Why We Ask for a Deposit

A deposit is one of those unglamorous details nobody daydreams about when they're picturing a weekend by the sea — but it's the thing that keeps a small seaside bed and breakfast running fairly for everyone. We're a modest-sized house a short stroll from the promenade, with a handful of rooms and a breakfast table that only seats so many. When we hold a room for you, we're turning away other enquiries for those dates. A deposit is simply a way of saying we're both serious about the arrangement.

It also protects you. Once your deposit is paid, your room is genuinely yours: the price is fixed, the dates are locked in, and no one else can be offered that sea-view double while you're busy planning which cafés to try on the seafront.

How the Deposit Works in Practice

We keep things deliberately straightforward, and everything is confirmed in writing so there's nothing to remember on the day.

• Stays of one or two nights: the deposit is equivalent to the first night's rate.
• Stays of three nights or more: the deposit is 25% of the total booking value.
• Payment: taken by card at the time of booking. We don't store card details beyond what's needed to process it.
• Your balance: the remainder is payable on arrival, by card or cash — whichever suits you.
• Confirmation: you'll receive a written confirmation showing the amount paid, the balance outstanding and the exact date by which you can cancel free of charge.

Your deposit isn't an extra charge. It comes straight off your final bill, so the figure you pay on departure is always the lower one.

When You Can Cancel Free of Charge

We know plans wobble. That's why we keep a genuinely generous free-cancellation window rather than a token one.

For most of the year, you can cancel up to seven days before your arrival date and receive your deposit back in full. If you're due to arrive on a Friday, that means letting us know by the Friday before.

During our busiest periods, we ask for a little more notice — fourteen days. That covers July and August, school half-terms and holidays, bank holiday weekends, Easter, and the weekends when Hornsea fills up with visitors for events and the beach weather finally behaves itself. Those are the dates when rooms are hardest to re-let, and the longer window gives us a fighting chance.

Cancel within the free window and there's no awkward conversation, no fee, no quibbling. We refund the deposit in full and genuinely hope to see you another time.

If Your Plans Change at Short Notice

Life doesn't always give seven days' warning. Illness, a family emergency, a cancelled train or a car that refuses to start on the A165 — we've seen it all, and we're not here to penalise you for it.

If you cancel inside the free window, the deposit is normally non-refundable. However, we always try to re-let the room, and we're honest about our success rate — a summer Saturday usually goes quickly, a wet Tuesday in November rarely does. If we re-let your room, we refund your deposit in full or move it to new dates, your choice. If we can't re-let it, we retain the deposit to cover the night we've lost.

No-shows are the one thing we do treat firmly: if you simply don't arrive and don't contact us, we may charge the full value of the booking. One phone call changes everything, so please make it rather than quietly staying away.

Moving Your Dates, Longer Stays and Group Bookings

Changing dates is usually easier than cancelling, and we'd always rather you moved a booking than lost one. Outside the cancellation window, you can shift your stay once, free of charge, subject to availability — and if the new dates cost more, we'll simply adjust the balance.

Bookings of three rooms or more, and whole-house bookings, work a little differently: we ask for a 50% deposit and 28 days' notice for free cancellation. That's not us being difficult — it's a lot of breakfasts to plan around.

Talking to Us Before You Book

Every policy in the world is easier to live with when there's a real person at the other end of it. If you're uncertain about dates, waiting on a hospital appointment, travelling a long way, or booking on behalf of relatives, tell us before you book and we'll do what we can to find terms that work.

We'd also gently suggest travel insurance for any seaside break, particularly if you're coming from a distance. It costs very little and covers the things no B&B can: sudden illness, breakdowns, and the weather deciding to reorganise your week. Our aim is simple — clear terms, no surprises, and a warm welcome when you finally arrive with your bags and your appetite for a proper Yorkshire breakfast.