The terms that apply when you book and stay with wowstay. Please read them before confirming your reservation.
Last updated: 6 October 2026
1.1 Who we are. wowstay manages privately owned, self-contained holiday apartments on the Gold Coast. We are not the building manager or body corporate of any building. Contact us at bookings@wowstay.com.au or 07 5649 5702. Non-urgent messages are answered within 24 to 48 hours. Once you have checked in, your Guest Hub shows our 24/7 line for urgent issues such as lockouts or safety concerns.
1.2 When these terms apply. These terms apply to every stay with wowstay, however you booked. If you booked through Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia or another site, that site's cancellation and payment terms also apply to your booking. By booking, completing online check-in or collecting keys, you agree to these terms and the house rules you sign during online check-in.
1.3 Changes. We may update these terms. The version on our website when you booked applies to your stay. We will tell you about any change that affects a booking you have already made.
1.4 Travel insurance. We strongly recommend travel insurance that covers cancellation, illness, injury and lost belongings. We are not responsible for these, except where the law says we are.
1.5 Our messages to you. We send booking, check-in and stay information by email, text, the booking site's messaging and your Guest Hub. You are responsible for reading them. Not reading a message is not a reason for a refund.
2.1 Price. The price confirmed when you book is the price you pay. Rates change with demand and season, and we do not adjust confirmed bookings up or down.
2.2 Payment. When you book direct, your card is saved and charged in full 30 days before arrival. If you book within 30 days of arrival, it is charged when you book. We do not add a card or transaction surcharge. If you booked through Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia or another site, that site takes or arranges your payment under its own terms.
2.3 Cancellations and date changes. Up to 30 days before arrival, you can cancel a direct booking free of charge, or ask us to change its dates. A date change is subject to availability, and the rates for the new dates apply. From 30 days before arrival, every direct booking is final: there are no refunds or date changes. If you booked through another site, its cancellation policy applies only while that policy still allows a free cancellation. After that, this section applies. From that point, we do not refund, credit or change the dates of a booking for reasons outside our responsibility, including:
If you want different dates after that point, you need to make a new booking. The original booking and its payment stay as they are. This is what travel insurance is for (section 1.4). Nothing in this section affects your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. If we cannot provide the apartment, or there is a major problem with it (section 5), you get the remedy the law gives you.
2.4 No-shows. If you have not collected your keys or contacted us by 10am on the day after your arrival date, your booking is treated as a no-show. The full booking is non-refundable, and we may cancel the remaining nights and re-let the apartment. Booking-site bookings also follow that site's no-show policy.
2.5 What you book. You book an apartment type, not a particular apartment. We choose the apartment from that type, and floor, view, décor and layout can vary within it. Photos are a guide. Some three-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments have one bedroom created from part of the open-plan living area, with a dividing wall. A different floor, view or furnishing within the type you booked is not a fault.
2.6 Requests and extras. Early check-in, late check-out, a high or low floor, connecting apartments and accessibility needs are requests, not guarantees. Early check-in and late check-out may be available on request, subject to availability, and a fee applies. Extras you buy, such as early check-in, late check-out, an extra bed or parking, are non-refundable once confirmed. Please send accessibility needs when you book so we can do our best to meet them.
2.7 If your apartment becomes unavailable. If the apartment type you booked becomes unavailable before arrival (for example, through a maintenance issue), we will tell you within 1 business day and offer an equivalent apartment or a refund for the nights affected.
3.1 Online check-in is required. Your Guest Hub link arrives with your booking confirmation. Before we release keys, you must complete the 2-3 minute online check-in there, and we must approve it. It asks for:
The name on the ID must match the guest name on the booking, and that guest must be 18 or over (Schoolies.com bookings: section 9). The card for the bond must be in the name of the person who booked.
Changing the guest name. If the person who booked can no longer come, ask us before arrival to change the guest name. The new guest completes online check-in with their own ID and selfie. The bond stays on the card of the person who booked, and that person remains responsible for the booking, its payment and any costs from the stay, together with the new guest.
3.2 When it is checked. We check online check-ins between 9am and 8pm. Please complete it before you travel. If you complete it after 8pm, keys may not be released until the next morning. If it is incomplete, or the ID does not match the booking or cannot be verified, we will not release the keys until it is resolved. We do not refund any part of a stay because keys could not be released for these reasons.
3.3 Key collection. All guests collect keys at Keyspot, on the retail level of Circle on Cavill, 9 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise. Your Keyspot code shows in your Guest Hub from 2pm on arrival day once you are approved. Check-in is from 3pm unless we have confirmed an earlier time in writing.
3.4 Bond. A $250 bond is held on a Visa or Mastercard in the booking holder's name. It is a pre-authorisation hold, not a charge. It is placed 3 days before arrival and released 3 days after check-out if nothing is owed. It covers damage, missing items, extra cleaning or rubbish removal, lost or unreturned keys, and costs from breaking the house rules. Normal wear and tear is not charged. If we deduct anything, we will email you the reason and evidence within 7 business days. If the costs are more than $250, we may charge the difference to the same card.
3.5 Damage waiver. Instead of the bond, you may be offered a damage waiver during online check-in, subject to availability and at a cost. It is a non-refundable fee paid in place of the bond, so no hold is placed on your card. It covers accidental damage and extra charges from your stay up to $250 in total. It does not cover intentional damage, costs from breaking the house rules (such as smoking, parties or extra guests), lost or unreturned keys, or any amount above $250. Those costs are charged to you, using the card you provide during online check-in. We may withdraw the offer before you accept it.
3.6 Busy periods. School holidays and events bring more people, noise and longer lift waits. Please allow extra time.
4.1 Who can stay. Only the guests registered on the booking may stay overnight or visit, up to the number booked, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Guests under 18 must be with a responsible adult named on the booking at all times and must never be left alone in the apartment. The person who booked is responsible for everyone in their group and for any visitors.
4.2 No parties, and quiet hours. Parties and events are not allowed. Quiet hours are 10pm to 7am. Building security patrols and will respond to complaints. A $250 security call-out fee applies when security attends a complaint about your apartment.
4.3 No smoking, vaping or pets. This applies inside the apartment and on balconies. We charge the cost of cleaning, odour removal and pest treatment, and of any nights we cannot then rent, and this may be more than the bond.
4.4 Safety. Do not touch fire sprinklers, smoke alarms or fire equipment. If guest action sets them off, you pay the fire brigade and repair costs and may be asked to leave. Do not hang items from, climb on, or throw anything from balconies or windows. Throwing objects is a crime, the building is monitored by CCTV, and we will report it to police.
4.5 Damage. You are responsible for damage caused by you or your guests during the stay. Report any damage to us straight away.
4.6 What the apartment includes. Each apartment has a kitchen and laundry. We provide a starter pack of soap, detergent, tea, coffee and toilet paper for your first night; it is not restocked. There is no daily or mid-stay housekeeping. We do not supply beach or pool towels, and we do not store luggage.
4.7 Parking. If your booking includes a car space, park only in your own space. Fines or body corporate charges caused by parking elsewhere are passed on to you.
4.8 Building facilities. Pools, gyms, spas, lifts, car parks and lobbies are run by each building's body corporate or on-site manager, not by wowstay. They can close for maintenance or events without notice to us. Please report problems with them to building management, and let us know too.
4.9 Safes. A safe in an apartment belongs to the owner and is not for guest use. If you use it and a locksmith is needed, you pay the cost.
4.10 Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi is supplied by a third-party provider. Speed can vary and outages can happen.
4.11 Entry. We may enter the apartment without notice for urgent maintenance, safety, a reported breach of these terms, or to fix a problem you reported (section 5.3). For anything else we give at least 24 hours' notice where possible.
4.12 Insects and our climate. The Gold Coast has a subtropical climate. Cockroaches, ants and other insects can appear from time to time, even in clean, regularly treated apartments, especially in warm weather and after rain. A sighting is not a fault and is not grounds for a refund, discount or room change. Keep food sealed and rubbish in the bins, and tell us if you see more than the occasional insect so we can arrange treatment.
Tell us during your stay and give us the chance to fix it. Under the Australian Consumer Law, a business gets to fix a minor problem, and a minor problem we fix within a reasonable time does not lead to a refund, discount or room change.
5.1 Tell us within 12 hours of collecting your keys. Check the apartment when you arrive and report anything wrong through "Report a problem" in your Guest Hub, with photos or video, within 12 hours of collecting your keys. If something goes wrong later in your stay, report it as soon as it happens. We can only fix what we know about.
5.2 Urgent problems come first; minor problems are fixed when we can. Urgent problems are made a priority: no power or water, a leak, a lockout, a safety or security risk, or the apartment cannot be locked. Minor problems are attended to when we can, within a reasonable time. For a minor problem, we decide the fix: a repair, a replacement item, a temporary alternative (such as a portable air conditioner, fan or heater), or moving you to another apartment. Tradespeople or parts can take a day or more.
5.3 Let us in to fix it. When you report a problem, you agree to let our team or tradespeople into the apartment to fix it, at the time we arrange, even if you are out (see section 4.11). If you refuse or delay access, or decline the fix we offer, you accept the apartment with that fault for the rest of your stay, and no refund, discount or compensation applies for it.
5.4 Minor problems. These are examples of minor problems. We will fix them where we can, but they are not grounds for a refund, discount, credit or room change:
5.5 Preferences are not faults. A different floor, view, layout, décor or bed type within the apartment type you booked, or simply not liking the apartment or the area, is not a problem with our service. We do not refund, discount or move guests for preference or change of mind.
5.6 Room changes. We do not move guests on request. We move a guest only when we decide that is the right fix for a problem (section 5.2), or under section 2.7. If we move you, your original booking terms still apply.
5.7 Major problems. A major problem is one where the apartment is unsafe, or it cannot be used for its normal purpose and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time, or a reasonable guest who knew about the problem would not have booked. It is judged by that legal test, not by how strongly a guest feels. A problem we fix, or give you a suitable alternative for, within a reasonable time is usually minor. If a major problem happens, you can choose to cancel the rest of the stay and get a refund for the unused nights, or stay and receive compensation for the drop in value.
5.8 No refunds for reviews. We do not give refunds, discounts, credits or upgrades in return for a review being posted, changed, removed or not posted.
5.9 Late reports. Reporting a problem is so we can fix it, not a claim for a refund; minor problems never lead to a refund, discount or compensation (section 5.4). In addition, we will not consider any claim for a problem reported more than 12 hours after you collected your keys (for anything present when you arrived), not reported while it was happening, or first raised after check-out, because we had no chance to fix it. This does not affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law (section 8.1).
6.1 Check-out is by 10am unless we have confirmed a later time in writing. Key and building access may stop working after your check-out time. A late check-out we have not confirmed is charged for the extra cleaning wait and any cost to the next guest, deducted from the bond.
6.2 Before you leave. Put all rubbish and food waste in the bins, put furniture back where it was, and take everything you brought. Extra cleaning or rubbish removal is charged.
6.3 Returning keys. Return keys, fobs and parking cards as the check-out steps in your Guest Hub show for your building. We cannot accept keys offered back after 12pm on departure day, because of the security risk to the next guest.
6.4 Lost or unreturned keys. You receive up to two key sets. A lost or unreturned set costs $100 to replace. Tell us straight away if keys are lost, because you are responsible for the security risk until they are deactivated.
6.5 Lockouts. If you lock yourself out and need us to attend: 6pm to 8pm $100, 8pm to midnight $150, midnight to 9am $250. If we get you back in by phone without attending, the fee is $50.
We can cancel a booking, or end a stay that has started, with no refund, if you or anyone in your group:
We will warn you first where we can, unless the situation needs immediate action. If we end a stay, everyone must leave straight away, and the bond is applied to the costs caused.
8.1 Your consumer rights. Our services come with guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded. Nothing in these terms takes them away. Where these terms say there is no refund, that means no refund except where the Australian Consumer Law gives you one.
8.2 Belongings and injury. We are not responsible for loss, theft or damage to your belongings, or for injury in the apartment, building or its facilities, unless it is caused by our negligence or the law makes us responsible.
8.3 Unpaid costs. Damage costs above the bond are charged to the card you provided. Amounts left unpaid may be passed to a debt collection agency, and serious or deliberate damage is reported to police.
8.4 Chargebacks. Please contact us before you dispute a charge with your bank. If you dispute a charge that was properly made, we will give your bank our records, including your booking, the terms and agreement you signed, your online check-in and ID approval, key collection and our messages. You remain responsible for the charge and for the costs of the dispute, and we may decline future bookings.
8.5 Electronic signature. Signing or accepting during online check-in binds you to these terms and the guest agreement in the same way as a signature on paper.
8.6 Privacy. We collect and use your details, ID and selfie to verify your booking and manage your stay, in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and our Privacy Policy.
9.1 Schoolies.com bookings. Groups of guests under 18 without a parent or guardian staying with them are accepted only on bookings made through Schoolies.com or its official partners. Every person staying must be a registered Schoolies.com guest wearing a valid wristband at all times. Anyone without one is an unauthorised guest, and the whole group may be removed with no refund. Schoolies.com rules and these terms both apply, and the stricter rule wins. The parent or guardian named on the Schoolies.com booking is responsible, together with the guests, for all damage, fines, cleaning and call-out costs. Any breach means the booking is ended under section 7, the bond is kept towards costs, and we report the incident to Schoolies.com security and, where needed, Queensland Police.
9.2 Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia.
9.3 Contact. bookings@wowstay.com.au · 07 5649 5702 · 9 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217.