"I want my money back because I was wrong"

[Moirae]

Been a while since I posted something about a customer but this one was notable for me. As many of you know, I FINALLY made manager (AGM) a couple weeks ago. So happy about this you can't imagine. It's been a long time coming. But I haven't felt managerial until today.

Every once in a while, a guest tries to pull something stupid to get their money back.

My hotel has a 7 day cancellation policy. It's common in small hotels and bed and breakfasts. The bigger hotels will have a standard 72 hour cancellation policy. Special events are 30 day cancellation policy throughout the entire city. There's a reason why hotels are so harsh on cancellation penalties in the modern age. It ensures we get paid. In a city that lives on tourism, there will always be another tourist, but there are vast stretches where that bit of money can keep us open and paid.

So last week a guest made a reservation, and the same day tried to cancel. According to the guest, the website she booked it through had told her there was a 5 pm hold. NOOOO, never. I know there is not a 5 pm hold.

So I walked her in a circle on the phone, and when the "5 pm" crap didn't work, she tried the "the agent was rude to me or I wouldn't have cancelled. And she told me it would be a 5 pm cancel". Ummm... nooooo. I know this agent and she's one of our best. She's very good with the guests, and the agents notes on the reservation specifically state that she told the guest that she could have cancelled without penalty up until July 27 (which is true).

So the guest tried "But she wouldn't put notes if we had a problem". As an aside to you.... yes she would. One of the reasons I like this agent so much is that she enters intensely detailed notes on each reservation that can often be entire conversations, even if the agent was wrong. It makes it so easy to know what happened. So I read back to her exactly what the agent said.

After walking her in the "I know the website doesn't say 5 pm cancel because nowhere has a 5 pm cancel in the city, and I put the 7 day cancel on the website"

- the guest then tries the "but I was told it was a 5 pm cancel and that I would be refunded by the website that I booked through".

- At which point I say "Well I can't say anything about what that agent from the website said but there are no notes to the effect from anyone on this reservation that you would receive all your money back for cancelling. Per the website, our policy and the notes on the reservation, it is a 7 day cancellation, with the penalty as one night. And per the notes from the General Manager, you can cancel with penalty".

- So her whining didn't work, and finally (after about 15 minutes or so), she says "Ok, so I'm going to go call the guy I talked to at the website then".

Well yes... that's what you should have done in the first place. Because I know for a fact that my agent isn't abusive, that she NEVER would have agreed to cancel a reservation with no charges without talking to the GM first, and that the GM would have left notes if that were the case. I also know for a fact that the websites (ALL websites) have a 7 day standard cancellation and a 30 day special event cancellation (even if it were 72 hours, she would still have been charged) because no hotel in the city has a 5 pm same day cancellation. And you don't get to say my agent was rude when I know better.

She hung up. And we never did get a call back, even though I was expecting one. Basically, I won. At least we aren't like the old owner... she had a two night minimum every day of the year, full prepayment in advance, no refunds for any reason.

[EricKei]

Gratz on the promotion! Now go eat some Hubig's pies (if they're back open) to celebrate! (Mmmmmmmm, lemony)

[Moirae]

Thank you. I'm so happy that my work has finally been recognized. Took 11 years, but I did eventually get the title I've been wanting for a very long time.

[wolfie]

Want to be sure I understand the terms. Do 72 hour/7 day/30 day cancellation policies mean you can cancel without charge if it is a minimum of that amount of time BEFORE the start of your reservation? When the SC said it was "5 PM same day", did he mean "5 PM of the day you MADE the reservation", or "5 PM of the day of the reservation"? If the latter, it would be pure BS, since that would be AFTER the "you can start checking in now" time at most hotels, so the hotel could have ALREADY turned away a walk-in who wanted the room. The former I could sort of understand, as a "plan B" for mistakes on reservations made within the normal "no cancellations without penalty" period.

[Skittles88]

Want to be sure I understand the terms. Do 72 hour/7 day/30 day cancellation policies mean you can cancel without charge if it is a minimum of that amount of time BEFORE the start of your reservation? When the SC said it was "5 PM same day", did he mean "5 PM of the day you MADE the reservation", or "5 PM of the day of the reservation"? If the latter, it would be pure BS, since that would be AFTER the "you can start checking in now" time at most hotels, so the hotel could have ALREADY turned away a walk-in who wanted the room. The former I could sort of understand, as a "plan B" for mistakes on reservations made within the normal "no cancellations without penalty" period.

My hotel has a 4pm Day of Arrival cancellation policy. It saves us a lot of headaches with people who try and cancel late. We are also in an area with a lot of road closures and unpredictable weather.
When people phone to cancel late, we tell them IF we can resell the room they won't be charged. In order for that to stay true we have to sell all of that particular room type (which is not usually a problem.)

[EricKei]

Do 72 hour/7 day/30 day cancellation policies mean you can cancel without charge if it is a minimum of that amount of time BEFORE the start of your reservation?

Generally speaking, yes.

Unsure about the 5pm thing.

[Moirae]

Want to be sure I understand the terms. Do 72 hour/7 day/30 day cancellation policies mean you can cancel without charge if it is a minimum of that amount of time BEFORE the start of your reservation? When the SC said it was "5 PM same day", did he mean "5 PM of the day you MADE the reservation", or "5 PM of the day of the reservation"? If the latter, it would be pure BS, since that would be AFTER the "you can start checking in now" time at most hotels, so the hotel could have ALREADY turned away a walk-in who wanted the room. The former I could sort of understand, as a "plan B" for mistakes on reservations made within the normal "no cancellations without penalty" period.

7 days mean that the guest can cancel without charge up until 7 days in advance. If the guest cancels within 7 days before they're due to check in, they are charged one nights room and taxes.

72 hours means that the guest can cancel without charge up until 72 hours in advance. If the guest cancels within 72 hours before they're due to check in, they are charged one nights room and taxes.

30 days means that the guest can cancel without charge up until 30 days in advance. If the guest cancels within 30 days before they're due to check in, they are charged 50% of the entire stay at our hotel. In many of the large downtown hotels, the cancellation is full prepayment on booking non-refundable. With our hotel, you are charged the remaining amount 30 days before you are due to check in and it then becomes non-refundable.

5pm hold means that the guest can cancel without charge up until 5pm on the day of arrival. As far as I'm aware, this kind of hold no longer exists in the United States except in small towns and villages.

In all hotels in this area, exceptions can be made for such things as weather (hurricane prone area), illness, and death of a family member.

[Docmayhem]

Actually, most of the hotels/ motels I've stayed at in the NYC and Philadelphia metro areas have had a "6pm hold" policy.

Most of them also require a credit card if you plan to check in later than 6pm.

[Moirae]

Actually, most of the hotels/ motels I've stayed at in the NYC and Philadelphia metro areas have had a "6pm hold" policy.

Most of them also require a credit card if you plan to check in later than 6pm.

Interesting. I've worked in hotels in both Canada and the United States (totalling 12 hotels including a head office). Even back in the small city I grew up in (80,000 people at the time, closer to 100,000 now) never accepted a 6 pm hold. It was extremely rare that would be accepted.

I suppose it also depends on the market. For example... every chalet we looked at to stay in the Smokey Mountains had a 30 day cancellation as a norm, with two weeks cancellation being the unusual. Same day was extremely unlikely, with even the weather not been an accepted excuse (including being unable to reach the Chalet you have chosen due to it being snowed in). Within a certain date rate, even changing a date will incur an extra fee. Actually, I was a little shocked at how strict the cancellation policies are in the Smokies. Given how insane things tend to be at my hotel, we can't commit to a one month cancellation. We were hoping for a break to unplug for a week and get away from the insanity of the hotel. The mountains seemed like a great idea when we started looking.

The difference being that both the Smokies and my city are destination markets.

I'm not sure what market the Yew York area is considered. Though I'm willing to bet that hotels in Manhattan have harsher cancellation policies than hotels in Buffalo.

[csquared]

I was kind of surprised by your statement that most hotels have gone to 72 hour cancellation. When I traveled more often, it was always 6 PM day of arrival. So hopped out to a couple web sites and checked. Most were 72 hours for a "standard rate". Some were one day. Some still had 6 PM day of check in. Of course, they all had an advance pay discount with no cancellation. And that was a quick check of New York and Atlanta.

interesting how things change...

[BroSCFischer]

Most of the time we see 4PM holds, on RARE occasions 6PM holds.

As far as my hotel is concerned if you book through the FD, and No Show, you don't get charged (unless it was a same day booking). If you book through any website or through Central Reservations you get charged at least 1 nights stay, because they all have a clearly stated 24 hour Cancellation Policy.

SC

[Teefies2]

Interesting. I've worked in hotels in both Canada and the United States (totalling 12 hotels including a head office). Even back in the small city I grew up in (80,000 people at the time, closer to 100,000 now) never accepted a 6 pm hold. It was extremely rare that would be accepted.

Totally off topic, but holy smokes!!!! You consider a town of 80-100,000 people a "small town"???? I live in a town of 20,000 and I consider IT small !!!

[Comechatcha]

Our hotel has a twenty-four hour policy, so pretty much before check-in time the day before their arrival. Maybe it's a regional thing?

[Moirae]

[QUOTE=Teefies2;1160797]

Interesting. I've worked in hotels in both Canada and the United States (totalling 12 hotels including a head office). Even back in the small city I grew up in (80,000 people at the time, closer to 100,000 now) never accepted a 6 pm hold. It was extremely rare that would be accepted.



Totally off topic, but holy smokes!!!! You consider a town of 80-100,000 people a "small town"???? I live in a town of 20,000 and I consider IT small !!!

lol. I live in a place that has 4 million people in the metro area. I guess I've gotten used to thinking of the city I grew up in back home as small in comparison.