The Best Ways To Book Hotels, Part 3: Money Back On Non-Refundable Rooms
“Non-Refundable” Rooms
Non-refundable rooms are usually a fantastic way to save money on travel costs. However, a major risk is that you can’t get your money back. Right? WRONG! The correct phrase is, you can’t always get your money back. Getting your money back on a non-refundable hotel room takes some knowledge of your reservation platform, a little work on your end, and sometimes a touch of luck. Each reservation platform has a different policy for their non-refundable rooms. Most non-refundable policies actually allow some flexibility to get some or all of your money back. Here’s how cancelling non-refundable rooms AND potentially getting your money back works on four of the largest reservations platforms.
Cancelling Non-Refundable Rooms On Agoda
Agoda is a Singapore based reservation platform owned by Booking Holdings. They specialize in Asian hotel listings for everything from hostels to luxury suites, but they do operate worldwide. Non-refundable reservations on Agoda are so common that they’ve been my most frequent reservation this year. Thankfully, it’s a pretty straightforward process to cancel a non-refundable room on Agoda and request money back.
When you cancel a non-refundable Agoda room you’ll be told that Agoda will request a refund from the hotel. As shown in my screenshot below, you don’t need to do anything. Agoda tells the hotel you want to cancel, they’ll ask the hotel to refund your money, and then they’ll let you know the hotel’s decision. Remember, the hotel has no obligation to issue a refund so they’re being nice if they do. Try booking with local establishments that are more likely to be forgiving than larger chains. As a data point, my refund requests on Agoda have yet to be denied but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Be aware that AgodaCash (their reward program currency) is never refunded to your account under any circumstances and can’t be used to pay cancellation fees. So if you booked your non-refundable room using only AgodaCash, then…bummer.
Cancelling Non-Refundable Rooms On Booking.com
Booking.com is the flagship reservation platform of Booking Holdings. The website offers competitive pricing world wide, and regularly shows listings that aren’t shown on other platforms – even others owned by Booking Holdings. The process to cancel a non-refundable room is as straightforward as Agoda, but I’ve had less luck getting refunds through Booking.com.
Just as on Agoda, a refund will be requested from the hotel on your behalf. Booking.com will tell the hotel you want to cancel, ask them if they’ll refund your money, and then let you know the hotel’s decision. However, when you submit your refund request, you’re given the opportunity to explain why you need to cancel and add details that may sway them. It’s your chance to be personal instead of just another notification. It's a nice touch, but unfortunately it hasn’t mattered much in my experience.
If you’re denied a refund then Booking.com tell you that your only option is a cancellation with no refund. An example of the happening to me is shown below. At this point there are no other options through their site. Calling the hotel directly is your last remaining option.
Cancelling Non-Refundable Rooms On Priceline
Priceline is also owned by Booking Holdings. While Agoda is the budget hotel queen of Asia, Priceline might be the king of everywhere else. They find great prices but they should find great service. Or service in general. They have none.
Cancelling a non-refundable room (or any room) through Priceline is a terrible experience. I’ve been unsuccessful every time, and I’m not talking about being unsuccessful in requesting a refund (which I was unsuccessful at, but that’s not the point). I’m talking about literally just getting to the “request to cancel” option. Priceline claims you can request to cancel any room in the same way OJ claimed he didn’t do it.
This image shows my attempt to cancel a Priceline room. Priceline’s response is “we are unable to confirm your cancellation with the property” going so far to say that I have to contact the property myself. Notice what’s missing twice? The hotel’s phone number! No phone number, email, or a messaging service is provided to contact the hotel. I had to research contact information externally and work with the hotel outside Priceline. That worked for me, but I’m done using Priceline because this happened every time I tried changing a Priceline reservation.
That is to say, the process of cancelling a non-refundable room through Priceline is to not reserve rooms through Priceline, or figure it all out on your own. Your call.
Cancelling Non-Refundable Rooms On Expedia
Expedia is the flagship reservation platform of Expedia Group. It’s one of the most popular reservation platforms in the world and offers solid rates at mid and luxury caliber hotels. However, they’re the most cut throat when trying to refund a non-refundable room. Per this section of their help center page shown below, you “won’t get any money back”. That’s it. Be aware that OneKey cash used (their reward program currency) for a reservation will be used to pay cancellation fees. I have yet to cancel a non-refundable room through Expedia and receive a refund, but unlike Priceline (don’t use Priceline), Expedia at least lets me cancel a reservation. That said, I have had luck contacting the hotel externally and receiving a refund on a room through Expedia. Unlike Priceline (don’t use Priceline), Expedia provides reliable contact information for their hotels.
Notice the common work around to get a refund no matter where you book a non-refundable room?
Cancelling Non-Refundable Rooms On Any Platform
You may have noticed the trend at the end of the Booking.com, Priceline (don’t use Priceline), and Expedia sections. Contact the hotel directly if you need changes to a non-refundable room.
Contacting the hotel directly is your best way to get a refund regardless of where you made the reservation. Unless you booked on Priceline (don’t use Priceline) you were likely given contact information for your hotel. Use it to call them to coordinate changes. I’ve done this multiple times and been successful because their hotel policy may differ from the website you used to make the reservation. For example, Expedia claimed I couldn’t receive a refund because I booked a non-refundable room, yet the hotel issued a refund because their policy said refunds were granted until a few days before arrival. I’m not saying that will be the case for you, but I am saying it’s worth a check. It’s more important to work within the rules of the hotel’s policy than to accept Agoda’s, Expedia’s, or Booking’s policy. So why do I encourage calling the hotel and not emailing them?
Sometimes emails go overlooked, but sometimes they may not even send. The latter is a huge issue for travelers abroad because the receiving party’s server may flag it as suspicious content or spam if it came from a different country. If you message a hotel in the United States while in South America or Asia, then there’s a fair chance you simply won’t get through. Call the hotel and avoid the possible problem.
Other Entries In The Best Ways To Book Hotels Series
Part 1: Refundable And Non-Refundable Rooms
