Frequently asked questions

Search for a stay, choose your dates and room, add any food, transport or experiences you want, then review the total and confirm. It takes a few minutes from start to finish.

Your booking is confirmed as soon as payment is completed. You will receive an instant confirmation message with a booking code. If payment fails, the booking is not confirmed.

Every confirmed booking gets a unique code in the format KDY-XXXXX. It is your reference for the booking page, invoice and all communication with Kandyam and your partner.

Kandyam is a Sri Lankan platform and all prices are shown in Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR). If you pay from abroad, your bank or card provider converts the amount to your own currency.

Depending on the listing, you can pay by card, mobile wallet, bank transfer, or pay-at-hotel where the partner offers it. The available options are shown at checkout.

No. Payments are handled by trusted third-party payment providers. Kandyam never stores your full card number on its servers.

No. The full total — including any taxes and fees that apply — is shown at checkout before you confirm. Partner-side extras, such as meals not included in the listing, are payable to the partner directly.

Yes. Many food, transport and experience partners can be booked on their own through the platform, subject to availability.

Free cancellation up to 48 hours before check-in. Cancellations between 24 and 48 hours before check-in are charged 50%. Cancellations under 24 hours, and no-shows, are charged in full — unless the listing or offer states otherwise.

Open the booking from the link in your confirmation or from your account, select Cancel booking, and add a short reason. We confirm the cancellation instantly and tell you the refund outcome. You can also cancel via support.

Approved refunds go back to the original payment method and typically appear within 5–10 business days. Bank transfers can take a little longer depending on your bank.

You receive a full refund and our help to rebook an equivalent option at a similar price where possible. You are never charged for a service that was not delivered.

Often, yes. Date changes are subject to availability and any difference in price — you pay the difference if the new dates cost more, and we refund the difference if they cost less.

Only packages marked non-refundable are excluded from the standard windows. For those, no refund is payable unless the partner cancels or fails to deliver the service. The terms are shown before you pay.

Yes. Food, transport, experiences and rentals follow the same 48-hour rule as the stay unless the add-on’s own terms state otherwise.

A security deposit may be held for rentals and is returned in full when the property is returned undamaged. Any deductions are itemised and agreed with you first.

It means the stay has been physically inspected by our team and passed checks on cleanliness, bathrooms, water, electricity, safety, Wi-Fi, photo accuracy and booking reliability. Verified stays display the badge and a quality score out of 100.

Before a stay goes live we inspect it in person. We check the rooms, facilities, safety basics and photos against the listing, then issue the badge and score. Properties are re-checked over time.

A score out of 100 that summarises how the property performed in its inspection and how reliable it has been with guests. You can see it on the listing.

Yes. If quality drops or guest feedback reveals problems, the partner must fix them. Repeated failures can mean the badge is removed or the property is delisted.

Photos are checked against the real property during inspection, so what you see reflects what is actually there.

Contact us within 48 hours with details and photos. We investigate with the partner and agree a fair resolution, which can include a partial or full refund.

Yes. Reviews after checkout feed into quality monitoring, and partners are expected to act on recurring feedback.

Apply through our partner page. We review your property or service, arrange an inspection, agree a commission rate, and help you go live with photography and listing support.

Nothing upfront. Partners pay commission only when Kandyam generates a booking.

For stays, typically 10–20% depending on the level of service Kandyam provides — such as photography, pricing, marketing and operations support. For food, transport, experiences and rentals, the rate is typically 15%. Rates are agreed in writing before you go live.

Payouts are settled on a biweekly cycle, so you are paid every two weeks for completed bookings in that period.

You do, with guidance from Kandyam on what works in the Sri Lanka market. We help with seasonal pricing too.

Depending on your level, we provide photography, listing copy, pricing, marketing, guest support and, for some properties, full operations management.

Yes. Partners must keep availability up to date and honour confirmed bookings. Cancelling confirmed bookings leads to penalties and can result in delisting.

Yes, with notice. Any confirmed bookings are honoured and settled first.

Yes. Breakfast, local dishes, rice & curry and private dining can be added at checkout or arranged with support before arrival.

You can add airport transfers, drivers, tuk-tuks and day tours to your stay. We confirm the vehicle, driver and pickup details before you arrive.

No. Your booking code covers everything in your itinerary, and meet-up points and timings are in your confirmation message.

Message us on WhatsApp and we will tell your driver. Where possible the driver will wait; if a new vehicle is needed we will arrange it and settle any difference with you.

Food, transport and experiences follow the same 48-hour cancellation rule as your stay, unless their own terms state otherwise.

Yes. Tell us what you want — dietary needs, timings, routes — and we will coordinate it with the partner. You can also sketch the plan with the AI planner first.

Our food partners are concentrated across Sri Lanka. Ask support and we will tell you what is available for your dates and location.

Five styles, depending on the property: individual rooms (book one room type for your dates), multi-room group bookings (several rooms of one type, or a mixed combination arranged through support), full-property buyout (every room of the property, one price per night), day-use (a room for part of the day, where the property offers it) and hourly use for very short stays. The options each property offers are shown on its booking panel.

Choose the number of rooms and guests on the booking panel. When your group is too large for one room type, we show the best whole-property or package options instead, and support can arrange a mixed combination of room types.

You reserve every room of the property for your dates at a single whole-property rate. The toggle appears on properties that offer it, and the booking panel tells you the total rooms and the maximum guest count.

A room for a set part of the day rather than an overnight stay. Times, inclusions and prices are set by the property and shown before you confirm. Not every property offers them.

Board plans set which meals are included: RO is room only, BB (Bed & Breakfast) includes breakfast, HB (Half Board) includes breakfast and one main meal, FB (Full Board) includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, and AI (All-Inclusive) includes all main meals plus the drinks the property lists. Plans are priced per person, per night, in LKR.

The plan rate is multiplied by your group size and the number of nights, and added to your bill as a meal line before you pay. If a property has no price for a plan, that plan is not offered.

Yes — ask support or the property before arrival. Price differences are settled directly with the partner, and any changes made after check-in follow the property’s own terms.

Drivers set their own fares. Each listing shows a base fare and a per-kilometre rate, so the total depends on your route and distance. Airport transfers and fixed routes are usually quoted as a flat price.

Drivers may charge for waiting time beyond the agreed pickup. The waiting charge is shown in the listing’s fare notes, so check it before you book. Message us on WhatsApp if your plans change and we will tell your driver.

Every listing shows its seating capacity. Pick a vehicle that fits your group and luggage — the driver will confirm the vehicle and pickup details before you travel.

Rentals are charged per day. A refundable security deposit is held when you collect the item and returned in full when it comes back undamaged.

Deductions from the deposit are itemised and agreed with you first, following the damage policy shown on the listing. Items returned clean and undamaged get the full deposit back.

Yes. The deposit is a security hold, not a fee. It is returned to the original payment method once the rental is returned in the agreed condition.

WhatsApp +94 70 303 1636, email [email protected], or open a support ticket from the Help centre. WhatsApp is fastest for on-trip help.

Our Kandy-based team responds daily, including during your trip. WhatsApp messages are usually answered within minutes during daytime hours.

Click sign in and register with your email, or sign up while making a booking. Accounts are free.

Use the reset link on the sign-in screen and we will email you instructions. Check your spam folder if it does not arrive.

Go to your account page to update your name, contact details and preferences. Booking details for an existing trip are changed through support.

After checkout, from your booking page. Reviews must be based on a genuine stay or service, and we moderate them to keep them honest.

A planning tool that builds a Kandy itinerary around your dates, budget and interests — then lets you turn it into real bookings. Find it under Plan my trip.

A way to collect stays, food and experiences into one plan before you book, so you can see your whole trip together and book it in one go.

Enter the code in the promo field at checkout and the discount is applied before you pay. Each code has its own terms, shown on the offers page.