If your experience includes an entry ticket (a museum, a monument, a tasting) in the price the guest pays on Withlocals, you are responsible for buying that ticket for the guest. Wait until the booking is no longer refundable before you spend the money. While the guest can still cancel for a refund, you risk being stuck with a ticket you can't use.
This article only applies if your experience price includes the entry ticket. If tickets are not included in your price, the guest is responsible for buying their own entry and this timing rule doesn't apply.
When the booking is non-refundable
For direct Withlocals bookings, the guest can no longer cancel for a refund once you are less than 7 days before the experience starts. That is the point where the booking is locked in for both sides.
Before the 7-day mark, the guest can still cancel and get a refund of some or all of the booking price, depending on how soon after booking they cancel. For the full guest-side rules, see Cancellation and refund policy.
The practical rule
Wait until the experience is within 7 days before buying the ticket. By then the booking can no longer be cancelled for a refund, so a no-show no longer leaves you out of pocket.
If a venue requires booking weeks in advance and you have to buy earlier, you are accepting the risk: a guest who cancels before the 7-day mark can still get a refund, and the ticket cost stays with you.
If you can't get the ticket in time
If the venue sells out before you reach the 7-day mark, or your plan stops working for another reason, cancel the booking with reason Entrance tickets unavailable. That reason is treated as a valid cancellation and does not count against your Booking Completion score, but like every host cancellation it means you are not paid for the booking, and Withlocals does not reimburse tickets you already bought. See How to cancel a booking as a host.
Good to know
A booking transferred to you from another host can be cancelled for a full refund until the experience starts, unless the guest asked for the transfer. Check "Guest can cancel free of charge until" on the booking page before buying tickets for it.
The 7-day rule applies to direct Withlocals bookings only. Partner bookings (Viator, GetYourGuide) follow the partner's cancellation policy, so check the partner platform for the deadline before buying tickets. See Partner bookings (Viator & GetYourGuide).
Rescheduling moves the booking to a new date without a refund. If the guest reschedules after you have already bought a ticket, the original ticket may no longer fit the new date.
Coordinate timing with the guest in chat before paying for non-refundable items, especially for time-slot tickets that need to match the tour schedule.
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