FAQ for guests

Here are the FAQ for guests. With these Frequently asked questions you can find out about certain information that will help you
solve any issues related to your booking with MOYA KARELIA:

What is MOYA KARELIA and what do you offer?

MOYA KARELIA is a platform that offers accommodation for rent to guests
who visit the Republic of Karelia and the states that are neighbours of Karelia. 

How much do I pay for your services?

The platform is free of charge. You only Pay when you make a booking.

How do I make a booking on MOYA KARELIA?

Here is how you make a booking:

1. Choose the space you want to reserve
2. Book a space instantly – important: some properties require manual booking.
   In this case you must wait for the host to confirm the dates.
3. Make a pre-payment (9.5%) to reserve your dates.
4. Pay the rest before check-in.

Note: please check the hosts’ Payment and Cancellation Policy (see next question). The host can choose between:

Flexible, 5 days, 14 days and 30 days Payment and Cancellation Policy.

What are the Payment and Cancellation Policies?

Here are four Payment and Cancellation Policies that our hosts can select to offer to our guests:

Flexible Payment and Cancellation Policy:

Prepayment: you make a prepayment
(9.5% of the total amount) to reserve a space.

Full payment: no later than 1 day of arrival of you to the owner.

5-days Payment and Cancellation Policy:

Prepayment: you make a prepayment
(9.5% of the total amount) to reserve a space.

Full payment: no later than 5 days before you’s arrival to the owner.

14-days Payment and Cancellation Policy:

Prepayment: you make a prepayment
(9.5% of the total amount) to reserve a space.

Full payment: no later than 14 days before you’s arrival to the owner.

30-days Payment and Cancellation Policy:

Prepayment: you make a prepayment
(9.5% of the total amount) to reserve a space.

Full payment: no later than 30 days before you’s arrival to the owner.

What do I need to make a booking?

All you need to make a booking the following information:

1. Phone number & address
2. Email address
3. Bank details 

What Payment methods do you offer?

We offer the following payment methods for guests located in Russia:
MIR, VISA, MASTERCARD, MAESTRO, Yandex Pay, Quiwi Wallet, Халва, YooMoney, Свабода, Совесть, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay.

For guest outside of Russia, we offer Paypal.

How does a guest pay the host?

Once the reservation was made, the host/service provider can accept payments electronically

or cash (rub.). you receives payment instructions from the host/service provider in the booking note.

How to change or cancel a booking?

If you want to change the booking dates, please contact the owner immediately.Most of the time, you will be able to solve this directly with the owner.

If you decide to cancel the booking, then please check the Payment and Cancellation Policy of the host before making a final Decision.

You can then simply cancel the booking in you account.

What happens if I don’t pay on time?

If you cannot pay on time, please contact the host and let him/her know that you
will pay within a given time frame. Important: the host may cancel the booking in order to make the dates available for other guests.

What happens if I cancel my booking after the
prepayment has been made to MOYA KARELIA?

If you decide to cancel an already confirmed booking, the first thing to do is to contact the host in order to

change the dates or choose another accommodation (if the host offers similar properties).

In most cases, the issue is then resolved.

If the host cannot offer other dates or space please cancel the booking and

contact us and let us know. We will find an alternative accommodation for you for a fee.

What happens if I cancel a booking?

This mainly depends on the Payment and Cancellation Policy of the host.

In this example, we use a “30-day Payment and Cancellation policy” for the following four cases.

1st case: early cancellation (prepaid)

You as a guest made an advance payment (9.5%) on MOYA KARELIA

then canceled 40 days prior to arrival, but in accordance to the recommendations of the “30 Days Payment and Cancellation Policy”.

Solution: If you cancel “on time” after paying the deposit,

then you can simply request a refund on moyakarelia.ru.

We will then provide you with a coupon that you can

use for a new booking on moyakarelia.ru.

2nd case: early cancellation (with full payment)

you booked a space and made an advance payment (9.5%) on moyakarelia.ru

and you made a full payment to the host on time

then canceled 40 days prior to arrival, but subject to

30-Day Payment and Cancellation Policy.

Solution: If you cancel “on time” after paying the deposit and transferred the rest of the payment
to the host, then you are entitled to a full refund.

In this case, we ask the host/service providers to transfer the payment made

by you back to you (if you do not wish to adjust the dates).

We will additionally provide you with a coupon that you can use for a new booking.

If the host fails to make a full payment, we will suspend the host’ account until the matter is solved. Please consider
booking from verified hosts and superhost to lower your risks.

3rd case: late cancellation (prepaid)

you made an advance payment (9.5%) on moyakarelia.ru

however, you do not pay the rest amount on time (example: no later than 30 days before check-in in this example

as part of the “30-day payment and cancellation policy”).

Solution: contact the host immediately and let the host know when you are paying the rest. If the payment is not received,

the host is allowed to cancel the booking and to open the slot for other guests.

You as a guest are then not entitled to a refund from MOYA KARELIA because the Payment and Cancellation Policy was not followed.

4th case: late cancellation (with full payment)

you made an advance payment (9.5%) on moyakarelia.ru

then you made a full payment to the owner on time. 

However you decide to cancel 15 days prior to check-in outside of the “30-Day Payment and Cancellation Policy“.

Solution: If you cancels the order late (outside of the Payment Policy set by

host/service provider), then you are not eligible for a refund from the host/service provider. 

However, we recommend that the host/service provider offers other dates first or another space.

Special cases

If a late cancellation (with full payment) is due to force majeure, please

Contact us – if it applies to your case, we will provide you with a coupon.

What happens if the host/service provider cancels the booking?

Typically, the following two cases are related to cancellations by HOSTS/service providers.
This example uses the “30-day payment and cancellation policy”:

1st case: early cancellation by the HOST

• you made an advance payment (9.5%) on moyakarelia.ru
• then the host/service provider cancels the booking
  

Solution: Please ask the host to provide for alternative dates or space. If the dates and space does not suit you, the host will have to pay you 9.5% of the total amount of the booking within 14 days. If the host/provider does not return the prepayment, we will suspend the host account until the issue is resolved.

2nd case: late cancellation (with full payment) by the HOST

• you made an advance payment (9.5%) on moyakarelia.ru
• you have paid the full price to the host/service provider
• then the host/service provider cancels the booking
  

Solution: The host/service provider must offer alternative dates or space (same quality standard). If the alternative solutions do not suit you, then the host must return the full amount to you within 14 days. If the host/provider does not return the prepayment, we will suspend the host account until the issue is resolved.

What should I do if I damage something on the property?

Step 1: Anydamage must be reported to the host immediately.
In most cases, the issue is solved on the spot and the damage is either within limit or you
have to pay an amount to cover the damage.

Step 2: if the damage is above average, please try to resolve the issue directly with the host
and find an agreement regarding the sum to cover the damage. Please report the damage to moyakarelia.ru
(info[at]moyakarelia.ru). Your case will be registered.

Step 3: If the issue is not resolved 14 days after checkout, we will ask you and the host to provide us with all the necessary information to help solve the issue.

Important: moyakarelia.ru currently does not provide insurance coverage at the moment. The property owner and the guest is responsible for basic insurance coverage. 

What are the requirements for hosts/service providers to join the platform?

All of our hosts/service providers must provide us with all required identification documents before they can receive/book:

• Valid phone number and email address for authentication
• Valid email address to receive purchase invoices
• Business Owner/Manager/Person Identification Card (Passport)
• TIN number (legal entities)
  

Additional information may be required if necessary.

What if I decide to ask the host to pay outside of MOYA KARELIA?

For security reasons, please do not make transactions with hosts bypassing MOYA KARELIA.

Here are the reasons:

• It just isn’t fair. If you use our platform and decide to break the terms, we will suspend your account. In this case, please use another platform.
• The host risks to be suspended if our monitoring system sees fraudulent activity.
• Security: you might never see your money. We cannot help you pay a host and your order is not registered within our system.
• Refund: we will not help with refunds if your order is not registered within our system.
  

Why do I have to pay a prepayment (9.5%) for each booking?

If you want to reserve a space, all you need is the prepayment and you can pay the rest according to the Payment and Cancellation 
There are no hidden fees/costs. And it is lower than any other platform which charge between 15 – 20%.

This means the following for you:

• Better Prices: our hosts in Karelia can offer lower prices without losing profits to you
• Invest in Karelia: You support a Karelian company
• Free Platform and Service: we take care of your booking if there are any issues (cancellations and refunds)