A new hotel scheme for gouging the customer

By Amy Bradley-Hole

Travel columnist

updated 2:42 p.m. ET Jan. 16, 2008

Amy Bradley-Hole Travel columnist • Profile • E-mail

I'm interrupting my previously scheduled column to tell you about a hotel policy that really makes me mad. I don't know how long hotels have been doing this or who thought it up, but I think it's fairly new and probably the work of some greedy corporate vice president.

A few weeks ago, my friend Mary Ann made a reservation through the Holiday Inn Express Web site for a room at the Holiday Inn Express in her hometown. She was having some company and was afraid she might not have room for everyone at her house. After one of her visitors canceled his trip, she knew she could accommodate all the guests, so she called the hotel to cancel the reservation. Too bad, she was told. You booked a special rate online, and you can't cancel or change your reservation. Never mind that you called well in advance of the arrival date. You're going to be charged room and tax for all six nights of your reservation, to the tune of about $750.

After letting a few choice expletives fly, Mary Ann called me to see if anything could be done about the situation. At first, I didn't have much sympathy for her. I knew that despite her protestations to the contrary, there were probably several warnings about the cancellation policy on the Web site. And I was right. I checked the site, and there are notices about the policy, and they're fairly obvious, though they are full of industry jargon. Still, fail to read the fine print, and you have only yourself to blame!

I discouraged Mary Ann from disputing the charge through her credit card company, because she was clearly in the wrong. Instead, I suggested that she speak to the hotel's manager in person, admitting her mistake and begging for mercy. Maybe he would agree to some sort of compromise, perhaps charging her for only one night. Alternatively, I suggested she go ahead and check into the room even though she wouldn't be using it. At least that way, the hotel couldn't resell the room and make a double profit and she'd gain some small satisfaction from "sticking it to the man." Otherwise, I was afraid she was out of luck.

But the more I thought about it, the more I sympathized with Mary Ann. Anyone could have made her mistake and, besides, the policy is simply outrageous.

The first time I noticed a "no cancellation" policy like this was back in April, when I was booking a room online at a Doubletree hotel. I was cruising through the booking on Doubletree's Web site when I noticed this:

FULL PAYMENT REQUIRED AT TIME OF RESERVATION. CREDIT CARD REQUIRED AT TIME OF BOOKING AND WILL BE CHARGED IMMEDIATELY FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE STAY AS RESERVED. NO REFUNDS OR CREDITS FOR EARLY DEPARTURE, CANCELLATION OR NO SHOW. NO MODIFICATION ALLOWED ONCE RESERVATION IS CONFIRMED. GUEST MUST CHECK IN ON ARRIVAL DATE OR RESERVATION WILL BE CANCELED AND FULL PAYMENT FORFEITED.

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They were going to charge everything upfront — no problem, this policy has been around for a while, and I can deal with it. No refunds or credits for early departure — again, this is a pretty standard policy, though many hotel managers will waive it under certain circumstances. But no refund for a cancellation? Hold up!

In the event of a cancellation, most hotels charge only for the first night's room plus tax — and only when the reservation is canceled on late notice. Faced with the Doubletree policy, I figured: Well, if I needed to cancel and didn't want to lose my money, I could just change my reservation dates to another time, or let a friend check in, right? Nope, this ironclad contract did not allow me to modify the reservation in any way. I went ahead and booked the room, however, because I had to be in that town for an appointment that had been planned for ages and could not be rescheduled, and I had to be there even if I was at death's door. And guess what? At the last minute, something almost forced a cancellation, and I almost lost my money.

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