1 When this policy applies
This policy covers cancellations of a booking made through HireHire, from the moment a rental request is submitted until pickup. It sits alongside our Terms of Use Privacy Policy and Disputes & Claims Policy. Where they overlap, this policy governs cancellation matters specifically.
Once a rental has started, cancellation is no longer available — the booking runs to its scheduled end. If something is wrong with the rental itself, use the disputes process instead; it exists exactly for that.
2 Before the owner accepts
You can withdraw a rental request at any time before the owner accepts it, at no cost. At this stage we've saved your card details but haven't charged or held anything, so there's nothing to refund — the booking simply ends.
The same applies in reverse: an owner declining your request costs nobody anything.
3 After the owner accepts
Once a booking is accepted, both sides have made a commitment — the item is reserved, the dates are blocked, and payment steps begin. Cancelling from this point carries a fee, and who pays depends on who cancels and how close it is to pickup.
| Who cancels, and when | Renter | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Renter, more than 24h before pickup | Pays the service fee. Everything else is released, including any bond hold. | Receives nothing. Dates reopen. |
| Renter, 24h or less before pickup | Pays the service fee + one day's rental. The rest is released, including any bond hold. | Receives one day's rental (less commission) as compensation for the lost booking window. |
| Owner, more than 24h before pickup | Full refund. Bond hold released. | Owes the service fee, deducted from their next payout. The cancelled dates stay blocked on their calendar. |
| Owner, 24h or less before pickup | Full refund. Bond hold released. | Owes the service fee + one day's rental, deducted from their next payout. Dates stay blocked. |
| Either party, during the rental | Not available. The booking runs to its scheduled end. Problems during a rental go through the disputes process. | |
Why cancelled dates stay blocked for owners
When an owner cancels an accepted booking, those dates remain unavailable on their calendar. This means an owner can never cancel on you to take a better-paying booking for the same dates.
A worked example
A $100/day item rented for 3 days: rental subtotal $300, plus the 10% service fee ($30), so the renter's total is $330. The owner's commission is 15% ($15 on each $100 rental day). A $500 bond is held separately at pickup and is released in full in every scenario below.
| Scenario | Renter pays | Owner outcome | HireHire keeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renter cancels >24h out | $30 = the service fee |
$0 | $30 |
| Renter cancels ≤24h out | $130 = $30 service fee + $100 one day's rental |
+$85 = $100 day's rental − $15 commission |
$45 = $30 fee + $15 commission |
| Owner cancels >24h out | $0 full $330 refunded |
−$30 = service fee, from next payout |
$30 |
| Owner cancels ≤24h out | $0 full $330 refunded |
−$130 = $30 service fee + $100 one day's rental, from next payout |
$130 |
Why the asymmetry: when a renter cancels late, the owner's compensation is a normal rental day, so the usual 15% commission applies to it. When an owner cancels late, they owe the full penalty because the renter — who did nothing wrong — must be refunded every cent.
4 Special circumstances
Illness, emergencies and natural disasters
We know life happens. If a genuine emergency forces you to cancel, cancel in the app first — that way the other person isn't left waiting at a pickup. Then contact our team at support@hirehire.com.au, quoting your booking reference code, with any documents that support your case (for example a medical certificate or police report). We review hardship cases individually and can refund the cancellation fee where it's the right thing to do.
If the other party did something wrong
If an item is dangerous, misrepresented or illegal, if an owner is a no-show at pickup, or if a renter clearly isn't who they said they were — raise it through the in-app dispute flow rather than the standard cancellation flow, so the right process applies from the start. If you have additional evidence such as a police report, send it to support@hirehire.com.au quoting your booking reference code. These cases don't incur fees on the wronged party, and are resolved under the Disputes & Claims Policy.
No-shows and repeated cancellations
Failing to attend a pickup is treated as a cancellation at the applicable rate. Repeated cancellations or no-shows may lead to reduced search ranking, restrictions or account suspension under our Terms of Use.
Refund timing
Refunds and released bond holds typically appear on your card within 1–7 business days depending on your bank. HireHire releases the money immediately — the delay is on the banking network's side.