WHY DO ACCOMMODATION BUSINESSES REQUEST DEPOSITS?

For those who don't understand the principle behind deposits, here's an explanation...

If someone makes a booking, the accommodation they have booked becomes unavailable to anyone else who might want it, and any enquiries are turned away. If the customer who booked doesn't turn up, or decides to cancel, the business owner potentially loses income. The shorter the notice of cancellation and the busier the period, the more probable and the more substantial the loss of income will be. The business therefore minimizes its potential loss by requesting a deposit to cover a percentage of the booked period. The taking of deposits to protect the business owner is standard accommodation industry practice worldwide.
Some businesses, including ours, will return a fair percentage of the deposit in the event of a cancellation. When the cancellation is made governs the likelihood of someone else booking the accommodation, and this in turn governs the amount of the refund. If the cancellation period is a week or less, there is no refund. This is because a rebooking at an establishment of this nature becomes unlikely at such short notice. Most people seeking a booking have by then already sought alternatives, and not many people plan their holidays only a week in advance.
There is no obligation for the business owner to refund any or all of a deposit, and many big accommodation businesses will not do so, regardless of whether or not the accommodation is rebooked. However, we do not request deposits to MAKE money - we only want to cover potential loss; we therefore try to be as fair as possible, and will refund deposits (less a 10% administrative fee to cover our time, EFTPOS fees, telephone calls etc.) if and when the accommodation is rebooked.