Cancellation Policy
Complete transparency on refunds, owner responsibilities, and emergency procedures
Policy Overview
Three Policy Tiers
Flexible, Moderate, and Strict policies with clear timing rules
Owner-Initiated Emergency System
Owners have authority to cancel for safety = full refunds
Transparent Penalties
Automatic owner penalties with exemption review process
Pending Request Cancellations
Booking requests that have not been paid for can be cancelled by either party at any time without fees or penalties.
•Either party can cancel at any time before payment is completed
•No cancellation fees apply since no payment has been made
•Automatic email notification sent to the other party
•No impact on completion rates or account standing
⚠️ Important Note
Once a booking is approved and payment is made, standard cancellation policies apply (as detailed below). Pending request cancellations only apply to bookings that have not yet been approved or paid.
Cancellation Policy Tiers
Each boat owner chooses their preferred cancellation policy when listing. The system automatically calculates refunds based on policy type and timing using timezone-aware calculations.
Flexible Policy
Best for high-demand boats and flexible owners
Moderate Policy
Balanced approach preferred by most owners
Strict Policy
For high-value boats requiring advance planning
IMPORTANT: *Service fees are refundable ONLY in verified owner no-show cases (see below). All timing calculations use the boat's local timezone for accuracy across different regions.
Owner No-Show Policy
If an owner fails to arrive for a confirmed booking ("no-show"), Aquavora provides complete protection to renters. This is the ONLY circumstance where service fees are refunded, as it represents a complete platform failure to deliver the promised service.
What Renters Should Do
Wait 15 minutes past scheduled start time
Arrive at your scheduled time and wait for the owner
Attempt to contact the owner via platform messages
Send a message through Aquavora asking about their location
Use the "Report No-Show" button in your dashboard
You must report before your booking ends. Provide:
- • Evidence photos (location shots showing you arrived)
- • Screenshots of unanswered messages to owner
- • Description of what happened
✅ Full Refund Guarantee
Once verified, you'll receive a complete refund including rental fees AND service fees. Refunds are processed immediately and appear in your account within 5-10 business days.
Investigation & Verification Process
Immediate Actions (Same Day)
- • Admin receives renter report and reviews evidence
- • Owner's payout is immediately placed on administrative hold
- • Owner is contacted via email requiring response within 24 hours
Owner Counter-Evidence Window (24 Hours)
- • Owner may provide counter-evidence (photos, messages proving renter no-show)
- • All evidence is reviewed by admin for verification
- • If owner doesn't respond within 24 hours, claim is verified by default
Final Decision (48-72 Hours Maximum)
- • Admin reviews all evidence from both parties
- • Decision is final and binding
- • If verified: Full refund issued, owner faces penalties
- • If not verified: No refund, renter may face account review for false claims
Owner Consequences & Progressive Enforcement
Aquavora takes owner no-shows extremely seriously. Verified no-shows result in immediate consequences:
1st Offense
- • $50 penalty (auto-deducted from future payouts)
- • Official warning email
- • Account flagged for monitoring
2nd Offense (within 12 months)
- • $50 penalty
- • 30-day account suspension
- • All active listings deactivated
3rd Offense (within 12 months)
- • $50 penalty
- • Permanent account ban
- • No future platform access
Note: All penalties are automatically deducted from future payouts. Owners with pending no-show investigations cannot receive payouts until the matter is resolved. The 12-month enforcement window resets after each verified no-show.
Emergency Situations & Safety Protocol
Owner-Initiated Emergency Cancellation System
How Emergency Cancellations Work:
1. Renter identifies safety concern - Weather warnings, dangerous conditions, mechanical issues
2. Contact boat owner directly - Use platform messaging to communicate specific concerns
3. Owner evaluates local conditions - Owners have local expertise and monitor weather/water conditions
4. Owner cancels if unsafe - Owner initiates cancellation for safety reasons
5. Automatic full refund - Renter receives complete refund immediately, no policy timing applies
Emergency Situations Include:
- • Severe Weather: Storms, lightning warnings, dangerous winds
- • Water Conditions: High waves, flooding, ice conditions
- • Mechanical Issues: Boat equipment failure, engine problems
- • Local Hazards: Marina closures, emergency restrictions
Key Benefits:
- • Full Refunds: Emergency cancellations = 100% refund
- • Local Expertise: Owners know their waters best
- • Fast Response: No admin review required
- • Clear Responsibility: Owner authority protects all parties
Legal Framework: This system ensures renters receive full refunds for legitimate safety concerns while empowering owners with local knowledge to make appropriate safety decisions. Platform liability is limited to facilitating communication between parties.
Owner Cancellation Policies & Legal Obligations
Automatic Owner Penalties
LEGAL NOTICE: Boat owners who cancel confirmed bookings face automatic penalties to maintain platform reliability, compensate renters for inconvenience, and uphold contractual obligations.
• Penalties automatically deducted from future payouts
• Renters receive full refund regardless of policy timing
• Safety exemptions available with documentation
• Repeated cancellations trigger account review
Legal Enforcement & Obligations:
- • By listing your boat, you contractually agree to penalty terms
- • Penalties are legally binding and automatically enforced
- • No separate billing - automatic deduction from payouts
- • Platform reserves right to suspend accounts for excessive cancellations
- • 3+ cancellations in 90 days triggers account review
- • False exemption claims may result in additional penalties
- • Completion rates affect profile visibility and search ranking
- • All cancellation terms are contractually binding
Penalty Exemptions (Admin Review Required)
ADMIN-CONTROLLED: Owner penalty exemptions are NOT automatic and require documentation with admin approval. These are only granted for extraordinary circumstances and must be requested during cancellation.
Qualifying Circumstances:
- • Severe weather warnings (storms, hurricanes)
- • Boat mechanical failure with evidence
- • Medical emergencies with documentation
- • Other extraordinary circumstances
Required Evidence:
- • Weather: Official warning screenshots
- • Mechanical: Photos, repair receipts
- • Medical: Doctor's note, hospital records
- • All claims verified by admin
Process Timeline:
- • Request exemption during cancellation
- • Automatic documentation instructions sent
- • Email info@aquavora.com within 48 hours
- • Admin review within 3 business days
- • Decision is final and binding
Automatic Documentation Guide: When you request a penalty exemption during cancellation, you'll receive detailed email instructions with specific evidence requirements for your exemption type within minutes.
⚠️ WARNING: False exemption claims may result in account suspension and additional penalties. All documentation is verified with official sources.
Privacy Practices for Medical Exemption Requests
Optional Medical Documentation
Important: Medical documentation is never required unless you're requesting a penalty exemption involving a personal health emergency. This is optional and only applies to rare exemption situations.
How We Handle Medical Information:
Rare Collection: Aquavora does not collect medical information in normal use. Medical documents are only submitted for penalty exemption verification in exceptional circumstances.
Secure Review: All documents are sent over secure channels and reviewed only by authorized staff. We never store them permanently.
Complete Deletion: All exemption evidence (including medical documents and photos) is permanently deleted after admin review and decision, typically within 7 business days.
No Permanent Records: We do not maintain medical files or health records of any kind.
Your Privacy Rights:
- • Medical information only submitted voluntarily for exemptions
- • Right to request immediate deletion of submitted documents
- • Right to submit exemptions without medical details
- • Right to be informed of any data security incidents
Our Commitments:
- • Documents reviewed by authorized personnel only
- • No sharing with third parties under any circumstances
- • Automatic deletion after exemption decision
- • No permanent medical record storage
Note: While Aquavora is not a healthcare provider, we voluntarily follow strict privacy practices for any sensitive documentation to protect your personal information in the rare cases where it's submitted.
How Refunds Work
Refund Components
✅ Refundable: Rental Subtotal
The base boat rental cost - refunded according to policy timing
❌ Non-Refundable: Service Fees*
Platform service and transaction fees - refunded ONLY in verified owner no-show cases
Example Calculation (Moderate Policy):
Booking: $200 rental + $35 service fees = $235 total paid
Cancel 36 hours before: 50% refund applies
Refund Amount: $200 × 50% = $100
Service Fees: $35 (kept, non-refundable)
Total Refund: $100 back to renter
Refund Timeline & Processing
Automatic Processing
System calculates refund and processes via Stripe immediately
5-10 Business Days
Refund appears in original payment method (credit card, etc.)
Confirmation Email
Automatic email with refund ID and tracking information
Emergency Cancellations:
When owners cancel for safety reasons, renters receive immediate full refunds (100% of rental subtotal) regardless of policy timing. Processing still takes 5-10 business days.
Owner No-Show Refunds:
Verified owner no-shows receive complete refunds including both rental fees AND service fees. This is processed immediately upon verification.
How to Cancel a Booking
For Renters
For Boat Owners
Legal Framework & Compliance
Platform Responsibilities
- • Facilitate secure communication between parties
- • Process payments and refunds via Stripe
- • Maintain transparent cancellation policies
- • Provide dispute resolution for penalty exemptions
- • Ensure timezone-aware calculation accuracy
- • Protect user data and privacy
- • Investigate and verify owner no-show claims
User Responsibilities
- • Owners: Monitor local conditions and make safety decisions
- • Owners: Accept liability for local safety assessments
- • Renters: Contact owners about weather/safety concerns
- • Renters: Accept policy timing for standard cancellations
- • Renters: Report owner no-shows immediately with evidence
- • All Users: Provide accurate information for exemption claims
- • All Users: Comply with contractual obligations
Liability & Legal Protections
Platform Liability Limitations:
- • Platform does not make weather or safety assessments
- • Owners responsible for local condition monitoring
- • Platform facilitates communication and investigation only
- • All penalty exemption decisions are final
- • All no-show investigation decisions are final
- • Medical documentation handled with strict privacy controls
Legal Enforcement:
- • All cancellation terms are contractually binding
- • Owner penalties automatically enforced
- • False claims may result in legal action
- • Account suspension for policy violations
- • Privacy breaches reported according to applicable law
- • Progressive enforcement for repeated no-shows
Questions & Support
General Support
Email: info@aquavora.com
Response Time: 24-48 hours for cancellation issues
Penalty Exemptions
Must include booking details and supporting evidence
Review Time: 3 business days maximum
Owner No-Show Reports
Report immediately via info@aquavora.com with booking ID and evidence
Investigation Time: 48-72 hours maximum
Legal Disclaimer: All cancellation policies, penalties, and exemption decisions are contractually binding. By using Aquavora, users agree to these terms. Platform reserves the right to modify policies with notice. All financial transactions are processed securely through Stripe. Boat owners are responsible for local weather and safety assessments. Platform liability is limited to facilitating communication between parties. Penalty exemption requests must be submitted during the cancellation process. Owner no-show claims must be reported immediately with supporting evidence.
Last updated: February 18, 2026