Cancellation
Cancel or change dates from your trip page (open the booking link from confirmation or My trips). You don’t need to message the host just to cancel.
Booking payment: part of your rental total — not a security deposit and not insurance. Returned if you cancel 24+ hours before your start time. If you cancel inside 24 hours of start, the host keeps that portion.
No-show: the host may keep that rental portion. Other rental refunds for late cancels are handled case by case with the host in trip chat.
If you change dates on the trip page, the total recalculates with the same multi-day discount rules (longer trips can lower the effective daily rate; shorter trips can raise it).
Unpaid soft holds that never complete payment may expire after 24 hours so someone else can book.