How do I set my cancellation policy?
You write your own terms on each listing. They are shown to the guest before they book and the version they saw is the version that governs their trip.
We do not impose one policy across the bay, because a twelve-hour offshore day and a two-hour inshore morning do not carry the same costs. Set terms that reflect what a cancellation actually costs you.
Changing your terms affects new bookings only. A guest is always held to the terms they were shown.
Write it as a guest would read it: how many days before departure a full refund of the deposit applies, what happens inside that window, and what a no-show means. Three lines is plenty. A common shape in this bay is a full refund seven or more days out, no refund inside forty-eight hours, and something in between. Remember that the deposit is the only money at stake before the trip, so 'no refund' means the guest loses the deposit — you have not been paid anything yet either way.