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Post by MichyM on Jul 20, 2023 18:50:20 GMT
I have a reservation for two (Fairmont branded) hotel rooms in an international city in December. Booked through booking.com and booked as non-refundable and non-transferable. Due to a very big reason that I prefer not to share publicly (not simply that we decided not to go) we are no longer taking the trip.
I don’t think I’ve ever used booking.com before. If I call, does anyone have any advice/input on what to do/say to convince them to refund? I mean we’re 5 months out, there is still plenty of time to rebook the room. Someone else will be thrilled to have the rooms. I’d be fine paying a fine of some sort, but not super thrilled about being out thousands.
Also, if they refuse, do I then speak with the hotel? Or the CC I used to book? And if so, should I expect any help from them at all?
Thansk for sharing any insight you might have ❤️
ETA: There is no need to chastise me for booking through a third party/non-refundable. Thank you.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jul 20, 2023 18:55:17 GMT
I’ve done it a couple of times, but booked and dealt with hotel directly. Honestly they were extremely accommodating- we also had very good reasons although in our case much closer timing. Best of luck to you.
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Post by flanz on Jul 20, 2023 18:59:23 GMT
sorry, no advice, but I really hope you get some great advice and can get at least most of your $$ back!!
xox
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 20, 2023 19:00:42 GMT
I have done this before. I called the hotel directly and was very nice and apologetic about it; it was not difficult to get them to cancel.
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Post by MichyM on Jul 20, 2023 19:03:08 GMT
I have done this before. I called the hotel directly and was very nice and apologetic about it; it was not difficult to get them to cancel. Was your reservation made through a third party like mine? |
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Post by lucyg on Jul 20, 2023 19:05:43 GMT
This is why I don’t book non-refundable rooms, and I try to only fly Southwest for the same reason. I’d rather pay more but be able to change my plans if needed.
Hope you’re able to get your money back in the end.
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Post by epeanymous on Jul 20, 2023 19:07:37 GMT
I have done this before. I called the hotel directly and was very nice and apologetic about it; it was not difficult to get them to cancel. Was your reservation made through a third party like mine? One was--I think through expedia, but might have been another site (I have done this 2-3 times). ETA: just remembered, the only time I got hassled about this, I changed the reservation, which converted it to a regular direct reservation. Then I called back a few weeks later and cancelled that. |
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iowgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,295 
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 20, 2023 19:07:47 GMT
I will not book anything through a third party. No matter what the savings, the chance of an issue is too much.
Hopefully they might help you out, but I would not expect it.
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Post by MichyM on Jul 20, 2023 19:08:09 GMT
This is why I don’t book non-refundable rooms, and I try to only fly Southwest for the same reason. I’d rather pay more but be able to change my plans if needed. Hope you’re able to get your money back in the end. Yep, nor do I. But we did this time. The savings was substantial. 🤷🏼♀️ I have to add that your reply feels like a hand slap of sorts, even if that wasn’t your intention. |
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Post by MichyM on Jul 20, 2023 19:09:30 GMT
Was your reservation made through a third party like mine? One was--I think through expedia, but might have been another site (I have done this 2-3 times). Thank you. |
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,042
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Jul 20, 2023 19:16:21 GMT
I have no knowledge but the first thing that came to mind was, did you pay by credit card and is there insurance attached to it?. Am I right in thinking American Express had travel insurance attached to their cards. I'm probably years out of date but American Express is not common here so when they ran adverts years ago they stood out a bit.
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,977
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Post by pinklady on Jul 20, 2023 19:19:08 GMT
I know you said it's non-refundable and non-transferable but is it changeable? If so, can you change it to another date and time that is not a non-refundable reservation. Then, cancel that before the cancelation period?
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 20, 2023 19:37:03 GMT
Our experience has not been good. Last year DH inadvertently booked through Priceline. He had car problems and wasn’t able to get to a hotel he had booked and prepaid. When he called the hotel directly they told him he was out of luck. Priceline said the same.
I hope that you have better luck than we did. And I’m sorry you have to cancel your trip.
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Post by gar on Jul 20, 2023 19:37:28 GMT
I think the simple answer is that you won’t have much hope with the booking agent directly but could you possibly sell the reservations or claim through your travel insurance?
Good luck.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 20, 2023 19:48:34 GMT
No.
Last year I had a spring break trip booked, one of my kids got sick, we couldn’t go. We had to suck it up and eat the cost.
You *chose* to pay less for a non-refundable rate. The rate is lower because it’s non-refundable.
I always book through 3rd party sites because the reward program is better for us, so no hand slap for that. But you chose the discount instead of the flexibility 🤷🏻♀️
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MrsDepp
Full Member
Refupea #2341
Posts: 477
Jun 30, 2014 18:36:02 GMT
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Post by MrsDepp on Jul 20, 2023 19:49:57 GMT
In my experience, the hotel will not cancel the third party booking. They will direct you to call the third party company whom you booked with.
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Post by littlemama on Jul 20, 2023 19:53:35 GMT
Oof. Ive never booked third party, but can you "change" the reservation to a refundable type and then cancel? If not, all you can do is call the 3rd party and ask.
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Post by freecharlie on Jul 20, 2023 19:55:40 GMT
All you can do is try.
You might have better luck with moving it rather than canceling completely
In N
My experience, I've had to eat the cost. I now inky book non refundable if it is close enough there is no way we are not going or if I can eat the cost should we not go
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Post by chedanemi on Jul 20, 2023 20:09:15 GMT
I booked a non-refundable room through third party (hotels.com) and found out I was going to have to cancel. I first called the hotel directly and explained the situation. They said to contact hotels.com and that hotels.com would have to contact the hotel directly to cancel. BUT, by first contacting the hotel, they assured me they would tell hotels.com to cancel the reservation with no penalty.
Short take on this... it helped to contact the hotel directly first!
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SabrinaP
Pearl Clutcher
Busy Teacher Pea
Posts: 4,415
Location: Dallas Texas
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Post by SabrinaP on Jul 20, 2023 20:19:32 GMT
I would try. My sister in law was going to come down last year to see my son play football, but everyone in the our family came down with Covid. She tried everything to get her non-refundable room refunded or even just the reservation moved to a different date, but the hotel wouldn’t budge. I believe she booked directly with the hotel and called them directly trying to change it.
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tanya2
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1604
Posts: 4,427
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Post by tanya2 on Jul 20, 2023 20:20:16 GMT
that sucks that you have to cancel! I book through hotels.com frequently but tend to shy away from the non-refundable ones for this reason. That must have been a great discount!
Can i ask where you were going to go?
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Jul 20, 2023 20:20:32 GMT
Like others, I have been able to change my reservation. I’ve found booking and Expedia customer service to be pretty good. Once I was able to cancel and another gave me credit for a future stay but they wouldn’t refund or change it.
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Post by kristi521 on Jul 20, 2023 20:45:51 GMT
Good luck to you. Working them was PAINFUL for me and lesson learned I will not use them again. I was able to get my money back eventually, but it took a lot of back and forth with booking.com and the hotel interceding on my behalf as well. Sorry, I don't remember the exact details as it has been almost 2 years and I have tried to block out of my mind at this point. I hope you get it refunded!
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Post by christine58 on Jul 20, 2023 21:22:32 GMT
MichyM Could you,or would they let you, reschedule??? I'd try my CC first too.
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Post by clarencelynn on Jul 20, 2023 21:41:56 GMT
I've had some experience with Booking.com and hotel cancellations. We had booked a hotel in Las Vegas through Booking.com and due to weather, etc we were NOT going to be able to check in on the day we planned originally. I called Booking.com and told them what was happening, they called the hotel and things were updated appropriately. When we checked in, the hotel did NOT charge us for the missed day, which I believe Booking.com arranged for us. It was a great surprise.
Another experience I had with Booking.com is that I booked a hotel and we arrived to check in and it ended up being a super seedy (scary) location and the hotel clerk told us he did not have our booking, though I had the paid confirmation. I called Booking.com and they immediately refunded the payment.
I know these aren't similar to your situation but it may help if you call Booking.com and see if they can assist.
Good luck
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Post by flanz on Jul 20, 2023 21:50:44 GMT
MichyM - if you can't get a refund and you're not the reason for the trip cancellation, I hope you'll be able to find a friend to go with you.
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Post by Bridget in MD on Jul 20, 2023 22:04:06 GMT
I wonder why they don't allow you to transfer the reservation if you cannot go? I have no insight, but hope you get good news and I hope you come back and share what happened in case this happens to anyone again!
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Post by mikklynn on Jul 20, 2023 22:14:17 GMT
It's worth a try. We had Delta waive a change fee by calling and explaining DH had a health issue requiring a reschedule.
Good luck!
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Post by KelleeM on Jul 20, 2023 22:20:37 GMT
We left a hotel a day early due to an issue at home. They told us we would probably not get a refund because we had booked through a third party. We got it before we arrived home. Best of luck!
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ellen
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,777
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Post by ellen on Jul 20, 2023 22:21:18 GMT
Several years ago I booked a nonrefundable hotel room through Expedia. We were finishing up college tours and my daughter said we didn’t need to go to that last one. I called to let them know we weren’t coming and they did not charge me for it even though I was expecting they would. I did it that same day. It was their college Homecoming weekend and maybe they were feeling pretty confident they would fill it.
It’s worth a try. I’m not a fan of these nonrefundable rates. I won’t do it unless I am a few days away from going. We’re currently looking to book a trip for February. The odds of bad weather in MN are too likely to happen. We had to cross off one that I really would have liked to have stayed at. The savings would have been significant, so I can see why you booked it.
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