Aven Hospitality and Hopper bring flexible cancellation option to hotel partners

Generate incremental revenue without changing existing rates or more

Aven Hospitality has integrated Hopper Technology Solutions’ (HTS) Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) product into its booking engine, allowing hotel partners worldwide to offer guests greater flexibility when booking direct.

The integration is now live, enabling hotels using Aven’s Booking Engine to offer guests the option to cancel their stay before check-in and receive a refund of up to 100% of their room cost, regardless of the reason.

The optional add-on appears at checkout after guests have selected a room, with the cancellation process managed automatically by HTS.

This includes cancelling the reservation in the property management system, issuing a refund to the guest’s original payment method and releasing the room for resale in real time.

The integration follows a partnership announcement earlier this year and is designed to help hotels increase direct booking conversion and generate incremental revenue without changing existing rates, cancellation policies or technology infrastructure.

According to HTS research, 87% of travellers consider the ability to cancel a hotel booking important, while 62% say they would be likely to purchase a Cancel for Any Reason option if offered at checkout.

Colin Whitney, vice-president of product, flexibility at HTS, said: “When flexibility can be offered seamlessly and delivered in real time, it builds both loyalty and trust in the brand.

“This integration lets Aven-powered hotels deliver that experience without any operational lift.”

HTS said its CFAR product has a customer satisfaction rating of 95% and a repeat purchase rate of more than 80%, with 98% of cancellations handled through self-service.

Geoff Fischer, director of product management for Aven’s direct distribution portfolio, said the integration would give hotel partners a way to offer greater refundability while generating additional profit through their direct channels.

He added: “The CFAR offering builds trust and loyalty with hoteliers, improves customer satisfaction and drives incremental profit for our hotel partners from their direct channel - with no lift from their teams and no changes to their existing rates.”

The partnership reflects a wider focus across hospitality technology on using flexible booking options to improve direct channel conversion, while reducing the operational burden on hotel teams.

For hoteliers, the solution provides an additional paid flexibility option without requiring changes to their existing cancellation terms, while giving guests more control over their bookings.