HEARTHSTONESTAYS

Guest Refund Policy

Last updated 9 November 2026

This policy covers what happens when something seriously goes wrong with your stay. It sits alongside your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which it does not limit.

What’s covered

You’re covered if, through no fault of your own:

  • You can’t get in — the Host cancels at short notice, doesn’t give you access, or the place is double-booked.
  • It’s significantly not as described — for example fewer bedrooms than listed, a different property, a key amenity in the listing missing or not working (such as a pool, air conditioning, Wi-Fi advertised for remote work, or a kitchen).
  • It isn’t clean or safe — it’s unhygienic on arrival, there’s a pest problem, a safety hazard, no smoke alarm, or no hot water or power for a substantial part of the stay.
  • There’s an unexpected occupant — someone other than your party is staying there without it being disclosed.

Minor issues that don’t affect your stay much, such as a slightly worn couch, aren’t covered by this policy, but please still tell your Host so they can fix them.

What to do

  1. Tell your Host straight away through Hearthstone Messages, with photos. Most problems are fixed quickly this way.
  2. If it isn’t fixed, contact us within 72 hours of finding the problem at info@hearthstonestays.com.au with your booking reference, photos and what happened.
  3. Don’t leave or cancel through the app before talking to us if you want to rely on this policy — we can’t help you as fully if we haven’t been able to look into it.

What we’ll do

We’ll look at the evidence, hear from the Host, and decide fairly. Depending on how serious the problem is and how much of your stay it affected, we’ll do one of these:

  • Help the Host fix it during your stay
  • Give you a partial refund for the affected nights or the missing amenity
  • If the place isn’t habitable or you can’t get in: help you find a similar place, and give you a full refund for the nights you couldn’t use (or a full refund of the whole booking if you didn’t stay at all)

Refunds include the matching share of cleaning fees, the Hearthstone service and booking fees and any levy. The cost is recovered from the Host’s payout where the Host was responsible.

Hearthstone Verified stays

If a Verified stay turns out to be significantly not as described, we treat your claim as a priority and review the property’s badge.

Disagree with our decision?

Reply to us and we’ll have someone else review it. You can also contact your state consumer protection agency, or for NSW stays, NSW Fair Trading.