# Marriott and Hilton Announce Penalty for Last-Minute Hotel Cancellations



## alwysonvac (Nov 19, 2014)

Marriott and Hilton hotels will no longer allow cancellation of hotel reservations on the day of check-in without a penalty.



> From http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/b...nalty-for-last-minute-cancellations.html?_r=0
> 
> Inspired by Airlines, Hotels Increase Fees
> Marriott and Hilton Announce Penalty for Last-Minute Cancellations
> ...


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## bogey21 (Nov 19, 2014)

I've always thought being able to cancel before 6 pm day of arrival was a little loose and don't blame them for changing their policy.  I do think, however, that a penalty of a full day's lodging is a little steep.

George


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## davidvel (Nov 19, 2014)

bogey21 said:


> I've always thought being able to cancel before 6 pm day of arrival was a little loose and don't blame them for changing their policy.  I do think, however, that a penalty of a full day's lodging is a little steep.
> 
> George



I agree with the first sentence. I actually think it would be better if it was a few days more. Many people book and then cancel last minute. These rooms cannot be recovered. If the hotel thought occupancy was much lower, there would be better rates.


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## mtm65 (Nov 20, 2014)

When traveling for business, the same day cancellation option was very nice.  Often times plans change during the course of a business day and I will miss the flexibility.  

For the family vacation, I agree that same day cancellation was very generous.

Maybe the cancellation policy should be different for the higher levels of the rewards programs (HHonors, etc)?


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## Passepartout (Nov 20, 2014)

I could see it if the hotel is full. But if they have vacant rooms anyway, there should not be a cancellation charge. Sort of like Southwest's policy of forcing 'plus size' passengers to pay for two seats unless the plane is not full.

Jim


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## 1Kflyerguy (Nov 20, 2014)

Passepartout said:


> I could see it if the hotel is full. But if they have vacant rooms anyway, there should not be a cancellation charge. Sort of like Southwest's policy of forcing 'plus size' passengers to pay for two seats unless the plane is not full.
> 
> Jim



I can see your point, but would be hard for them to implement and probably lead to lots of arguments is the hotel was actually full or not. With Southwest, its pretty obvious to anyone that looks around to see if the plane is full or not.

With a hotel, it much harder to tell, and you may have many different room types. 

Unfortunately a lot of business travelers book travel they never take, or book duplicate travel as a backup plan.  I have occasionally abandoned hotels or car rentals without calling to cancel when things change at the last minute.


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## isisdave (Nov 20, 2014)

In addition, flight cancellations or weather re-routings will now automatically trigger hotel penalties. There should be something like "half-day fee if cancelled by noon."

And I definitely agree that if the room is re-rented, (most of) the fee should not apply.


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## Rent_Share (Nov 20, 2014)

Haven't the airlines and hotels, dealt with this by overbooking, and only occasionally get caught with more passengers or occupants than capacity ?


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## LisaRex (Nov 23, 2014)

My WAG is that they are implementing penalties to try and circumvent people who make guaranteed reservations, then also try a last minute Priceline booking.  It stands to reason that the Priceline rate will drop significantly on the day of arrival.  If there's no penalty for canceling up until 6pm, it allows customers to re-book at a bargain rate with no pain.


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