a refund cannot be confirmed immediately, our team is alerted for manual follow-up — cancelling your order is never blocked by a delay on the refund side. If OUTSTAY is running in a preview/demo environment, no real money moves in either direction; look for the preview-mode banner on this site to confirm which mode you're using.
Cancellation-fee parity
India's Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 (Rule 4(8)) prohibit an e-commerce platform from imposing a cancellation charge on a consumer unless a comparable charge applies to the platform or seller for the same cancellation. Stated plainly: OUTSTAY does not charge consumers a platform-side cancellation fee in any product category today. Where a flight fare comes back non-refundable without CFAR protection, that outcome is the airline's own fare condition — not a fee OUTSTAY retains. Because no OUTSTAY-imposed cancellation charge exists to be asymmetric in the first place, no parity issue arises under our current model. This is an honest statement of a simple, no-fee-charged position today, not a claim that a fully worked-out cost-sharing framework exists for a future state where platform-side fees might be introduced.
Questions about a specific order
If your situation isn't covered above, contact us — see the Help Centre and Grievance Officer details linked in the site footer.