Weather and rain-outs - rescheduling, closing dates or refunding

Renta has no weather feature. It does not watch forecasts, and there is no "weather cancellation" setting or refund rule. Your cancellation policy works only on how many hours before pickup a booking is cancelled. When a storm or high wind cancels a rental day, you handle each booking with the ordinary tools below.

Where to find it

• Move a booking: Bookings → open the booking → More menu → Reschedule.
• Stop new bookings for the day: Bookings → Block dates (on a computer).
• Cancel and refund: Bookings → open the booking → Cancel, then More → Refund.

How it works

Option 1: reschedule the booking Rescheduling moves a booking to new dates without cancelling it, so the customer keeps their payment and their place. In the Reschedule rental window pick the new pickup and return, check Current total against New estimated total, and press Reschedule. It works while a booking is pending, pending payment, confirmed or active. If the new dates change the price, Renta then asks whether to charge the difference or refund it. See Changing a booking's dates.

Customers can also reschedule their own booking from their booking page, but only while it is pending, pending payment or confirmed, and only within your normal availability rules. If a weather day falls inside your normal notice period, rescheduling it yourself is simpler. Ticking Override availability rules skips the notice and hours checks, if your role allows it.

Option 2: block the dates Block dates stops new customers from booking. Choose Entire business, Selected items (for example only the boats, while bike rentals stay open) or One specific unit. Set a Start and End date, add a reason (the hint reads "e.g. holiday break, family trip, weather"), and press Close these dates. Open Block dates again to remove a closure under Scheduled closures.

Blocking dates does not touch bookings that already exist. The window lists them and says "These stay active - nothing is cancelled or refunded. Contact those customers yourself if you need to move them." Use Option 1 or 3 for each of those bookings.

Option 3: cancel and refund 1. Open the booking and press Cancel. In the Note (optional) box you can write "Weather". If there is a deposit hold, choose Release the hold now so the customer is not left waiting. 2. Cancelling never refunds by itself. Open More → Refund, type the amount and a reason (the hint reads "e.g. Weather cancellation, partial service credit"), and press Issue refund. See Refunding or cancelling a booking.

If your cancellation policy would keep a fee because the customer is inside the cutoff, Renta only proposes that. It moves no money. In Resolve payment you can use a different amount instead of the policy's proposal, with a written reason, or you can refund in full with Refund. See Your cancellation and refund policy.

Giving credit instead of a refund If you would rather keep the money and give a rain check, you can issue a gift card for that value. At Pricing → Gift cards → Issue a gift card, the Comp — free giveaway payment choice records no money. See Gift cards. Then you decide what to do with the original payment, for example keep it.

Example

A thunderstorm closes the lake on Saturday. You open Block dates, pick Selected items, tick the boats, set Saturday as the start and end, type "Storm", and press Close these dates. The window lists 12 existing bookings. For each one you either reschedule it to Sunday at More → Reschedule, or cancel it and refund it.

Good to know

• Write down your weather rules. Because Renta has no built-in weather rule, put your policy in your own terms and on your website.
• The Renta booking fee is not refunded. If the customer paid the Renta booking fee with their card, Renta's renter terms say it is kept even when a booking is cancelled for weather. It shows as its own line in the Payment Log. See Payment history and signed documents on a booking.
• Keep a record. Typing the reason on every cancellation and refund keeps the booking's change log clear if a customer asks later.
• Message customers. Renta does not explain a weather change to customers for you. Contact the people you move or cancel yourself. See Emailing one customer directly.