Cancellations & Refunds

Understanding how cancellations and refunds work helps you manage attendee expectations and handle situations smoothly. Medtribe provides a structured cancellation flow with automatic refund processing via Stripe.

Understanding Cancellation Dates

Each session has a cancellation date that determines who can cancel and how:

Setting the Cancellation Date

When creating or editing a session:

1. Go to your session settings
2. Find Cancellation Date
3. Set the latest date attendees can request cancellation
4. This must be on or before the session start date

Common strategies:

• Week before event - Gives time to fill cancelled spots
• 48 hours before - Balance flexibility with planning needs
• Same as booking deadline - Clean cutoff for all changes

Attendee Cancellation Flow

When an attendee wants to cancel, the process depends on timing:

Before the Cancellation Date

What the attendee sees:

1. They go to their booking in My Bookings
2. They see a Request Cancellation button
3. They confirm they want to cancel
4. They see their booking status change to "Cancellation Requested"
5. They wait for your approval

What you see:

1. You receive an email notification about the request
2. The booking appears with "Requested Cancellation" status
3. You can view the request details
4. You approve or deny the request

After the Cancellation Date

Once the cancellation date has passed:

• Attendees see the cancellation button is disabled or removed
• They cannot submit a cancellation request
• They must contact you directly if they need to cancel
• Only you (the organiser) can cancel their booking

Organiser Cancellation

As an organiser, you can cancel any booking at any time.

How to Cancel a Booking

1. Open your event and go to the session
2. Navigate to Attendees or Bookings
3. Find the booking you want to cancel
4. Click Cancel Booking (or select from menu)
5. Optionally enter a cancellation reason
6. Confirm the cancellation

What Happens When You Cancel

• The booking status changes to Cancelled
• The seat is released back to available capacity
• For paid tickets, a refund is automatically processed
• The attendee receives a cancellation confirmation email
• Related data is handled (see below)

Approving/Denying Requests

When an attendee requests cancellation:

1. View the request in your bookings list
2. Review the attendee details and booking
3. Click Approve to process the cancellation and refund
4. Or click Deny to reject the request and keep the booking active

Bulk Cancelling Attendees

You can cancel multiple attendees at once using bulk cancel, instead of cancelling bookings one by one.

How to Bulk Cancel

1. Navigate to your event and go to the Attendees section
2. Select attendees using the checkboxes:
   • Click individual checkboxes to select specific attendees
   • Or use the checkbox in the table header to select all
3. Click the Actions dropdown
4. Select Cancel Selected
5. In the confirmation modal:
   • Review the number of bookings to be cancelled
   • Enter a cancellation reason (required) - this is included in the email sent to each attendee
6. Click Cancel Bookings to confirm

Each cancellation will:

• Automatically process a refund for paid tickets via Stripe
• Send a cancellation confirmation email to the attendee (including your cancellation reason)
• Release the seat back to available capacity

Tips for Bulk Cancellation

• Write a clear cancellation reason - This message is included in the email to each attendee, so explain why the event or their booking is being cancelled
• Unpublish first - Consider unpublishing the event before starting cancellations to prevent new bookings during the process
• Check waitlist - If you have a waitlist, disable it before cancelling to prevent automatic notifications to waitlisted attendees

Refund Processing

Refunds for paid tickets are processed automatically through Stripe.

How Refunds Work

When a paid booking is cancelled:

1. The system calculates the refundable amount
2. A refund is initiated through Stripe
3. Funds are returned to the attendee's original payment method
4. You receive confirmation of the refund
5. The attendee receives a refund confirmation

What's Refunded

Refund Amount = (Ticket Price + Add-ons) - Stripe Fee

Refund Timing

Refunds typically take:

• 5-10 business days to appear on credit/debit cards
• The exact timing depends on the attendee's bank
• You'll see the refund as processed immediately in Medtribe

Free Ticket Cancellations

For free tickets, there's no refund to process:

• The booking is simply cancelled
• The seat is released
• Confirmation emails are still sent

Cancellation Notifications

Automatic emails are sent during the cancellation process:

Emails to Attendee

• Request received - Confirms their cancellation request was submitted
• Cancellation confirmed - When you approve or directly cancel
• Refund confirmation - Details of the refund amount and timing
• Request denied - If you reject their request

Emails to Organiser

• Cancellation request - When an attendee requests cancellation
• Cancellation processed - Confirmation when a booking is cancelled

What Happens to Related Data

When a booking is cancelled, related data is handled automatically:

Reservations

If the cancelled booking originated from a reservation:

• The reservation status changes to Cancelled
• The invitee cannot use that invitation link again

Add-On Purchases

Any add-ons purchased with the booking:

• Are cancelled along with the booking
• Are included in the refund amount

Form Responses

Booking form responses:

• Are preserved for your records
• Remain visible in form submissions
• Can be exported even after cancellation

Attendance Records

Any attendance already recorded:

• Is preserved in historical data
• Won't affect future reports (booking marked as cancelled)

Certificates

If a certificate was already issued:

• The certificate remains valid (already delivered)
• Consider whether you need to revoke or follow up separately

Custom Policies

You can communicate your cancellation policies to attendees:

Event Policies

In your event settings, you can add custom policy text:

• Cancellation Policy - Displayed during booking
• Refund Policy - Explains your refund terms

These are displayed to attendees before they complete their booking.

Writing Effective Policies

Good cancellation policies include:

• The cancellation deadline and what happens after
• How to request a cancellation
• What will be refunded
• Any exceptions or special circumstances
• Contact information for questions

Booking Statuses Reference

Understanding all booking statuses helps manage cancellations:

Common Questions

Troubleshooting

Attendee says they didn't receive refund

• Verify the refund was processed (check booking status)
• Remind them refunds take 5-10 business days
• Check Stripe dashboard for refund status
• Ask them to check with their bank

Can't find the cancel button

• Ensure you're in the right section (Attendees/Bookings)
• Check if the booking is already cancelled
• Try the menu (three dots) next to the booking

Cancellation request not appearing

• Check the "Requested Cancellation" filter/status
• Verify the attendee actually submitted a request
• Check your email for the notification

Refund amount seems wrong

• Remember that Stripe and Medtribe fees are not refunded
• Check if add-ons were included
• Review the original booking amount

Related Guides

• Booking Management - View and manage all bookings
• Payments - Understand payment processing and fees
• Sessions - Configure cancellation dates
• Waitlists - Handle cancelled spots
• Reservations - Manage held spots

For cancellation or refund questions, contact support@medtribe.com.