Deposits and Refunds for Room Hire, Explained

If you hire rooms out to the public, sooner or later you'll get a birthday party that leaves glitter in every corner, or a booking cancelled the evening before. Deposits handle the first problem and a clear refund policy handles the second. Here's how both work in Tidewell.

Setting a deposit

Each room can have its own deposit, separate from the hire fee. A small meeting room might need none at all, while the main hall on a Saturday night might need a larger one. You can also waive deposits for regular hirers you know well, such as the weekly choir or the toddler group.

Holding it and giving it back

The deposit is taken when the booking is confirmed and held until after the event. The next day, whoever does the post-event check marks the room as fine or notes any damage. If it's fine, the deposit goes back automatically. If not, the treasurer decides how much to keep, and the hirer gets a short explanation with the amount.

A refund policy people actually read

Set your cancellation rules once, and Tidewell shows them on the booking page and in the confirmation email. A common pattern is a full refund up to two weeks before, half up to 48 hours before and nothing after that. Whatever you choose, the hirer sees it before paying, which takes most of the heat out of refund conversations.

One habit worth stealing from the halls we work with: take two quick photos of the room before every big private event. They settle almost every deposit disagreement in seconds.