Booking Policy

Pravaasa is a marketplace. When you book a stay, your contract for the accommodation is with the Host, and Pravaasa provides the booking, payment, escrow and support services around it. This Booking Policy explains each step from search to check-out so you know what to expect.

There are three ways you can arrange travel on Pravaasa. First, you can book a stay directly: choose a property, pick dates and a rate plan, review the quote and pay. Second, you can use InstantMatch: describe your trip and let nearby verified hosts respond. Third, for many treks, trips and events you are directed to the organiser's own site, where you book directly with the organiser under their terms.

This policy applies to stays booked through the Platform. Treks and events booked on an organiser's own website are governed by the organiser's terms. See Section 11.

You can search by destination, dates, number of guests and stay type, such as homestay, villa, cottage, resort, farmstay, boutique hotel, heritage property, apartment or guesthouse. You can compare several stays side by side and save notes in your compare list.

Enter your real group size. The number of adults, children and infants you enter affects whether a property can host you and how it is priced. Please do not understate your group to fit a property's limit. If the Host finds more guests than were booked at check-in, they may refuse the extra guests or ask you to leave without a refund, and this is a breach of the house rules.

Read the whole listing before booking: the description, photos, amenities, house rules, check-in and check-out times, location and the cancellation tier. Ask the Host through the Platform's messaging about anything that matters to you, for example early check-in, parking, accessibility, vegetarian meals or Wi-Fi quality, and ask them to confirm in writing.

When you choose dates and a rate plan, the Platform checks availability and produces a Quote. The Quote shows the total amount all-in, and you can expand it to see the base amount, each tax line (such as GST) and any other charges. Pravaasa does not add a guest service fee.

The Quote is saved, and the booking is created from it. The price you saw on the Quote is the price that is charged. We do not recalculate it differently at checkout.

Taxes depend on the type and price of the stay and on the law at the time. The Quote shows the tax calculated for your stay. If a Travel Partner referred you, any partner margin is shown as a separate line on the Quote so it is not hidden.

Worked example: a Quote for two nights at INR 4,000 per night shows a base amount of INR 8,000, then the applicable tax line, then the all-in total. You pay that total. If the total shown at payment is not the total on your Quote, stop and contact the support team.

When you choose to confirm a booking, the Platform places a temporary hold on your dates so that the same room is not sold twice while you pay. The hold exists only to give you time to complete payment. It is not a confirmed booking.

Payments are made through Razorpay's secure checkout using UPI, cards, net banking or wallets, depending on what is available. You may be asked for a second authentication step (such as your bank's OTP) as required by Indian payment rules.

If your payment fails, is cancelled or does not complete, the booking is not confirmed and the held dates may be released for other guests. If money has left your account but you do not receive a confirmation, do not pay again straight away. Check your email, SMS and your trips page first, and then contact the support team with your payment reference. A payment that is deducted but does not result in a confirmed booking is refunded under our Refund Policy.

Our Payment & Billing Policy has further detail about methods, security, GST invoices, failed payments and escrow.

Your booking is confirmed only when payment has been successfully received and the Platform records the booking as confirmed. At that point you receive a booking reference. Until then, you do not have a reservation, even if you see a hold or a pending screen.

Where you have given a contact reference and consent to receive it, a confirmation message is sent to you, and you can always find your booking in your trips page. If you do not receive a confirmation, check your trips page and then contact the support team with your name and the phone number or email you used.

When your booking is confirmed, the Host receives your name, contact details and booking details so that they can prepare for your stay. A tax invoice or receipt is generated for the booking, as explained in our Payment & Billing Policy.

A confirmed booking creates a binding agreement between you and the Host on the terms displayed on the listing, subject to the Cancellation Policy.

InstantMatch is for travellers who prefer to describe a trip and have verified hosts come to them. You tell us dates, group size, budget, stay type and preferences, such as breakfast or food preferences. We find nearby properties within a search radius, shown to you before you submit, and invite the best matches to respond.

Hosts see your trip details and can accept or decline. Invitations may go out in waves, with the closest and best matches contacted first. The request stays open for a limited time, around 15 minutes, and then expires if nobody accepts. The first suitable host who accepts is matched to you, and the other pending invitations for that request are closed.

InstantMatch is a matching service. A host's acceptance means they are willing to host you on your dates, but your stay is secured only when payment is completed and the booking is confirmed as described in Sections 4 and 5, and the listing terms and Cancellation Policy continue to apply. Hosts who accept a request should treat it as binding.

Some preferences you describe, such as pets, vehicle, accessibility, mood or occasion, are shown to hosts to help them decide, but they are not automatic filters. Please confirm important needs with the Host directly.

Check-in and check-out times are shown on the listing. If you expect to arrive late or early, ask the Host in advance. Early check-in or late check-out is not guaranteed unless the Host has confirmed it in writing.

Hill and rural destinations can involve long drives and delays. Share your estimated arrival time with the Host, and let them know if you are delayed, so that they can wait for you.

Escrow protects your payment while you travel. The Host is paid 24 hours after check-in. If the stay is not as described, tell the Host immediately and contact the support team as soon as possible, ideally on the same day, with photos and messages. Raising an issue promptly makes it much easier to resolve, and our Refund Policy explains the options.

If a Host cannot honour your confirmed booking, the Platform's support team may help you find a comparable verified stay. See the Cancellation Policy for host cancellations.

At present, changes to dates, rooms or guest numbers are not made automatically by the Platform. If you need to change a booking, first contact the Host through the Platform's messaging to ask whether they can accommodate the change, and then contact the support team so that the change is recorded properly.

A change depends on the Host's agreement, availability on the new dates and any price difference. It is not guaranteed. Do not assume a change has been made until it is confirmed in writing by the Host or the Platform.

If a change is not possible, you may cancel under the applicable Cancellation Tier and make a new booking. Because refund rules depend on the timing and the tier, please read the Cancellation Policy before cancelling. Cancel earlier rather than later where you can.

Special requests, such as meals, transport, celebrations or extra bedding, are arrangements between you and the Host and are not guaranteed until the Host confirms them. Extra charges for such services must be agreed in advance and, where they were not part of your Quote, you should not be pressed for off-platform payment.

If you do not arrive and have not cancelled before check-in, the booking is treated as a no-show. No refund is due for a no-show, and the stay is not rebooked automatically.

If you arrive late or leave early, the Host is not required to refund the nights you did not use unless the Host agrees. Where a stay is cut short because the property was unsafe or materially different from the listing, raise it with the Host and support team straight away.

Self-service cancellation is not available once check-in has started. In that situation, contact the support team.

For many treks, trips and rides, Pravaasa compares departures and then takes you to the organiser's own booking page. Pricing, seats, inclusions, payment, cancellation and refund terms are set by the organiser, who is the party you contract with.

Read the organiser's terms carefully, especially fitness requirements, medical declarations, safety gear and cancellation rules, before paying. Pravaasa does not take your payment for those bookings and is not responsible for the organiser's services.

Hosts must honour confirmed bookings at the confirmed price, deliver the stay as described, and be ready to check you in. They must not demand extra payment outside the Platform for anything that was included, must not ask guests to pay outside the Platform to avoid Platform protections, and must not cancel a confirmed booking unless there is a genuine emergency.

If a Host cancels without a genuine reason, the Guest receives a full refund and the Host may face penalties such as calendar restrictions, ranking effects, suspension or removal. See the Cancellation Policy.

Hosts who keep their calendars synchronised, including through iCal, help prevent double bookings. Hosts who repeatedly show unavailable dates as open may be restricted.

Do not make bookings you do not intend to use, use stolen or someone else's payment method without permission, create fake bookings to harm a host, or book on someone else's behalf with false details. Do not pay, or ask anyone else to pay, for a Platform booking outside the Platform.

If anyone, whether a Host or a person claiming to represent Pravaasa, asks you for a bank transfer, personal UPI payment, payment link, OTP, card details or a UPI PIN to "confirm" or "hold" a booking outside the Platform, do not pay. Report it to the support team at support@pravaasastays.com or from /support. We take such reports seriously and may suspend or permanently remove accounts, cancel bookings and report serious cases to the authorities.

Bookings that appear fraudulent or abusive may be cancelled by Pravaasa and any payments refunded or held as the facts require.

For help with a booking, contact the Host first through the Platform for stay-specific matters, and then the support team through the support page at /support or at support@pravaasastays.com. Always quote your booking reference.

Our Cancellation Policy, Refund Policy and Payment & Billing Policy provide further detail on the topics touched on here.