Peter Greenberg: Hotel Refunds
By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2008-08-04
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Why won't Holiday Inn let me cancel a reservation? I was told that I agreed to pay the rate when I thought that all I was doing was confirming the reservation. I need some help for this. Thank you.
–William, Summerville, Tenn.
After speaking with Brad Minor, the senior manager for public relations for IHG (Holiday Inn's parent company), I think we've figured out what happened. The problem here is that it seems you selected an "advance purchase" rate, which is, not coincidentally, the least expensive price available on the Web site. The fine print on this type of reservation indicates that it is a no-refund type of rate, although it's certainly possible to overlook this important caveat.
Mr. Minor compared it to airlines, which ask you make the reservation in a certain fare class Each has refund restrictions that are dependent on the class you purchase—and usually if you pay more, your ticket is more flexible.
The Holiday Inn advanced-purchase rate, the least expensive one, amounts to pre-paying for your reservation and allows for no refunds. This is a fairly new tactic on the part of hotels, where many people are used to being able to cancel their reservations as long as they give sufficient advance notice, usually anywhere from 24–72 hours.
Moral of the story: It's all about the fine print. That said, they should at least allow you to apply your money to a future Holiday Inn stay.
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