Guests Choosing Flexible Cancellation Book 30 Days Earlier with Cottages.com and Novasol
NORWICH, England, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Awaze, Europe's largest holiday rentals group and home to cottages.com and Novasol, has revealed that guests choosing Flexible Cancellation book around 30 days further in advance, on average, than those on standard terms.
The Flexible Cancellation offering, enabled through Awaze's partnership with Pikl, gives holidaymakers greater confidence to secure their preferred property earlier, while providing property owners with greater visibility of future bookings.
According to KeyData's UK Summer Index, published in August 2026, third-party OTAs have continued to pick up volume share, with the two largest platforms each now close to a fifth of all UK short-term rental reservations, as the booking window splits increasingly between guests who book well ahead and those who wait until the last minute. Without a way to get their money back if plans change, guests have less reason to commit early and may wait and search elsewhere closer to their trip. Flexible Cancellation addresses that gap, giving guests a reason to commit earlier, and to do so direct with Awaze.
"We know that flexibility is an important consideration for holidaymakers, particularly when booking further ahead," said Mike Wheeler, Commercial Trading Director of Awaze. "Through our partnership with Pikl, we're giving guests greater confidence to secure their preferred holiday earlier, while helping our property owners benefit from greater visibility of future bookings. It's about making bookings easier and giving customers more choice."
That confidence is built on more than an appetite for risk. Pikl works closely with Awaze to understand the real risk behind every cancellation, which is what makes a direct guest refund possible without routing anyone through a third-party claims process.
"Guests have always had to choose between reserving early and keeping the option to change their minds if plans shift - with flights and hotels, that trade-off disappeared years ago. Self-catering is only just catching up," said Louise Birritteri, founder and CEO of Pikl. "What we're seeing with Awaze is what happens once that trade-off disappears. Guests commit sooner and plan further out. We think that's the direction the whole industry is heading."
Awaze and Pikl continue to explore new ways to give guests more value and confidence at the point of booking. The two companies are already working on further developments in this space.
About Awaze
Awaze is Europe's leading managed holiday rentals business. Home to specialist self-catering brands Hoseasons, cottages.com, and NOVASOL, the company provides everyday amazing holiday experiences to more than six million people. For more information about Awaze UK visit www.awaze.com
Awaze press contact
Victoria.wood@awaze.com
About Pikl
Pikl is the revenue growth partner for the travel market, backed by insurance. Flexible Cancellation, the company's flagship product, gives short-term rental property managers and hosts the confidence to convert more bookings, without losing revenue if guests cancel. Backed by data and insights from every booking it covers, Pikl helps its clients understand risk so they can find opportunities to grow their business. The company's footprint is swiftly expanding worldwide. For more information, visit www.pikl.com.
Pikl press contact
pikl@headline.media
US:+1 516 595 1843
UK:+44 207 048 4244
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