Refund Policy

DrivewayNights captures the full booking amount at the time of booking and holds it in escrow. Funds are transferred to the host 24 hours after the stay start date, provided no dispute is open. This policy covers every case in which those funds — or part of them — come back to the guest.

• More than 7 days before

  Full refund including service fee. No questions asked. Tap Cancel on the booking and the refund is processed automatically.

• Within 7 days of stay start

  Non-refundable by default. You may still request a refund from the host directly, or open a dispute if the listing was misrepresented.

• After check-in

  Handled via the dispute flow only — see dispute-based refunds.

If a host cancels a confirmed booking for any reason, the guest receives a full refund of the booking amount and service fee. We may also apply a penalty to the host's account — repeated host cancellations result in listing suspension.

Either party may open a dispute within 72 hours of the stay start date. Common grounds include:

• The driveway did not exist or was inaccessible.
• The listing materially misrepresented the space (size, surface, safety, amenities).
• The host cancelled after check-in.
• Property damage caused by the guest (host-opened dispute).

Both parties have 72 hours to submit evidence (photos, messages, witness statements). An admin reviews the evidence and resolves the dispute with one of: full refund to guest, full transfer to host, or a partial split. If no evidence is submitted within the deadline, the dispute auto-resolves in favour of the host.

For multi-night stays interrupted mid-booking (e.g. guest stayed 2 of 5 nights before a dispute was opened), admins can issue a partial refund in explicit pence amounts. The default calculation prorates by nights consumed, but admins can override based on the evidence.

• Guest service fee

  Refunded in full on all free cancellations, host cancellations, and guest-wins disputes. Retained on no-show / late-cancel refusals.

• Host commission

  Only deducted when funds are transferred to the host. If the booking is refunded, no commission is charged.

• Stripe processing fees

  Absorbed by DrivewayNights on most refunds. Guests are not double-charged for payment processing.

Premium host memberships (£35/year) are billed annually via Stripe subscriptions. We offer pro-rata refunds within the first 14 days of a new subscription. After 14 days, memberships are non-refundable but remain active until the current period ends. Cancellation stops the next renewal.

• Platform side

  Refunds are issued instantly when the cancellation or resolution is confirmed.

• Stripe side

  Stripe typically returns funds to your card in 5–10 business days, depending on your bank. UK bank debits can be faster; some international cards take longer.

• Bank holidays

  Refunds initiated on weekends or UK bank holidays are queued and sent on the next working day.

If you file a chargeback, Stripe automatically freezes the booking funds pending the bank's investigation. We will submit evidence on the host's behalf where appropriate.

Most refunds are self-service — cancel the booking directly or open a dispute from the booking page. For edge cases or membership questions, email [email protected] with your booking ID and a short description of the issue.