ULPT: Need to get out of a hotel room? Do this.

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bLazeni@reddit

FYI, before you call and do any of this, check their cancellation policy.

The easy way out, is calling and changing the dates of your reservation to a later date. Then you call back a day or two later, and cancel those dates.

You should be outside their cancellation policy and free to cancel by changing the reservation dates.

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I run a hotel and that would absolutely not work for us. As an example last week end ans this week end we had 3 cancellation "due to medical emergencies" that miraculously vanished when we told then (with A LOT of tact) to pound sand.

This said... we also have a real medical emergency for this week end that i agreed to cancel. I offered our usual "we open the night, if we rent it we refund you, if not, no" and after a day she called back saying that the surgery was a success but her husband would not be in a condition to travel but that she would be able to come with a friend. It was Monday, i was sure i would find someone for a Saturday i just told her to take care of her family. But if she actually lied to me she need to get into acting cause she's got talent :)

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a5121221a@reddit

You can also ask to change the reservation, move it out two weeks, which is usually done without any change or cancellation fees. Call back 8 hours later and you can cancel with no fee because you are still within the cancellation window for the new dates.

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BudgetLobster5639@reddit

I did that with a Disney vacation once. My grandma had a stroke the day before we were supposed to leave so obviously we needed to cancel. They refused to cancel but they said they'd let me reschedule "as a courtesy" so I picked some random dates like six months out. Two days later I called in and canceled.

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swtcharity@reddit

Used to work for Disney and would push people to reschedule and tell them if those dates don’t work out they can cancel without a penalty; that they can call right back after “checking” to cancel without any fees. The number of people who didn’t get the hint and just wanted to cancel and eat the nonrefundable portion boggled my mind.

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TheSwagBag@reddit

No offence meant to yourself but if I heard that on the phone I'd assume the person was just trying to get rid of me and if I hung up and re-called the next person would tell me it's not possible haha, I think that's probably just the pessimist in me though.

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mattsl@reddit

That's a completely reasonable assumption when you're dealing with Disney.

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swtcharity@reddit

It’s probably difficult to convey via text vs conversation, but I can assure you it would likely be the opposite since I was making more work for myself and a reschedule call plus the conversation trying to get the gist across actually makes the call longer for both parties. Ha

I can’t recall anyone hanging up without doing anything though so it likely wasn’t a concern within the context.

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prozak09@reddit

Are you just going to leave us with that grandma cliffhanger? Is she ok? I hope so.

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BudgetLobster5639@reddit

This was several years ago. She was okay but she did pass about five years later after a second stroke.

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BobbyBucherBabineaux@reddit

But how was Disney? Did you go to Harry Potter world? Or was it a cruise?? Also, how much was parking.

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robberdobberdo@reddit

Killing me smalls!

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prozak09@reddit

More cliffhangers than a Telenovela!

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kiradotee@reddit

Dead

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art-of-war@reddit

This usually won’t work actually. The info transfers with your reservation and will not allow a refund.

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a5121221a@reddit

Can you say what hotel chain so we know to avoid?

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art-of-war@reddit

Marriott

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Green_Seat8152@reddit

We keep notes. This doesn't usually work anymore.

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a5121221a@reddit

Can you say what hotel chain so we know to avoid?

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Green_Seat8152@reddit

Why don't you just cancel in time so you don't have to lie?

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PerritoMasNasty@reddit

It still works for all real hotel chains. Do you have a couch?

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

Our place flags your account as moved, it won't work at my hotel

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a5121221a@reddit

Can you say what hotel chain so we know to avoid?

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

I work at a privately owned luxury resort.

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a5121221a@reddit

Thanks for answering that much. Another person said that, too.

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birdmanrules@reddit

It instantly becomes non refundable here too

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a5121221a@reddit

Can you say what hotel chain so we know to avoid?

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mesembryanthemum@reddit

My hotel is onto that. We'll switch it, warn you it's now non-cancelable, the put in notes stating that.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

Same at mine. You move it? That new date is locked down, cancel or move again? Entire deposit will be lost. And we will say it with such saaadness in our voices. "Ohhh Im so sorry your 6th grandma died this year.....anyways, wanna book a new reservation with a brand new deposit?"

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a5121221a@reddit

Can you say what hotel chain so we know where to say Medical?

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

I personally don't work at a chain but a privately owned resort. Most chains will work with you. Your good will and future is worth more than the lost booking.

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a5121221a@reddit

Thanks for answering that much.

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a5121221a@reddit

Can you say what hotel chain so we know to avoid?

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a5121221a@reddit

Bummer!

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the_siren_song@reddit

I watched Coco and called the hotel crying saying it was supposed to be my honeymoon but the wedding was off.

The opposite of this works too. Slip the clerk a $20 and ask for an upgrade because it’s your anniversary.

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RedditBeginAgain@reddit

"I have to stay home to let in the bed bug extermination service"

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brainhack3r@reddit

Yes, by the way, this is the way to go.

You make it THEIR decision that they don't want you.

The bed bug thing works because you can say "well, if you're still going to charge me then I'll go stay at your hotel then" ... and then they will get bed bugs and it's going to cost them $100k to get rid of them.

This works for stalkers too. I once had a really weird girl that came into our office and started stalking me online. Asking me out on a date, etc.

So I told her I don't want to date anymore because "I just tested positive for herpes and I still have a lot of cold sores and they're very painful. But if you want we can date in 6 months once the initial infection fades and I can get on medication and that lowers your chance of catching it down to 5%"

... never heard from her again.

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catsx3@reddit

The 5% bit got me 😂

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Klutzy-Comment6897@reddit

Nice. Your. Slick one.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

I suspect my hotel would charge you for cleaning fees if they suspect you had bedbugs.

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speedbumpdoom@reddit

If I warned you about the bed bugs before entering your property and you still wanted me to stay, I think that some of the liability is on you. I'm definitely not a lawyer or anything, but you would be accepting the risk after being informed of the situation.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

And if you knowingly brought bed bugs, don't be surprised if the company charged you not only for the stay but a very thorough cleaning fee.

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Haurassaurus@reddit

In this situation, you don't actually have bed bugs. It's a lie to make them cancel your stay with a refund.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

What happens if they dont? Or if they do cancel you and charge the full amount?

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Haurassaurus@reddit

It's using psychology for a chance to get a refund on a non-refundable reservation that you are unable to go to.

If they don't cancel you then you don't go because you can't go anyways.

If they cancel you with no refund, then you don't get a refund which you wouldn't have gotten anyway.

Nobody will get bed bugs because they don't actually exist.

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Dear_Significance474@reddit

"No problem, I already have herpes."

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neutronknows@reddit

Reminds me of my idea for a dating app that matches people based on compatible venereal diseases…

STDate

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rainman_95@reddit

“No problem, we already have bed bugs”

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CaptainBeefsteak@reddit

Even our bedbugs have herpes!

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theplantita@reddit

omg lol

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nebuladrifting@reddit

Damn I was a front desk agent for years and I think this is the best answer yet.

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knotyourproblem@reddit

This should work, right????

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L0ud_Typer@reddit

This is the correct answer

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ze11ez@reddit

Take my upvote

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TypoRegerts@reddit

Better yet, say you just found out you are allergic to bed bugs. Calling to make there are no bed bugs absolutely. Already your house is full of bed bugs and you are getting an extermination service. You don’t want the new place to have bed bugs as well.

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jsbach90@reddit

gif

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Background-Cat6454@reddit

Genius

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OneHopelessTrip@reddit

When I worked overnight, I would basically turn into Mr. Incredible giving hints on how to proceed/expedite the matter... ESPECIALLY when it came to Expedia! 🤬🤬🤬 If it's a basic reservation and a guest calls the night before I push the reservation out for my next shift, then cancel it.

Me🏨: What you don't want to do is email this person, noting that you spoke to this person (CSR), and the night auditor about a refund being processed.

😶: uhhh ok, so then what do I do?

🏨: 🤦🏽‍♀️I'll start processing your refund and tell accounting someone must have given you the wrong email, or csr made a promise, or something....I got you. I'll even call you back when I get the update.

😶: oh, well why didn't you just say that?

I was ok to take the heat, there was only one other night auditor and he was desperate to get back on day shift. He'd cover for me on vacations, but other than that...they had no one. 😆😈

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L0ud_Typer@reddit

Former front desk agent here, this is good advice… As long as you booked directly with the hotel.

If you booked through a third-party service like Expedia or hotels.com, the hotel itself can do literally nothing to help you no matter how much they want to. The hotel does not have your money!

It’s absolutely wild to me. How many people booked through third-party services and then expect the hotel to do anything to help them.

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koolkid6996@reddit

Not 100% true. The hotel can let the 3rd party know that they approve the cancellation with full refund when the 3rd party calls them to cancel. Worked for me.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

But this is rare and hard to make them do it. That's because Expedia has to have an agent call the hotel and confirm. It happens but it's rare and it's a pain in the ass for all parties.

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koolkid6996@reddit

I don’t know how rare it is. But it worked for me.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

If you pressure them to do it they will.

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koolkid6996@reddit

I just asked nicely. No need to pressure anyone. I’m pretty sure if I took that approach it would have been a hard no from everyone.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

I don't mean pressure them rudely. Just be insistent.

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koolkid6996@reddit

Yup. Didn’t have to resort to that either. Just explained the situation and asked nicely.

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captainkirkthejerk@reddit

I hate making people do their jobs.

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vanchica@reddit

gif

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brainhack3r@reddit

By the way, what you do is you always use hotels.com to find the hotel, and then you call the hotel directly and ask for the same deal.

That's what I always do.

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captainkirkthejerk@reddit

You will never get a better rate through a third party than the hotel's own rewards program. Hotels are required to keep their best rates internal. When hotels..com changed their rewards to "OneKey Cash" a couple years ago they also devalued their points program drastically. By like 90%. I've been Gold/Platinum with them for many years and it's only worth it for the smaller privately owned places that aren't owned by Mariott/IHG/Hyatt/whatever.

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koolkid6996@reddit

Not all hotels. I went to a boutique hotel. Told them Priceline had a better rate and asked if they would match it. This had worked for me 100% of the time. But this was my first time booking with a boutique hotel. They said that Priceline had a good rate and I should go with them. I was shocked.

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brainhack3r@reddit

Yeah... I think when I was traveling a lot my peek discount was like 20%

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yondershock@reddit

So if I go to a casino hotel and have an allergic reaction to the smoke in the casino on the first night, could I tell them I need to leave because of a medical issue and get a refund?

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L0ud_Typer@reddit

You are talking about a refund on a stay you completed. Not a situation where you are canceling a future reservation at no penalty.

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DraftPerfect4228@reddit

When u call the third party they always say they’d be happy to refund u but they have to get permission from the hotel. Then they put u on hold while they call. Then tell u no.

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koolkid6996@reddit

Call the hotel first and get them to approve it. Then call the 3rd party. It worked for me.

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captainkirkthejerk@reddit

This. I've been literally on the phone with Expedia while standing at the front desk of a hotel who has agreed to the refund. You can't trust them, you have to force their hand.

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captainkirkthejerk@reddit

Because Hotels/Expedia always blames it on the hotel's refund policy.

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im68guns@reddit

Because Expedia(and Booking) have their own cxl rules for certain discounts they offer that the hotel has no control over. We offer rooms at the same rates and cxl poicy we offer at the property direct. This is so we stay in compliance with their rate parity compliance i.e. we can't offer one 3rd party lower rates than another. They will then have additional discount programs that we can opt in or out of. If we opt in, we have no control over the cxl policy. They can make up and enforce whatever they want. They only thing the property can do is opt out if it becomes an issue.

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NeatJudge@reddit

I got out of hotel once by saying that my boyfriend and I had broken up on our way there and were going home! It was true, but it worked!

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PerritoMasNasty@reddit

OP most have a cancel policy, but are open to reschedules. I just tell them my trip got moved (even same day) and rebook for 1-2 weeks out. Then I cancel the next day.

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komokasi@reddit

Just ask to move the reservation... Then cancel it

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not_thrilled@reddit

Last time I needed to get out of a hotel reservation, I...was completely honest. I'd booked a downtown hotel, but my plans changed and I needed to bring a U-Haul. No way they had parking for the thing. Explained that (and dropped that I was a Marriott rewards member), and they refunded the non-refundable reservation.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

That means you talked to a decent person who showed empathy enough to break the rules.

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UserM16@reddit

“Lastly, NEVER book a non-refundable room more than a week in advance. Something like half of our rooms are cancelled that are booked 6 months in advance, and we have a type of discount with a non-refundable price, if you cancel, no matter the reason, it's lost. NEVER book a price like that, no matter what!!”

Does this mean, never book a non-refundable room if I’m not 110% positive that I will keep the reservation because non-refundable is non-negotiable?

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

Sorry I realize what I said was contradictory. It's fine to book a non-refundable room if: you are only a few days away from your stay, and if you are okay with eating the lost funds.

I cancelled a booking for a guy last week who booked a stay worth $2500. He booked it months in advance. Had to pay the full amount up front and lost every penny.

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Quirky_Astronaut_761@reddit

I travel a lot and book non refundable pricing every time. It saves me a ton of money. So your advice to not do it is horrible advice for people who have sold schedules and travel experience. Sure. I could have something unexpected happen one day. But it will be very unlikely

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Two22sInMyShoes99@reddit

100% agree. I have been booking non-refundable flights and hotels for 20 years, not once have I ever had to cancel. Reason being I am a responsible adult who is fully capable of making and sticking to plans. On the very rare chance I ever have to cancel (i.e. in case of an emergency), I know over the decades I will have saved more than I'll lose, even if my insurance doesn't cover if.

So yeah, it's a fairly dumb take. The advise should be "don't book non-refundable accommodation if you're not the sort of person who can stick to plans".

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

I literally take people's money every day at my job cause they think they are immune to circumstances. Good luck with all that bud.

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infinitekittenloop@reddit

I don't think he's saying he feels immune to circumstances. He's saying on the off-chance his plans get borked, he's okay eating the cost. It's a risk he's fine taking, because the frequency at which he encounters this problem is low enough over the course of his traveling life that it doesn't really make a dent in what he saves by booking non-refundable reservations.

I get it, I have a similar perspective because I also have to travel a lot, and the loyalty programs I use generally give me essentially a "store credit refund" I can use for my next trip because there's always a next trip.

But it's still a good tip, as he said, for people who travel much less. Or people who can't take/don't like taking the risk of not getting all their money back if something goes wrong.

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mjames86@reddit

I agree with you. I’ve booked many non refundable rooms and have been fine, never had an issue. My credit card also has trip insurance including hotel reservations, so I would at least get my money back.

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nikils@reddit

Had an upcoming stay that I had booked with Hotels.com and had booked a refundable room if canceled with 24 hours of stay.

The day of, I felt like crap, and decided not to go. I unlinked my paypal account from the website, then canceled.

Worked fine.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

Ah yes PayPal. The magic "get out of jail free" card. Be warned, sone chains may take actions like banning you

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SirSiro@reddit

How's this work on canceling a flight?

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

I've found airlines to be less forgiving but it's always worth asking

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tachyon2014@reddit

Cannot confirm if it still works but saying you came down with covid was good enough even a year or two ago.

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Miserable_Drawer1708@reddit

Or just change the dates to a later timeframe and then cancel “within the window” a few days later

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pinturhippo@reddit

WHat use to work for me like a charm is kindly asking if i just can reschedule for the next week as i have medical problems/family issues etc. after they do i it and the date is upgraded i use my free cancel policy as now i've more than a week left before the stay

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vibinthedaysaway@reddit

I caught swine flu back when that was the big thing and we were due to go to an out of town tournament. Naturally I didn’t get sick until the day before we were due to leave and the hotel wasn’t going to issue the refund. They changed their minds when my mom threatened to bring her highly contagious and delirious teenager and let me rot on one of the lobby couches for the weekend. Refund granted.

TL;DR: finding someone contagious and threatening to bring them also works.

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StrikeSea7638@reddit

I've had good luck with along them to reschedule the room into the next month. Then the next day I go in the app and cancel for free. N

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

Only sometimes does that work. This is a popular one that gets tossed around a lot, but I assure you, you tried to do that with my rooms, we would catch that in a flash. In fact, because you already moved it once, you absolutely cannot move it again, and if you cancelled, the entire deposit would be lost.

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StrikeSea7638@reddit

Ok dude. I have done this many times when cancelling trips at IHG and Marriott hotels.

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Gaary@reddit

So have I. Like 40+ times at least. Never an issue. Although he mentioned they would keep the deposit, I never put a deposit on a hotel room. I always get reimbursed since I stay in hotels for work trips, so I just try to avoid the extra expense I would have to invoice for.

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art-of-war@reddit

If you travel for work, it’s different rules. Hotels will waive their usually non refundable fees because they want you to keep coming back.

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BJntheRV@reddit

Pro Tip: if you can't cancel, reschedule out at least a few months. THEN call back ina month and cancel, and usually you can do so without issue or penalty.

I worked front desk at a campground. We had a fee if you canceled with less than a week notice (depending how close you may forfeit your entire prepaid balance). What people didn't know but I told a few, was that they could reschedule without a fee and if they rescheduled out far enough they could then cancel and get a full refund.

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art-of-war@reddit

Can’t do that with today’s systems.

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irwinlegends@reddit

This doesn't work at most places now. Everyone did it and they caught on

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im_no_doctor_lol@reddit

gif

😅

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elizacandle@reddit

I thought you were talkin physical escape hacks.....

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shatteringlass123@reddit

If they won’t cancel it just keep rescheduling it

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Jaderosegrey@reddit

The first sentence made it sound like you were trapped inside a hotel room and you needed to escape!

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

It's true! I'm stuck in here and it's been ten years!

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neon_nebulas@reddit

I am a supervisor at a hotel and I approve of this. I seriously don’t really care why you are cancelling and if you booked thru us and are nice/kind, I always waive any fee.

Folks, this is also why you wanna book direct.

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billhartzer@reddit

If you’re too close to the date and you cannot cancel then tell them you got the dates wrong and it’s next week and not this week. They’ll move your reservation to next week.

Then you will be able to cancel and get refunded if you call a few days from now and cancel.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

That won't work at my hotel. Glad it's worked for you though

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GFSong@reddit

You don’t need to go nuts, just ask and be polite.

They cancelled my non refundable, and I was very grateful.

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Mackheath1@reddit

AND

Never book through a third party. You can use the .coms to find the hotel you want, but then book directly with the hotel. They can work with you. They have no control over what snooking.com or pisspedia.com have to refund you.

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zamfire@reddit (OP)

Lol those are both real websites. I probably just got a virus on my phone though

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kawaiian@reddit

Both are already purple, I live my life

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420salesguy@reddit

The best way to deal with this is to call and tell them your dates changed from April 20 - 23 to April 27 - 30. Then call back the next day and cancel. I've done this many times without fail working for Pilots.

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BoringNYer@reddit

Honestly unless you're not renting a room across town, and if you haven't checked in digitally, I personally don't gaf at enough of a level to be a dick about it.

Be polite. Rent from hilton.com marriott.com etc.

If you do Expedia or something like it, I can't do anything.

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xsifyxsify@reddit

What if you call and don’t said you want to cancel, tell them something like “hey, i just want you all to know that i will be checking in but i have covid, just a heads up…” or some other contagious disease.

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kaett@reddit

in one of my former jobs, my boss was notorious for having me book a hotel somewhere, and then ask me to change it as he's getting on the plane. he'd just decide "i don't want to stay at that one hotel, i want to stay at this other. change it."

i used to tell them that my boss (or sometimes boss's wife) was in a horrible accident on the way to the airport. if they ever gave me a hard time about cancellation fees, i'd just say "oh... ok then... i'll let the grieving widow know right away." they backed off pretty quickly after that.

it only worked in the united states. anytime he traveled to europe, nobody gave a shit and still made us pay the penalty fee.

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