Hotel Cancellations Fees...

[Scarpozzi]

So I booked a hotel months ago for this weekend (possible NFL game) and forgot to cancel my reservation. The policy is 48 hours notice....I was giving more than 24 hours (what it used to be) because it would be difficult for me to make the 4.5 hour drive.

I called the reservations line and they put me in touch with the hotel. I spoke with the front-desk clerk (sounded like her first phone call with a customer). She told me they would have to bill me if I cancelled....I asked to speak with the manager and the manager told me the same thing. I expressed how I wasn't happy with it and made a comment that I may try to use the room rather than being charged the cancellation fee... Anyway, we ended the call but she never gave me a cancellation number or anything. I checked my Amex and have a pending charge in the amount for the reservation that just popped up.

I've received no Email alert, but the reservation dropped off my Hilton app...it's not in the cancelled side or the upcoming reservation side.

Knowing Hilton, you can't reinstate a reservation...if you cancel one, they'll tell you to make a new reservation. This seems a little shady to me...like, now I want to make the trip because after knowing they were going to charge me, I would rather try to use the room than lose it. (if that makes sense). Should I just let the charge post and have Amex try to recover the funds through dispute or should I call the hotel and ask them to reinstate the reservation or reverse the charge since I never confirmed that I would cancel after they said they'd charge me...

 

[slayer202]

What do you mean you ended the call but she didn't give you a cancellation number. How did you end the call? If you're going to use the room then call back to confirm. If not, it's kinda shady to dispute it with your CC but oh well, screw hilton

 

[Scarpozzi]

What do you mean you ended the call but she didn't give you a cancellation number. How did you end the call? If you're going to use the room then call back to confirm. If not, it's kinda shady to dispute it with your CC but oh well, screw hilton

I was calling to see if she could cancel it and was told about the fee...but didn't realize she actually cancelled the reservation. (because they usually follow a particular process with a follow-up Email through the main reservation system).

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

So I booked a hotel months ago for this weekend (possible NFL game) and forgot to cancel my reservation. The policy is 48 hours notice....I was giving more than 24 hours (what it used to be) because it would be difficult for me to make the 4.5 hour drive.

I called the reservations line and they put me in touch with the hotel. I spoke with the front-desk clerk (sounded like her first phone call with a customer). She told me they would have to bill me if I cancelled....I asked to speak with the manager and the manager told me the same thing. I expressed how I wasn't happy with it and made a comment that I may try to use the room rather than being charged the cancellation fee... Anyway, we ended the call but she never gave me a cancellation number or anything. I checked my Amex and have a pending charge in the amount for the reservation that just popped up.

I've received no Email alert, but the reservation dropped off my Hilton app...it's not in the cancelled side or the upcoming reservation side.

Knowing Hilton, you can't reinstate a reservation...if you cancel one, they'll tell you to make a new reservation. This seems a little shady to me...like, now I want to make the trip because after knowing they were going to charge me, I would rather try to use the room than lose it. (if that makes sense). Should I just let the charge post and have Amex try to recover the funds through dispute or should I call the hotel and ask them to reinstate the reservation or reverse the charge since I never confirmed that I would cancel after they said they'd charge me...

You reap what you sow. Nothing against you - but you're kinda.... going about this entirely wrong IMO....

1) If you actually cancelled (and they told you it was cancelled) then showing up to stay in the room isn't exactly a smart idea.

2) The terms were clear, you didn't cancel within 48 hours. It sucks, but it is what it is.


Personally I have a lot of status with Marriott and would try to come at it from a "My bad, but please refund me because I'm very loyal. I would greatly appreciate it" instead of the "Grrr I'm angry that I have to pay for making my own mistake" perspective.

 

[Scarpozzi]

You reap what you sow. Nothing against you - but you're kinda.... going about this entirely wrong IMO....

1) If you actually cancelled (and they told you it was cancelled) then showing up to stay in the room isn't exactly a smart idea.

2) The terms were clear, you didn't cancel within 48 hours. It sucks, but it is what it is.


Personally I have a lot of status with Marriott and would try to come at it from a "My bad, but please refund me because I'm very loyal. I would greatly appreciate it" instead of the "Grrr I'm angry that I have to pay for making my own mistake" perspective.

They never confirmed that it was cancelled. That's my point. They told me they would have to bill me, but there was no process voiced on the call. I mentioned to them that I was still considering using the room...because I didn't realize they had completed a cancellation transaction.

As for 2...yeah...you're right.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

They never confirmed that it was cancelled. That's my point. They told me they would have to bill me, but there was no process voiced on the call. I mentioned to them that I was still considering using the room...because I didn't realize they had completed a cancellation transaction.

As for 2...yeah...you're right.

That's definitely an odd way to end the call. I would have made sure to come away with either an understanding of if it was cancelled or not. So yeah, I guess call back to clarify that.

 

[Scarpozzi]

That's definitely an odd way to end the call. I would have made sure to come away with either an understanding of if it was cancelled or not. So yeah, I guess call back to clarify that.

The confusion was my fault because I asked to speak with the manager and we were discussing that I would be billed if I cancelled.... Why would I cancel at that point if I was going to be billed the same amount either way?

 

[Raizinman]

I stay at a lot of hotels and motels. When a situation occurs that I overlooked a reservation and forgot to cancel I call and suggest to the manager that: I will pay for the room if you can't rent it out. Since I reserved the room for $80, go ahead and give the next person who calls for a room a discount of $20 off and rent my room to him for $60. This way you make two customers happy. It doesn't work every time, but often it does. Hotels really don't want an unhappy customer, especially when I stay often.

 

[Mermaidman]

In my experience, hotel staff (not the national phone reps) are flexible and accommodating. Call the hotel again and work it out. The Amex pending charge could be the usual hold that a hotel places on the expected day of arrival, in which case your reservation could still be live. At worst, you can argue that you never did cancel. Do you have Honors status?

On a related note, in the future, if you need to cancel a reservation after the cancellation deadline, try changing the reservation dates to further in the future, and THEN cancel, thus bypassing the cancellation penalty. Not sure if this loophole is closed now, but it worked for me in the past.