The Guest Booking Fee

When the Guest pays a booking fee & why (for casual bookings only)

A non-refundable Guest Booking Fee (GBF)  is included in the final price at the checkout for all casual bookings and is calculated on the maximum final value of an individual booking.

This fee is only non-refundable under the circumstance of a full cancellation or refund/discount.

• The GBF for Australian Casual Bookings is 2.5% ($1 minimum per booking).
• The GBF for New Zealand Casual Bookings is 3.5% ($1 minimum per booking).

How does the Guest Booking Fee (GBF) work in practice?

Example A: $100 booking

The Guest pays $100AUD total for a booking.
Included in this $100 total is a non-refundable $2.50 GBF (2.5% of $100).
NOTE: This is communicated clearly to the guest at all times when making a booking

• If the booking goes ahead, yippee! 
• If the booking is cancelled by the Guest for any reason after the booking has been accepted by the Host, the Guest is refunded a maximum of $97.50. Here are some examples:
  • Under the circumstance of a 100% refund policy set by the Host,
    the Guest is refunded $97.50.
  • Under the circumstance of a 90% refund policy set by the Host,
    the Guest is refunded $90.
  • Under the circumstance of a 50% refund policy set by the Host,
    the Guest is refunded $50.
• If the booking is cancelled by the Host for any reason after the booking has been accepted by the Host, the Guest may be entitled to a refund of the GBF in some circumstances.
  • If the cancellation is due to Host negligence (i.e, the Host has accepted a booking on SpacetoCo, but has an existing conflict off-platform), the Host will be responsible for the GBF, either through a negative balance on their payout or via direct invoice from SpacetoCo. 

Example B: $100 booking that is increased to $200, then decreased to $100, then cancelled. 

The Guest pays $100AUD total for a booking.
Included in this $100 total is a non-refundable $2.50 GBF (2.5% of $100).

The booking then increases to $200.
Included in this $100 increase is a further non-refundable $2.50 GBF,
bringing the total to $5 (2.5% of $200).

The booking is then decreased to $100.
The Guest is refunded $100, and the GBF remains at $5.

The booking is then cancelled under a 100% refund policy, and the Guest is refunded the final $95.

Example C: $10 booking

The Guest pays $10AUD total for a booking.
Included in this $10 total is a non-refundable $1 GBF ($1 minimum per booking).
NOTE: This will be communicated clearly to the guest at all times when they make a booking

• If the booking goes ahead, yippee! 
• If the booking is cancelled by the Guest for any reason after the booking has been accepted by the Host, the Guest is refunded a maximum of $9. 

Example D: Four x $10 bookings created in one transaction (total of $40)

The Guest pays $40AUD total ($10 per booking).
Included in this $40 total is a non-refundable $4 GBF ($1 minimum x 4 bookings).
NOTE: This will be communicated clearly to the guest at all times when making a booking

• If the booking goes ahead, yippee! 
• If one of the bookings is cancelled by the Guest for any reason after the booking has been accepted by the Host, the Guest is refunded a maximum of $9 per booking.
• If all bookings are cancelled, a total of $4 will be retained as the GBF.

The Details

• The GBF only comes into effect once a booking is accepted. If the Host doesn't accept a booking, there is no GBF.
• If the GBF is in effect, the receipt is adjusted to the value of the GBF only and appears as coming from the Host. SpacetoCo then issues a receipt to the Host for the full GBF value, which brings the final balance down to $0. 
  E.g. GBF charged to Guest = $5
  Host Fee = $5
  Final Total = $0
• The GBF is calculated on the maximum final value of the booking and is always a minimum of $1 per booking.
• The GBF comes into effect if the fee is reduced due to a discount code being applied after the booking is accepted. Therefore, it's important that any discount codes that bring the cost of the booking down to lower than the value of the GBF are applied to a booking before being accepted.

How does this change the booking experience?

The process for creating a booking remains unchanged. If there is no negative value change or cancellation on the booking after it has been accepted, what you see at the checkout is what you pay for. It’s only under the circumstance of a cancellation or refund/discount that the GBF comes into effect. 

What do Hosts need to do to prepare for this change?

This change was automatically applied to the checkout on February 1st 2022, with the booking fee simply included as a line item below the final total. We also updated all email communications, receipts, and the user interface to reflect the adjustment. 

What happens if the GBF has not been included as part of our Fees & Charges Schedule? (e.g. Local Governments)

In this situation, SpacetoCo can adjust your account settings so that the GBF is covered by you as the Host. This setting can then be removed once the GBF has been added to your Fees & Charges. 

Under this scenario, the GBF is simply invisible to a Guest when making a casual booking.

Does this have any effect on Regular bookings?

No. The GBF only applies to casual bookings. 

Do you have any further questions?

We are more than happy to chat further if you have any questions. Just hit us up on the chatbot in the lower right-hand corner of SpacetoCo!