It depends on the property owner and the vacation rental site. There are cancellation policies available on every site, but some sites have multiple policies to accommodate a variety of situations. For instance, the top sites usually offer free cancellation for any reason within the first 24 hours of making the reservation. Otherwise, property owners might choose to state that they can only return 50 percent of the money up to a certain period of days before the reservation. In some cases of extremely late cancellation, there might not be any money returned. It’s best to read through the cancellation policies of the site and the specific listing before booking to avoid any surprises.