Canceling a Trip (Guest)
How much you get back when you cancel depends on the cancellation tier your host set — you'll always see it before you book, and Carvia never keeps its own cut on a trip that doesn't happen.
How to cancel in-app
1. Go to your Trips tab and select the trip you want to cancel.
2. Tap Cancel Trip.
3. Review the refund amount shown — this reflects the listing's cancellation tier and how far out you are from the trip start.
4. Confirm the cancellation.
Your refund (if any) is issued to your original payment method. See Refunds and Receipts for how long it takes to show up and where to find your receipt.
The three cancellation tiers
Every listing shows one of three tiers, set by the host, before you ever book. It's always visible on the listing page and again at checkout — no surprises after the fact.
| Tier | Full refund | 50% refund | No refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible | 24+ hours before trip start | inside 24 hours | — |
| Moderate | 5+ days before trip start | 1-5 days before | inside 24 hours |
| Strict | 14+ days before trip start | 5-14 days before | inside 5 days |
Once your trip has already started (status is "Active"), cancelling doesn't trigger a refund under any tier — the car's already been handed over.
What gets refunded
Whatever portion of your trip subtotal is refunded, Carvia's 12% service fee and your protection plan cost on that same portion are refunded right along with it. We don't keep our cut on a trip that didn't happen — that applies no matter which tier you're under.
Check the tier before you book, not after
Cancellation tier is set per listing, so it can differ from one car to the next. If your plans might change, look for a Flexible listing before booking, or ask the host directly — see Messaging Your Host.
Modifying instead of cancelling
If your dates or plans shift but you still want the trip, check whether you can modify the booking instead — see Booking a Car: Step by Step for how changes work. Modifying doesn't automatically trigger cancellation fees, but a host can decline a change request, in which case the tier above still applies if you cancel outright.
Emergencies
If you need to cancel because of a genuine emergency — a death in the family, serious illness or injury, a government travel restriction, or a natural disaster affecting your trip — you may qualify to cancel without the tier limits above. See Extenuating Circumstances Policy for what qualifies and how to file.
If your host cancels instead
The tiers above only apply when you initiate the cancellation. If your host cancels on you, different rules apply and you're always made whole — see What If My Host Cancels?.
Full legal terms
This page covers the practical how-to. For the complete legal terms, see the Cancellation Policy.