Find the policy attached to your reservation

A Falmouth hotel’s cancellation deadline can fall on arrival day, the previous day or two weeks earlier. Before changing a booking, put the confirmation beside the property’s current policy and identify the room rate you actually bought. Advance-purchase and group terms can differ from the general policy.

The examples below use a hypothetical Friday, November 20, 2026 arrival and official pages checked November 5. They compare published terms, without representing an existing reservation or a refund decision. Keep any more specific conditions supplied with your booking.

Admiralty: the November cutoff is on arrival day

Admiralty Inn & Suites, at 51 Teaticket Highway in East Falmouth, publishes an off-season rule for November 1–April 30. Cancellations or reservation changes must reach the hotel by 3 p.m. on the scheduled arrival day to avoid forfeiting the deposit. For the example, that is November 20 at 3 p.m., local time.

Its reservation policy requires a prepaid deposit of at least one night’s rent and the remaining reserved balance at check-in. The policy also rules out refunds for early departure. Cancelling before arrival and shortening a stay after checking in therefore need separate attention.

ShoreWay: count back fourteen days

ShoreWay Acres Inn & Cape Cod Lodging publishes a deposit refund with at least 14 days’ notice; with 13 days or less, the deposit is nonrefundable. Counting back 14 calendar days from November 20 reaches November 6. The page gives no cutoff hour, so confirm the hotel’s handling before relying on the final day.

For an ordinary room reservation, the listed deposit is one night plus tax. Weekly and extended stays have different deposit arrangements. The policy treats a late arrival or early departure as a short-notice cancellation and says neither the deposit nor the balance paid at check-in is refundable. Record the dates you intend to keep before requesting a change.

Inn on the Square: resolve the rate-specific difference

Inn on the Square’s FAQ states a November–April cancellation deadline of 6 p.m., 24 hours before the arrival day. For the hypothetical November 20 stay, that points to November 19 at 6 p.m. Its FAQ also lists a one-night booking deposit.

However, its Specials page gives a 72-hour cancellation rule under its rate-policy section, and the Advance Purchase offer is nonrefundable and nontransferable with full payment when booked. The two public pages do not establish which rule governs a particular reservation. Have the hotel identify the deadline for the rate on your confirmation; do not assume the FAQ’s shorter window applies to a special offer.

Keep the confirmation of the change

Make a short record containing the property, reservation number, arrival date, rate name, deposit already paid, applicable deadline and the cancellation channel stated in the booking. Ask for written confirmation of a cancellation or amendment and the hotel’s stated treatment of the deposit. Save that response beside the original terms.

For a date change, check both the treatment of the old booking and the terms of the proposed new one before accepting it. A general policy page alone cannot establish the amount that will be returned on your individual reservation.