Cancellation & Refund Policy
Version 2026-10-01 · Last updated: 1 October 2026
The short version
- Cancel 30 or more days before your retreat starts: full refund.
- Cancel 15–29 days before: 50% refund.
- Cancel 14 days or less before, or don’t show up: no refund.
- Booked more than 30 days out? Cancel within 48 hours of booking for a full refund.
- If the Host cancels, or we remove the retreat, you get 100% back.
- In the EU and UK, the legal 14-day withdrawal right generally doesn’t apply to accommodation and leisure services booked for a specific date, which covers retreats. This policy applies instead.
- Paid outside Alma Escapes? Then this policy doesn’t cover it. Always book and pay on the Platform.
This policy applies to every retreat booked on Alma Escapes. It forms part of your contract with the Host and of our Terms of Service, and the Host has agreed to honor it. It covers bookings paid for through the Platform.
1. If you cancel
We take the date and time we receive your cancellation email, convert it to the retreat’s local time, and count the full calendar days to the start date.
| When you cancel | Refund |
|---|---|
| 30 days or more before the start date | 100% of the amount paid |
| 15 to 29 days before the start date | 50% of the amount paid |
| 14 days or less before the start date | No refund |
| No-show, late arrival or leaving early | No refund for the unused part |
48-hour cancellation window
If you book more than 30 days before the start date, you can cancel within 48 hours of booking for a full refund, whatever the table above says. This is an Alma Escapes policy, offered in addition to any rights you have by law.
2. If the Host cancels or changes the retreat
- Host cancels, or we remove the listing: you receive a 100% refund of the amount paid.
- Significant change (for example new dates, a different venue or location, or the main teacher or program replaced): you can accept the change or cancel for a 100% refund.
- Host declines a booking for safety reasons before the start (see section 5 of the Terms of Service): you receive a 100% refund of the amount paid.
- We can’t refund costs you paid to others, such as flights or visas. This is one reason we recommend travel insurance.
If a Host cancels, we’ll tell you as soon as we know. The refund is yours either way. If you’d still like to go, we’ll help you look at other dates or retreats. Moving to a new date or retreat is always your choice, never a condition of your refund.
3. Changing your booking
Need a different date, or a friend to take your place? Email us at least 14 days before the start. Changes depend on the Host and availability, and we can’t promise them. If the Host agrees, we confirm it in writing and the new booking keeps its place in this policy using the new start date. A change of price may apply. If it isn’t possible, your original booking and cancellation terms stay as they are.
4. Events outside anyone’s control
If a retreat can’t go ahead because of events outside the Host’s and your reasonable control (such as natural disasters, severe weather, war or civil unrest, a public-health order or epidemic, government travel bans, or official advice against travel to the destination), and it isn’t rescheduled to dates you accept, you receive a 100% refund. If a retreat is cut short by one of these events, we’ll work with the Host to refund you fairly for the days not delivered. Personal circumstances such as illness, work or missed flights are not covered this way; travel insurance is the best protection for those.
5. If the Host ends your participation
A Host may end a Guest’s participation for serious breaches of safety instructions or house rules, for behavior that puts others at risk, or for withholding information that is important to safety (see section 5 of the Terms of Service). In that case no refund is due for the unused part of the retreat, unless we find the Host acted unreasonably.
6. How to cancel
Email [email protected] from the address you booked with, including your name, booking number and retreat. The time we receive your email is the time of cancellation. We’ll confirm your cancellation and refund amount in writing.
7. How and when refunds arrive
- Refunds go back to the original payment method. We don’t give cash or credit to other cards.
- Until your retreat starts, the Host’s money is normally still held in their Stripe account, so a refund for a cancellation comes straight from it. In some cases (for example hosts outside the United States, whose funds are released up to 85 days after payment, or a refund after the retreat has started) it may already have been paid out. Your refund does not depend on that: we arrange it either way.
- We issue your refund within 14 days of receiving your cancellation. Your bank or card provider usually takes a further 5–10 business days to show it.
- Refunds are made in the currency you paid. Any change in exchange rates, or fees charged by your own bank, is outside our control.
8. Problems during your retreat
If something is seriously different from the listing, tell the Host straight away so they can fix it, and email us at [email protected] within 14 days of the retreat ending. We’ll review what happened with the Host and, where the retreat was materially not as described, arrange a fair partial or full refund.
We aim to reply within 3 business days and to settle within 14 days of getting everything we need. Please include your booking number, what you were promised in the listing and what happened, with photos if you have them. If we can’t agree, section 15 of the Terms of Service applies.
9. Your legal rights and the 14-day “cooling-off” period
Many countries give consumers a right to cancel online purchases within 14 days. In the EU and UK that right generally does not apply to accommodation and leisure services booked for a specific date, which covers retreats. That is why your refund depends on this policy and not on a withdrawal right. The 48-hour window in section 1 is our own goodwill policy, not a legal right. None of this limits any right you have under mandatory consumer law where you live.
10. Contact
Alma Escapes, operated by Alexander Costa, 1057 Saratoga St, Boston, MA 02128, USA
[email protected]