Lagoon uses a handful of words in a particular way. Here is what each one means. If you have read something on Lagoon that is not explained here, tell us and we will add it.
Booking and staying
Booking — a reservation of a room or an experience on a set of dates. A booking exists as soon as you send it, even if the property has not accepted it yet — see request to book.
Instant confirmation — a booking that is confirmed the moment you make it. Nobody has to approve it, and you will see "Instant confirmation" on the listing.
Request to book — some properties like to approve bookings themselves. When you send a request, the room is held for you while the property decides. They have 24 hours to answer — or until 18:00 on the day of check-in, if that comes sooner. Miss that and the hold lapses on its own, leaving you free to book elsewhere; nothing is charged either way.
Night — the nights you sleep there, not the days you touch. Arriving on the 1st and leaving on the 4th is three nights.
Check-in and check-out — the day you arrive and the day you leave. Both are dates, not times; the property sets its own arrival and departure hours.
No-show — the booking was still on, but the guest never arrived.
Cancellation policy — the terms that decide what happens if a booking is called off, and what the property may charge you if you cancel late. Each property sets its own, and you are shown it before you book. A booking keeps the policy it was made under, even if the property changes its terms later — the promise you agreed to is the one that holds.
Experience — something to do rather than somewhere to sleep: a tour, a class, an activity. Experiences run as sessions, each on a particular date with a limited number of places.
What a booking's status means
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending request | Sent to the property, not yet answered. Your dates are held while you wait. |
| Confirmed | The booking is on. |
| Declined | The property turned the request down. |
| Expired | The property did not answer within 24 hours and the hold lapsed. |
| Cancelled | A confirmed booking was called off. |
| No-show | The booking was still on, but nobody arrived. |
| Completed | The stay has happened and the check-out date has passed. |
Money
Total — the full amount for the booking, and the figure the property will ask you for.
Subtotal — the accommodation or ticket price on its own, before anything is added on top.
Pay at property — Lagoon does not take your money. You pay the property directly, on their terms. So a booking on Lagoon reserves your stay; it does not charge your card.
The currency you see — prices are held in the currency the property sells in. If you are viewing in a different currency, Lagoon shows an approximate conversion marked with "≈", and the exact price in the property's own currency alongside it. Only that exact figure is binding.
Reviews
Verified stay — the review was left by someone with a real booking behind it. Reviews without one are checked by a person before they appear.
Guest score — the average of a property's published review scores, out of 5, with the number of reviews beside it. It is an all-time average, so it moves slowly, and search results are ordered on more than the score alone.
Reply — a property can answer a review publicly, once, underneath it.
Your account
Trips — your bookings, past and upcoming, under your account.
Property partner — the business that owns and runs the place you are booking. You book through Lagoon, but you stay with them, and they are the ones who accept your booking and take your payment.
Still stuck on a word?
Use the contact form and a person will read it. We would rather rewrite a confusing page than have you guess.
Run a property on Lagoon? Your own glossary is in your partner dashboard, under Glossary.