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Many times plans change during the course of travel and you end up losing your hotel booking. When things don’t go according to plan, it is important that you contact the hotel you planned to stay in to avoid being charged hotel fees without using their services. Hotels are becoming stricter in their cancellation policies, which means you should be aware of these policies before booking a hotel.
How hotel cancellation policies work
Hotels are currently able to make their own policies in the way they see fit, without being restricted or directed by any agency. This has made it an uneven playing field, meaning every hotel is different from the other. Hotels differ in setting their policies, so it is wise to read their fine print before booking. While some hotels give you until the evening before your arrival to cancel, these are becoming less common. Many hotels are now asking for 72 hours prior notice or more when you want to cancel a reservation. If you don’t follow the schedule, you may be charged a one-night fee for each room you booked up to the entire period you were supposed to stay. While these hotel fees seem redundant to say the least, hotels are well within their rights to retain the fees. So it boils down to covering your flanks. how to do this.
read the fine print
This point cannot be stressed enough. Reading the fine print of hotel policies will help you know what fees they apply and to what extent. This will help you plan ahead for any eventuality of a no show. If you are not able to handle the prescribed charges, then the best thing to do is to look for another hotel that will accommodate you. Knowing what the hotel requires can also give you a bargaining chip for negotiating beforehand. If you can get them to compromise before your no show, you may be able to save on the penalty.
contact hotel
When you realize that you might be a no show, you should make sure to go through the cancellation process before booking. Talking to the hotel is a good way to get proper information even after reading the policy from their online site. Once you have noted the process, you are ready to negate any charges if you have done the cancellation correctly and followed the correct procedure.
there is solid evidence
While doing cancellation, make sure that you must have proof that you have actually canceled your booking. If you do this over the phone you may be issued a cancellation number. If you use email to cancel a booking, you have your proof. However phone calls are in a better position to handle such issues as they cannot be denied. One can always say that they never saw the email.
follow up
There are times when you have taken the right steps to cancel and your credit card still gets charged. At such time, you should contact the hotel with your cancellation information as well as a request to credit your account with the deducted amount. If this is not done, you can always appeal to your credit card company.
other ways to cover yourself
As mentioned earlier, if you feel that the policies of a hotel are too restrictive, you can always look for another hotel that suits your needs better. Keep in mind that the only way to get a no show fee is to follow their procedure for cancellation. Failing to do so, you only have yourself to blame. Another way to cover yourself from these hotel charges is by taking out a travel insurance policy. This is beneficial in many ways.
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