Vacation rental FAQ

Pick your dates on the home's page and book instantly: you pay at checkout and we email your confirmation right away. If online payment is ever unavailable, you can send a request instead, and we hold your dates for 48 hours while we get back to you.

Free cancellation within 48 hours of booking. After that: full refund 30 or more days before check-in, 50% refund at least 14 but less than 30 days before, 25% refund at least 7 but less than 14 days before, and no refund within 7 days of check-in. When you cancel from your trip page, it shows the exact refund before you confirm.

Refunds go back to the card you paid with. Depending on your bank, a refund can take 5–10 business days to appear.

Yes, and it depends on the home and the dates. The calendar on each home's page won't let you pick a stay shorter than the minimum for those nights.

Often, if the new dates are open. Email maxwell@staysnowtop.com or call Maxwell at (774) 254-5289. If the price for the new dates is different, we'll tell you before anything changes.

No. There is no security deposit, and we don't put a hold on your card. Damage and house rules are covered in our Terms of Service.

No booking or service fees from us. Your total is the nightly rate, the cleaning fee and tax (plus an extra-guest fee if a home charges one), and every line is shown before you pay.

We charge the lodging tax each home's state and town set. Dennis Beach House and Cape Cod Cottage (Dennis, MA): 14.45%, which is Massachusetts room occupancy excise 5.7% + Dennis local room occupancy excise 6% + Cape Cod & Islands Water Protection Fund 2.75%. Hermit Lake Retreat (Sanbornton, NH): 8.5%, the New Hampshire meals & rooms tax. The tax is on the whole stay, cleaning fee included, as both states require, and checkout shows it as its own line with the rate.

We don't add a booking or service fee here. We haven't checked what other sites charge for your dates, so we don't quote a percentage: compare the total you see at checkout with any other quote you have.

It depends on the home and the dates, so ask us before you book a week or more: call Maxwell at (774) 254-5289. Whatever the price, the checkout total shows exactly what you'll pay.

When you book a home online, the full amount is charged at checkout. When you send a request instead, nothing is charged when you send it: you pay once Maxwell approves it, and we'll tell you how and by when. We don't offer split payments online.

By credit or debit card, or with Link, through Stripe's secure checkout. We don't take cash or checks.

Sometimes. Ask about your dates: call Maxwell at (774) 254-5289.

With a door code on the keypad; there are no keys to collect. Your code is sent to you before check-in. If it hasn't arrived by check-in day, call or text Maxwell at (774) 254-5289. We email your arrival notes (and the Wi-Fi details) 3 days before check-in, and they appear on your trip page at the same time.

They differ by home: each home's page and your confirmation show them. Want to arrive early or leave late? Ask us; it depends on whether someone checks in or out the same day.

Your keypad code works whenever you arrive. Just let us know so we're not worried about you.

For a fire, medical or any life-threatening emergency, call 911 first. For anything urgent at the house, like a leak, a lockout or no heat, call Maxwell at (774) 254-5289: 24/7 for current guests.

Call Maxwell at (774) 254-5289 and tell us what happened. If it's urgent we'll sort it out right away; for smaller things we'll fix it as soon as we can.

Daytime visitors are fine. Everyone staying overnight must be on the reservation and within the home's maximum guests. No parties or events.

No. There are no pets at any of our homes. If you have a question about a pet, message us before you book. Email maxwell@staysnowtop.com or call Maxwell at (774) 254-5289.

Each home's page lists the amenities Maxwell has confirmed. If something you need isn't listed, ask us before you book and we'll tell you straight.

Yes, at every home. The network name and password come with your arrival email, 3 days before check-in.

Our Safety page lists what we've recorded for each home, including the exterior security cameras.

Our two Dennis Port cottages are a 3-minute walk from the beach on Nantucket Sound, with off-street parking at each. The lake house sits on Hermit Lake with its own beach and dock.

A day or so after checkout we email you a link. If you have an account, you can also leave one from your bookings there.

If you're signed in when you book, your paid stays earn points toward future stays. Your account page shows your balance, how points are earned and how to use them.

Card payments are handled by Stripe's checkout, so your card number never reaches our servers. We count visits ourselves, without cookies, as daily totals with nothing that identifies you. Our Privacy Policy lists every service that handles your data and how to ask us for a copy or to delete it.

If you're driving to the beach in summer, yes: Dennis charges non-residents daily parking (around $30/day at popular lots like Mayflower) and the town sells visitor passes. Our Dennis Port cottages are a 3-minute walk from the beach on Nantucket Sound, so you can often skip the parking.

In the off-season. Dogs aren't allowed on Dennis beaches during the summer season, but from after Labor Day through late spring they're welcome. Our own homes don't take pets, though. If you have a question about a pet, message us before you book.

The bay-side beaches: Mayflower and Corporation Beach in Dennis. The water is noticeably warmer than the ocean side, the waves are gentle, and at low tide the sandbars and tidal pools keep kids busy for hours.

Dennis sits mid-Cape: roughly 45 minutes to an hour up Route 6 to the Cape Cod National Seashore beaches and Provincetown, and about the same the other way to the bridges.

Yes, that's the point of the place. The water is clean and quiet, and by mid-summer it's warm enough for long swims right from the dock.

It's a small, quiet lake, best for kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding and swimming. For water-skiing or a speedboat, Lake Winnisquam and Winnipesaukee are a short drive away.

Gunstock, Ragged Mountain, Loon and Waterville Valley are all within a drive, which makes the lake house a good winter base: ski in the morning, back at the lake by the afternoon.

Swimming and paddling on the lake, short hikes with big views (Mount Major and West Rattlesnake), fishing for bass and pickerel, and day trips to Squam and Winnipesaukee when you want the busier lake scene. Our Lakes Region guides go deeper.