What to put in your spa's cancellation policy and how to make it stick

Silvia runs a spa in Tequisquiapan offering 60- and 90-minute massages, and nearly half her clients come in on weekends from Querétaro or Mexico City. Her cancellation policy, the rule for what happens when a client can no longer make it, was one line on her page: “cancellations with 24 hours’ notice.”

One Friday at 10:40 p.m., a client with a 90-minute massage booked for 11:00 a.m. the next day texted her: “so sorry, we can’t make it tomorrow.” She’d sent a $300 deposit by bank transfer and asked whether she’d get it back or lose it. The line said how much notice was needed, but not what happened after. Silvia refunded her in full to avoid an argument, and on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. she was left with an hour and a half of empty time.

A rule that only lives in one sentence is a rule you have to enforce yourself, at night, over WhatsApp, with someone who already feels bad.

What should your spa’s cancellation policy say?

Four things, and Silvia’s only covered the first:

1. How many hours ahead a client can cancel or reschedule without losing anything.
2. What happens to what she paid if she cancels on time.
3. What happens if she cancels late or doesn’t show up.
4. What to do if the window has already closed and she truly can’t come.

The new version read:

You can cancel or reschedule your appointment online up to 24 hours ahead of time. If you cancel on time, we’ll refund your deposit in full. If you cancel later or don’t show up, the deposit is forfeited. If you’re past the deadline to cancel, let us know on WhatsApp.

It doesn’t mention fines or extra charges, because the only thing that can be forfeited is what the client already paid when booking.

How many hours ahead should clients be able to cancel?

Fewer hours than typically pass between booking and arrival, and enough to offer that slot to someone else. If your window is longer than that lead time, a lot of clients will fall outside it the moment they book.

Silvia knows her clients. The weekend crowd books about a week ahead, so 48 hours would have worked for them. The Tequisquiapan locals book one or two days out, and with a 48-hour window almost none of them could have cancelled online. Since the window is the same for the whole spa (the 60- and 90-minute massages share it), she picked the one that works for both: 24 hours.

It’s fine if a few clients book outside that window, like the one who texted that same morning. If it’s half your appointments, your window is too long.

Where do you set the window so your page enforces it?

In Schedule, under Settings, in the Cancellations card. You type the number into “They can cancel up to … hours before” and save: anywhere from 1 to 720 hours, or leave it blank to allow cancellation right up until the appointment starts.

Only whoever manages the page can change it. And the window is for your clients, not for you: from your calendar, you can cancel or move an appointment whenever you need to.

What does your client see when she wants to cancel?

She sees your window as soon as her appointment is confirmed, and your page reminds her again when she goes to cancel. The WhatsApp confirmation she receives says: “If you need to change or cancel it, just reply here at least 24 hours in advance.”

If she left her email, the confirmation includes a Change or cancel my appointment button that takes her to her appointments on your page. For a Saturday 11:00 a.m. appointment, it reads “You can cancel until Friday, December 4 at 11:00 AM,” with Cancel and Change time buttons. Both use the same window, since rescheduling an appointment also frees up its slot.

Once the window has passed, the page won’t let her cancel or reschedule anymore, and tells her instead: “The deadline to cancel online has passed (…). If you can’t make it, let us know on WhatsApp,” with a button that opens your chat with the message already written. If she replies to the WhatsApp confirmation instead, the assistant answering there applies the same window. Silvia still gets messages at 10:40 p.m., but now from clients who’ve already read the rule.

What happens to the money if she cancels?

That’s up to you. When a client cancels, Proyecta doesn’t refund her automatically or charge anything extra: what she paid when booking stays with you until you do whatever your policy says.

If your rule says to refund, you go to Sales, then Payments, and tap Refund on that charge; you can return all or part of it. That’s how Silvia gave back the $300 to a client from Querétaro who cancelled Thursday at noon. If the appointment was paid for with a session from a package and it’s cancelled on time, the session goes back into the package automatically. If she cancels late or doesn’t show up, there’s no automatic charge: you keep what she paid at booking, and nothing more.

That’s why it’s worth charging something up front. If your clients pay at the spa, your calendar marks the appointment “Pays at the business,” and your rule can only ask nicely. Charging at booking, whether in full or as a deposit, is set up when you describe your spa: each service comes with a Deposit field, where you can change the amount whenever you like, and the appointment shows up as “Deposit paid.” It’s not a toggle in your dashboard, so ask for it from the start.

How do you get her to accept it before booking?

With a checkbox she has to tick to book. In Schedule, Settings, under Booking questions, tap Add question and choose Acceptance checkbox as the answer type. In “Text your client accepts,” paste your policy, up to 300 characters, and turn on Required.

Your client sees the text with its checkbox on the booking form, and she can’t finish without checking it. On your calendar, that appointment shows “Accepted:” with your text and the time she accepted it. If yours doesn’t fit, the “Link (optional)” field can point to the page where the full version lives. The field’s example already reads “I accept the cancellation policy.”

How do I set this up for my spa?

Describe your business to Proyecta in your own words. Something like: “a page for my spa in Tequisquiapan with 60- and 90-minute massages and their prices, online booking with a $300 deposit required, and clients able to cancel or reschedule up to 24 hours ahead.”

And today, before you pick your number, write down the one exception you’re actually going to make (the client who woke up sick, the highway that’s closed) and how you’ll handle it, for instance, by moving her appointment yourself from your calendar. The exception you don’t write down, you’ll end up deciding all over again every Friday night. Get started at proyecta.dev.