No matter how you booked your reservation, you’re most likely not able to simply edit the location and retrieve- or pay the price difference.
But there are still several alternative ways to get your money back so it can be spent on a new reservation. Some options are without any hassle, and some require a bit more effort.
I’ll go through each option step-by-step starting with the best option first.
📖 Table of Contents
1. How To Get a Refund on a Refundable Reservation
If you’re lucky enough to have a refundable reservation that hasn’t met the expiration date for claiming a refund, you can consider yourself one of the lucky ones.
And if you’re in doubt about this check the confirmation of your reservation. You’ve most likely received a copy of it in your email when you made the booking.
Usually, you’re able to cancel reservations on the same website you made your booking.
And if you used an agency or booked directly with the hotel, you should contact them instead.
In that case, I recommend calling them directly or writing them through a live chat if there’s one available on their website or social profiles.
This is to decrease the risk of passing any deadline for changes to your reservation.
2. How To Get a Refund on a Nonrefundable Reservation
Get ready, now we’re stepping up the difficulty a bit.
If you made a nonrefundable reservation this also means that the hotel is rarely legally obligated to issue a refund.
But this doesn’t mean that they won’t.
A. Check Your Hotels Cancellation Policy
While I don’t know the reason for your wish to change the location of your reservation, the first thing you should check on is the hotel’s cancellation policy.
Maybe you’re lucky and somehow obligated to a refund.
Though keep in mind that this is often only the case of more serious events such as illness or bereavement.
B. Call the Hotel Directly and Be Honest
In case you’re not covered by the cancellation policy, simply asking can sometimes be enough.
Remember you have nothing to lose by giving it a try.
And though the person you’re speaking to is representing the business they’re working for, they’re still human beings just like you.
Many businesses also understand the value of a satisfied (potential) customer. The same goes for the risks of a dissatisfied one, even if they’re within their rights to decline your request.
So call your hotel and be honest about your situation in a friendly manner.
I highly recommend you do this by phone, it will make the conversation more personal and genuine.
Though don’t forget that business owners are also people, and without insight into their economics, they might struggle and have employees and families to provide for too. Especially after Covid rocked the travel accommodation market hard.
3. Use Your Travel Insurance
In case none of the above turned out in your favor, it’s time to look for alternative ways.
If you’ve purchased travel insurance, maybe they’ll fully or partly cover the loss of your reservation.
Whether you purchased insurance as an add-on during booking, or a separate one covering you in general.
The terms of coverage variate a lot from insurance to insurance. And most often you’re only covered if you’re prevented from going due to things out of your control.
4. How To Sell Your Reservation
If you’ve tried everything to get a refund, the second best thing you can do is sell your reservation.
Make Sure You Can Change the Name(s) On the Reservation
You can only sell your reservation if you’re allowed to change the name(s) on it. Most hotels will let you do this for free.
Just make sure to update other possible information as well. Especially if it’s used for identification such as a passport- or ID number.
If not you’ll risk that the reservation gets declined.
And if the hotel declines your request on changing the name(s), don’t hesitate to give them a call and explain the situation.
A. Use Your Network
The best way to sell your reservation would be to someone you know and trust.
In this way, you’ll decrease the risks of any issues that can happen when trading with strangers online.
Though most strangers have good intentions, those who don’t can usually be avoided by showing a reasonable amount of cautiousness.
How To Find Potential Buyers in Your Network:
- Scroll through your phone contacts
- Make a post on social media
- Share the opportunity with your colleagues
- Ask people you know from sports or other activities
B. Trustworthy Online Communities
If time is limited, or you want to do a bit extra, then this method could increase your circle of potential buyers a bit further.
Many of us are a part of smaller online communities online with others we usually share the same interests or hobbies with. For example through Facebook groups or dedicated forums.
Though keep in mind that the majority of people you’re reaching here are more likely to be strangers. This means you might need to make a good offer to catch their attention.
This could be by decreasing the price of your reservation and making it clear how much % they’re saving.
Otherwise, they don’t have much reason to not just make a reservation themself.
C. Online Classified Ads
Now it’s time for a more classical way how to find potential buyers for almost anything.
I doubt this option requires much introduction, so I’ll just suggest some of the most popular options.
Popular Websites:
One of the unique things about Facebook Marketplace is that people are contacting you from their own Facebook profiles.
This makes it easier to keep people accountable in all aspects. Just make sure to verify that their profile’s legit.
D. Online Travel Marketplaces
There are websites online where you can buy and sell accommodation reservations, flight tickets, and holiday packages.
At first, I was thrilled to find these options, but the more I dug into the reviews of each website the more they seemed unsafe to use.
Therefore I’m not gonna recommend any to you either.
I found three major players in total, and all of them have a low amount of reviews, and among them too many negative ones.
While I know you should sometimes take reviews with a grain of salt, it does genuinely seem like what might start as a good idea, turned out to be challenging for the businesses in practice. Especially in connection with Covid-19.
It’s sad because I see a potential business model here, where the seller, buyer, and website can create a win-win-win situation for all involved. Maybe one time in the future.
Accepting and Compensating for the Loss
If you’ve tried all the above, you’re most likely not getting a refund to spend on a hotel at another location. But you certainly did your best.
And there are still things you can do to minimize the total loss.
Assuming you’re already doing your best of thinking positively about the whole situation, there’s also a more practical way of dealing with it.
And that is to consider saving some money in other areas of the trip to compensate for the loss.
Even though it’s simple advice it can still be effective in balancing the emotional side of things.
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