Hotel cancellation fees: a technique to avoid them

Occasionally the unexpected happens. You find yourself in a position where you have to cancel that dream vacation you’ve been planning. That hotel cancellation fee or penalty you never thought you’d have to pay now seems like a reality. You are within the hotel’s 48-hour cancellation policy. Reluctantly, you pick up the phone to cancel the reservation you’ve been looking for. The feeling of wasting the hard-earned money you painstakingly saved for this trip darkens your mood. But, hold that phone for a minute, there may be a better solution.

Cancellation fees can range from $10 to over $100. The average fee is around $25. Also, many hotels, especially during peak seasons or during special events, will charge the first night’s room rate as a penalty. Cancellation fees are generally activated between 48 hours and 7 days before the arrival date. Having to cancel a reservation due to some unexpected turn of events is always a disappointment, but having to pay extra money for a hotel stay you’ll never enjoy is a double whammy.

Here is a technique to avoid cancellation fees and penalties that I have used on several occasions. If you are within a hotel’s cancellation deadline, simply call the hotel and change the arrival date on your reservation so that the date is far enough in the future that you are no longer within the hotel’s cancellation deadline. hotel. For example, if the original reservation was for arrival on October 15th and the deadline to avoid cancellation fees was October 13th, please call the hotel and change the reservation for arrival on October 25th. Then wait a day or two and then call back and cancel the reservation. Now that you are no longer in violation of the deadline, you can cancel your reservation without paying any additional fees.

Are there situations where this technique won’t work? There are some to be sure. For very popular special events, for example, Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Florida, that are booked months in advance or even a year in advance, hotels may not allow any changes to your original reservation. Also, prepaid hotel rates almost always require a change fee, as there is more administrative effort to change a prepaid reservation. The change fee can cost as much as the cancellation fee. But in general, for most reservations, you should be able to successfully change your arrival date to some date in the future that allows you to later cancel the reservation without paying a cancellation fee.

Still, it’s a good idea to read the cancellation policy carefully before making any hotel reservations. The website you use to make your reservation should clearly display your review’s cancellation policy before asking for your credit card information. Please note that the vast majority of hotels have very lenient cancellation policies. For example, a cut-off time of 4:00 pm on the day of arrival is a very common cancellation policy. If a hotel doesn’t have a policy that meets your needs, a hotel down the street may have a more lenient policy.