Planning a trip in April but not 100% committed yet. I would like to be able to secure dog boarding but want to know if I can cancel if my travel does not happen.
If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest first set up a meet&greet with at least a couple sitters available during that time and let them know your plans aren't definite. Some sitters may agree to delay booking the reservation until the date gets closer or may have a flexible cancellation policy once booked. The booking policy set as flexible, moderate, or strict defines how much cancellation notice is required in order to receive full or partial refund.
When will your plans be certain? Even with the strictestsitter cancellation policy, you can still cancel for a full refund one week before your stay. A sitter's cancellation policy will be listed on their profile, on the right, underneath their availability calendar. It will say Flexible, Moderate, or Strict. You can hover over the word to read about the policy, when you can cancel, and how much you will get back. Here is the description of all the cancellation policies: https://support.rover.com/hc/en-us/ar...
Also, the service you search for determines which cancellation policy you see in a sitter's profile. You may notice a profile says "House Sitting Cancellation Policy: Strict," but if you were searching for Dog Walking when you clicked the sitter's profile, the same profile will say "Dog Walking Cancellation Policy: Flexible." Sitters can have different cancellation policies for different services, so make sure you're looking at the right service and consider clarifying with the sitter what their policy is. We can change our policy at any time, but I'm not sure if that would affect stays that have already been booked. But at least if you clarify with the sitter in advance, in writing, you won't have to worry. Good luck!