All About Booking.com’s Car Rental Cancelation Policy

If you cancel more than 48 hours before your rental begins, you’ll receive a full refund.

Life is full of surprises, and even the most carefully crafted travel plans can sometimes fall through. When renting a car, being prepared for the possibility of changing or canceling your reservation can save you from unexpected headaches and potential fees. This article explains everything you need to know about Booking.com’s car rental cancelation policy. It covers the steps involved in modifying or canceling a reservation, outlines the cancellation fees you might encounter, and clarifies under which circumstances you might be eligible for a full or partial refund.

Cancellation policy for refundable reservations

It’s good to know you can receive some—even all—of your money back if you need to cancel a car reservation, as long as you notify the rental company beforehand. That said, the refund amount you receive depends on how much advance notice you provide:

• If you cancel more than 48 hours before your rental begins, you’ll receive a full refund.
• If you cancel less than 48 hours before your rental begins, including at the rental counter when you’re due to pick up the car, we’ll refund what you paid minus three days’ rental cost. For example, if you cancel a seven-day reservation, we’ll refund you four days’ worth of the rental price. Consequently, you won't receive a refund if your reservation is for three days or less.

The second instance includes situations where you call us from the rental counter to cancel after the car rental company refuses to rent you the car (be it because you didn’t arrive on time, you’re ineligible to rent the vehicle, you don’t have the required documentation, or the main driver doesn’t have a credit card in their name with enough funds for the security deposit). If your reservation is for three days or less, or you don’t contact us from the rental counter at pick-up, you won’t receive a refund.

Cancellation policy for non-refundable reservations

• Keep in mind that the policies outlined above don’t apply to non-refundable reservations. You can’t change a non-refundable car reservation on Booking.com, and you won’t receive any refund if you cancel it altogether.

• An exception to this rule is if we or the service provider has to change your reservation because the car you initially booked is unavailable. If you don’t accept the change, you can cancel your reservation for a full refund, no matter how close the rental date is. Remember that you’ll be responsible for any costs you can incur due to this cancellation, including taxi fees.

How to change your car reservation

As long as your car rental reservation is refundable, you can change your reservation online at any time before you’re due to pick up the car.

To make changes to a reservation:

• If using the app, click ‘Bookings’ at the bottom of the screen.
• If using the website, sign in on Booking.com, navigate to the ‘Car rentals’ page, then click ‘Manage booking’.

In most cases, you won’t be charged an administration fee to change a car rental reservation with us. However, any changes you make may affect the rental price, which you’ll owe if the amount is greater than the price you originally paid.

In certain scenarios, the only way you can change a booking is to cancel it and make another one. In such cases, we may charge you a cancellation fee on the rental company’s behalf.

We’ll inform you in advance if changing your booking alters the rental price or incurs a cancellation fee.

What happens if you don’t pick up the car

In general, if you decide to cancel your reservation after your rental period begins or simply don’t show up to pick up your rental car, you won’t receive a refund.

If you anticipate arriving late for pick-up, contact the car rental company as soon as possible to inform them of your expected arrival time. While some car rental companies have a ‘grace period’ of 29–59 minutes, others may not. If the car you rented is no longer available when you arrive, you may not be entitled to a refund.