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This explains the exact correct process for CS team to process refunds to ensure workflows operate correctly.
FULL REIMBURSEMENTS
A customer may be eligible for a full reimbursement under the following circumstances:
CANCELLATION WITHIN COP
If the customer cancels their booking within the Cooling-Off Period (COP), they are entitled to a full refund.
DATE UA
If the departure date was classified as Unavoidable & Unforeseen (UA), Inspiring Vacations will refund the total amount paid by the customer.
HOW TO PROCESS A REFUND FOR THE FULL VALUE OF THE BOOKING
VALIDATE THE CHARGES
Ensure there are no issued flights or supplier cancellation charges.
UPDATE TOUR STATUS
Change the status of the tour to "Cancelled."
SELECT CANCELLATION DETAILS
Choose the appropriate "Cancelled Reason" (e.g., Date Not Available).
Select "Cancellation Outcome" as Refund.
Enter the "Cancellation Outcome Amount."
SAVE CHANGES
Confirm and save all updates in Perseus.
UPDATE HUBSPOT TASK
Retrieve the automated task in HubSpot.
Update the snippet with relevant details.
Set the due date for two weeks.
PARTIAL REFUND CIRCUMSTANCES BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
Involuntarily cancelled components prior to travel or on tour
Refund of flights add-on ( if not booked! ) and pax altering to land only
Refund of solo rate ( if they decide to share a room with a new traveller, if available and confirmed with suppliers)
On tour issues ( optional tours, accommodation reimbursement etc)
Reimbursement of add-ons
PARTIAL REFUND PROCESS EITHER ON AN ACTIVE BOOKING OR POST-TRAVEL:
SCENARIO 1:
REFUNDING A COMPONENT ALREADY ON THE INVOICE
(Eg: Removing an optional tour from the booking)
update as of 10/04/25
1. Review Booking Funds:
Navigate to the Management tab and check the funds allocated to the booking.
2. Remove the Component:
If refunding an add-on component (e.g., transfer, hotel, optional tour), delete the component entirely rather than just altering the invoice line.
3. Trigger Cancellation Actions:
Deleting the component will automatically generate the necessary email or task to cancel the arrangement where applicable.
4. Update Refund Status:
After saving the cancellation of the add-on, go to the Management tab.
Locate the refunded component and update the add-on item status to Refund Pending.
5. Confirm the refund value:
Save the changes, and the refund value will be displayed accordingly.
6. Trigger Finance Task:
Once saved, Finance will automatically receive a task associated with the booking, instructing them to process the refund for the component. Use the snippet #Finance - Customer Refund Request
7. Complete the refund task. Below should be completed to properly endorse the refund request to Finance Team.
Note: Please always refer to the Refund Processing SOP and Refund Method Breakdown.
8. Inform the Customer:
Advise the customer on the refund timeline as per current templates.
If the refund depends on funds being returned from the supplier, inform the customer that the process can take a minimum of 30 days.
Assure them that they will be updated once the refund has been processed.
SCENARIO 2:
REFUNDING A COMPONENT NOT ON THE INVOICE
(This applies to cases where we are offering goodwill pay-outs, or when a customer has not received a service they have paid for (e.g., on-tour issues).
Update as of 10/04/25
1. Review Booking Funds:
Navigate to the Management tab and check the funds allocated to the booking.
2. Seek assistance from Team Lead to add a Refund Line Item:
TL will click 'Add Item' and select 'Other' as the reason.
TL will input a description explaining the refund reason.
TL will enter a negative value for the refund amount.
3.Team Lead will save the Invoice:
Ensure all details are correct and save the invoice.
4. Update Refund Status:
Return to the Management tab and locate the newly added line item.
Change the status to 'Refund Pending' and save the changes.
5. Trigger Finance Task:
Once saved, Finance will automatically receive a task associated with the booking, instructing them to process the refund for the component.
6. Leave Notes for Finance & Customer Records using the snippet #Finance - Customer Refund Request:
Add detailed notes explaining why the refund is being issued.
Make sure that the queue on the task is correct once the task has been triggered. Task queue: Finance - refund requests
Note: Please always refer to the Refund Processing SOP and Refund Method Breakdown.
8. Inform the Customer:
Advise the customer on the refund timeline as per current templates.
If the refund depends on funds being returned from the supplier, inform the customer that the process can take a minimum of 30 days.
Assure them that they will be updated once the refund has been processed.
Note: If the refund results in a loss of margin for Inspiring Vacations or is a cost absorbed by IV, it must also be logged in Profitability Management.
Internal Profitability Process: HERE
MANUAL REFUNDS
IF FOR ANY REASON YOU NEED TO MANUALLY SETUP A REFUND
Please raise this with your TL or Steph if you need to do this, for anything other than an overpayment.
We would like to determine further scenarios to factor into the process where applicable.
IF A CUSTOMER IS STILL TRAVELLING BUT REQUIRES A REFUND
Please do not change the status of their order in Perseus.
You will instead need to raise a task manually within the deal.
Follow the steps outlined in Scenario 2.
The status of the order should only be changed to "refund pending" if the customer is cancelling their booking altogether and a refund is owed.
CUSTOMER REQUESTED A REFUND WHILE TRAVELLING
Update as of 10/04/2025
Generally, these are for when something is cancelled/removed from the customer booking and a refund is owing ie. an optional tour or extra night's accommodation.
DO NOT AMEND THE STATUS OF THE ORDER
Instead, manually create task from Deal in HubSpot to Finance team.
Load the snippet “Finance - Customer Refund Request” to ensure that you are adding all information required for Finance to process the refund for you
DO NOT ASSIGN THE TASK TO AN OWNER
Assign to the queue "Finance - Refund Request"
The snippet won’t load a subject line on the task so make the subject line in the following format: Customer refund: [BOOKING ID] // [REASON FOR REF]
AMEND THE TASK DUE DATE BASED ON THE CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
Update as of 04/07/25
Generally, customer refunds take up to 20 to 25 business days so suggest making this two weeks in advance unless required sooner.
If the refund is going to a bank account, remember that the customer must provide bank account details via the form as they should not be loaded in the task for security reasons
CC refund can only happen with the most recent transaction was within the last 6 months + the value of the refund does not surpass the amount of the transaction.
REFUND PROCESSING SOP
REFUND PROCESSING GUIDELINES (Perseus Reference)
Update as of 10/04/2025
1. Refund Method
Always process refunds using the last payment method used by the customer.
Exception:If the last payment was made via credit card and the refund amount exceeds the amount charged to that card, the agent must send the General Acceptance Form (Bank Form).
Refer to the Payment Tab in Perseus to identify the correct payment method.
2. Sending Refund Banking Forms
IDENTIFY WHICH STORE THE BOOKING WAS BOOKED.
Do NOT proactively send a refund banking form to customers if the last payment method was via Credit /Debit Card.
Exception: Only send a refund banking form if the customer's last payment method was Direct Deposit or BPAY, as shown in the Payment Tab of Perseus.
REFUND METHOD BREAKDOWN
Last Payment Method
Credit Card - Refund via Credit Card
BPAY - Refund via Bank Transfer
Bank Transfer - Refund via Bank Transfer
PayPal - Refund via PayPal Portal
For all refund methods except bank transfers, you should not send a refund banking form.
Keywords: refund handling, refund procedure, full refund, partial refund, manual refund process
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