Overview
Cancellations get reversed more often than you'd think. A traveler cancels in a panic and calls back two days later. A team member cancels the wrong row. A "maybe" turns back into a "yes" once a friend commits.
Reinstate puts a cancelled booking back to active in one click -- keeping the traveler's payment history, re-claiming their seat, and rebuilding the payment schedule for whatever is still owed.
The Problem It Solves
Before Reinstate, a cancelled booking was a dead end. The only way back onto the trip was to have the traveler book again from scratch, which meant:
Their payment history disappeared from the new booking -- past payments looked like they belonged to a cancelled ghost record
Any money you had already refunded had to be collected manually, outside the schedule
Their add-ons and room assignment were lost and had to be rebuilt by hand
Your trip reporting showed one cancelled booking and one new booking for the same person
Reinstate is the exact inverse of a cancellation, so none of that happens.
When You'd Use It
Use case | Why Reinstate is the right tool |
Traveler changed their mind | They cancelled, then decided to come after all. Their deposit and installments still count toward the trip. |
Cancelled by mistake | Wrong traveler, wrong trip, or a mis-click. Reinstate undoes it cleanly. |
Cancellation was conditional | "Cancel me unless someone else drops out." Someone did -- put them back. |
You cancelled to enforce a deadline | The traveler paid up after the fact and you want them back on the manifest. |
A refund was issued and then reversed | The balance they owe is rebuilt automatically to account for what was refunded. |
Before You Start
The booking must be cancelled and the traveler must have made at least one payment. A booking that never had a payment has nothing to restore -- have that traveler book normally instead.
Test mode must be off for real bookings. If test mode is on, disable it first.
Check that the package still has room. Reinstate will not oversell your trip.
Step 1: Open the Cancelled Traveler's Detail Page
Go to your organizer dashboard
Open the trip
Go to the Travelers tab and filter to Cancelled
Click the traveler, then choose View Details
Step 2: Click Reinstate Booking
In the left sidebar of the Traveler Detail page (or under Actions on mobile), click the green Reinstate Booking option.
Step 3: Confirm
A confirmation window explains what's about to happen. Click Reinstate booking.
The page reloads onto the Payment Schedule tab so you can see the rebuilt schedule immediately.
What Reinstate Actually Does
The booking
Status returns from Cancelled to active
Their seat is re-claimed against the package's capacity
Add-ons and their room assignment are reactivated
The money
SquadTrip works out what's owed as: current trip total − what they've actually paid and kept (money you refunded counts as not kept, so it becomes owed again)
Past payments stay as history. Nothing is deleted, and nothing is re-charged retroactively
The balance is spread across the remaining scheduled installment dates on their payment plan -- the same calculator checkout uses. Months that were already paid are skipped
If no future installment dates remain (for example, the plan has run out), the whole balance is scheduled as a single catch-up payment for tomorrow
Collection going forward
If the traveler has a saved card, payments resume automatically on the rebuilt schedule
If they have no saved card, or they originally paid with Buy Now, Pay Later, nothing is auto-charged -- you collect through the traveler's payment page
The confirmation message tells you which case you're in:
Message you'll see | What it means |
"Booking reinstated -- paid in full." | Nothing is owed. They're back on the trip, fully paid. |
"Booking reinstated -- $X owed, payment schedule resumed." | A card is on file. Installments will be charged automatically. |
"Booking reinstated -- $X owed, collect via the traveler's payment page." | No card on file (or BNPL). Send them their payment link. |
When Reinstate Won't Work
Message | Why | What to do |
"This trip is now full -- the seat can't be re-claimed." | Someone else took the last spot after the cancellation. | Increase the package quantity, or free up a spot, then try again. |
"This booking was paid via Buy-Now-Pay-Later and needs manual reinstatement -- please contact support." | The booking was converted from a BNPL plan, and its balance can't be safely rebuilt automatically. | Contact [email protected] and we'll restore it manually. |
"Test mode is active. Please disable test mode before reinstating real bookings." | Test mode swaps in test payment keys. | Turn off test mode, then reinstate. (Test bookings can be reinstated at any time.) |
No Reinstate option appears | Either the booking isn't cancelled, or the traveler never made a payment. | If they never paid, just have them book the trip normally. |
"Reinstate failed. No changes were made." | Something went wrong mid-way, so the whole operation was rolled back. | Nothing was partially applied. Try again, and contact support if it repeats. |
Important Notes
Reinstate does not re-charge a refund on the spot. If you refunded the traveler when you cancelled them, that money becomes part of the balance owed and is collected through the rebuilt schedule -- not as an immediate charge.
Tell the traveler. SquadTrip does not send them a "you've been reinstated" email. Let them know they're back on the trip and, if a balance is owed, when the next payment is due.
Reinstate is safe to click twice. If the booking is already active, nothing happens.
Check the schedule after reinstating. The page lands you on the Payment Schedule tab for exactly this reason -- confirm the dates and amounts look right before you message the traveler.
Need a different schedule than the one that was rebuilt? Use Edit Order to adjust it after reinstating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does the traveler lose their payment history when I reinstate? A: No. Every payment they made is preserved as history, and it counts toward the trip total. That's the main reason to reinstate rather than have them re-book.
Q: I refunded them when I cancelled. What happens to that money? A: It's treated as money they no longer have on the trip, so it goes back into the balance owed and is collected through the rebuilt payment schedule.
Q: Will they be charged immediately when I hit Reinstate? A: No. Nothing is charged at the moment you reinstate. Payments happen on the scheduled dates you'll see on the Payment Schedule tab. The one edge case: if their plan has no future dates left, the catch-up payment is scheduled for the next day.
Q: What if they paid in full and I refunded everything? A: They'll be reinstated owing the full trip total again, spread over whatever installment dates remain.
Q: Does reinstating restore their add-ons and room? A: Yes. Add-ons and room assignments are reactivated along with the booking.
Q: The trip price changed since they cancelled. Which price applies? A: The current trip total. The balance is calculated from what the trip costs today, minus what they've paid and kept.
Q: Can I reinstate a booking on a trip that's already full? A: Not until there's space. SquadTrip blocks the reinstate rather than overselling your trip.
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Contact: [email protected]