CAN’T I GET A REFUND?

Afternoon. Kindly assist me with the following:

On 7th July, 2020, through my junior at work, we made a booking with a hotel for 12 people to stay from 9th to 12th July, 2020 for P38,130. On the 8th July, 2020, we made a cancellation of our booking. Now the hotel is demanding 100% payment sighting that it is within their cancellation policy. Is this procedural and lawful??

Unfortunately, this is how hotels normally operate. The quotation they sent you is very clear about the fees they charge when a customer cancels a booking. It says “a) 1 month before the date is 50% of amount, b) 1 week before the date is 75% of amount c) any other after a week is 100%”.

I know it must be frustrating given that you only booked the accommodation two days before you were all due to check in so the first two cancellation periods never applied to you because your booking was already within one week of your planned stay. However, it’s certainly normal practice in hotels to charge a customer a cancellation fee. It’s possible that the hotel might have turned away other customers once you’d reserved the rooms.

I’ve heard of similar situations where the hotel was able to rebook the rooms and then they’ve refunded the original customer but that was more due to kindness than any obligation they might have had.

Remember that this hotel didn’t take your money under any false pretences, they didn’t deceive you and they weren’t the ones who cancelled the booking. I know it’s frustrating but the lesson is never to agree to any commitment if you’re not 100% certain you can adhere to it.

Meanwhile, there’s something you didn’t tell me. Did you actually pay them yet? Did you sign a booking form? Your answers to those questions might change things slightly!

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