Non-Refundable Hotel Room

For all the reasons you list in your post, I would not book a non-refundable room.

I did this when I went to London in 2019 at a Premier Inn to save money and all worked out well. But after Covid, I will not. It made me see that you can't necessarily know what will happen.

OP nearly all the time when hotel rooms are free cancellation, AKA refundable, there is a date and time before the beginning of your stay when the room becomes not free cancellation anymore.

This can be late for some places, like 6:00 p.m. on your arrival day, or early like 2 weeks before arriving. One week before and two or three days before are quite common.

Then what happens differs depending on the place. For some the entire reservation becomes non-refundable. For others you forfeit a percentage of the total reservation if you cancel. Still others you pay one day and the rest of the reservation is canceled, or you can push back your arrival.

But a hotel wherein you arrive and decide you don't like the room and get a full refund for your entire reservation is quite rare. Or it's rare that that is codified into your reservation agreement - "this room sucks, it's not like the pictures, it's noisy, it's really hot" etc etc is usually something you end up negotiating with hotel staff or manager regardless of what you're cancellation policy was at the time you booked.

FWIW the rare times that this has happened to me I am fairly matter of fact about the reality that the room is failing my needs in a way that is not reconcilable, and then if it can't be changed I tell them that I'll immediately contest the charges both through the booking agency (booking.com normally), and also through my credit card company. This is never failed too produce an equitable solution even in the face of an initial tough isht response from the hotel staff.

Let me add too that for all the wonderful hotel rooms, you do sometimes end up in some that are less than ideal. Mostly it's better to just suck it up unless it's truly terrible. Part of the dice roll of travel ....

We live in a world filled with more uncertainty when it comes to strikes, extreme weather, crazy wars and terrorist attacks. Regardless of how you plan a holiday— circumstances we have no control over can happen without warning. That’s why nonrefundable hotel reservations are not an option for me.

If you book refundable it normally becomes unrefundable once you've arrived. But avoiding the worries you listed is why people check reviews and seek recommendations

Den, you asked a similar question back in 2015 and 2011:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/bad-hotel-what-to-do
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/if-you-determine-your-hotel-is-a-dump-what-to-do

I wouldn't personally book a non-refundable hotel room for a full week abroad. Heck, I don't do that for hotels here in the States ether. While it can cost us more to choose the refundable rate, when available, it's worth the peace of mind for a stay of that length. At the same time, even refundable policies vary; as Hank said, there is almost always a point-of-no-return date before the beginning of your stay when the booking becomes non-refundable. It can be 24 hours, 48 hours, or longer. I'm in the 24-hr. situation for a 12-night booking in Washington DC at the end of this month.

As well, even trip insurance doesn't cover every possibility, depending on the policy. For instance, if the emergency is illness of a family member at home that's related to a pre-existing condition, it may not cover you. It may not cover illness for anyone BUT the policy holder, or not for your own pre-existing condition; you have to read the fine print, or buy an expensive "Cancel for any reason" policy. Even then, read the fine print.

Room not up to your standards? Has that happened to you in the States? If so, what did you do? I read reviews on multiple internet resources (most commonly booking.com) carefully before making a choice, and so far we've had nothing but some minor annoyances. The hotel with no water for 24 hours because of a major break in a city main? Not like it was their fault - none of the other surrounding hotels had water either - and we were provided bottled for brushing teeth so no point in making a fuss. Anyway, pretty sure you won't get a refund for anything but a pretty serious discrepancy between description and product but you can always ask to be moved and cross fingers that they're willing to do that. :O)

COVID was tough on accommodations so they're probably much less likely to apply "goodwill" refunds for non-refundable rooms as they may have been 10+ years ago.

It turns out a hotel can be a bit like buying a car, there is negotiating that can take place. If you are truly not happy or have a real issue, go downstairs and calmly negotiate with the manager. Last resort, you could contest the charges on your card when you get home.

I’ve only booked maybe five non refundable rooms in the last 20 years. In almost every case I’ve regretted it because I was left with zero flexibility for altered or canceled plans, choosing a different (more convenient) location, or enjoying a better deal. All the rooms turned out fine but I’m personally firmly a no to non refundables.

But what if... your room is not what you thought? Substandard. Photo does not match what you got. Poor service. Those type of thing. Say, after one night you want to leave, are you on the hook for the other 6 nights?

If this is a concern, book a refundable room.

Or god forbid you must leave due to a home emergency...

Either book a refundable room or get trip insurance to cover emergencies that may require you to cancel or interrupt your trip.

I do sometimes book non-refundable rooms when my plans are firm and it will save me money, but I fully recognize the risk. For example, I usually stay at a favorite hotel when I visit London and I book the non-refundable rate because it saves me money. If you are not willing to take the risk, then stick with refundable rooms.

Just wanted to see if there were insights. I will probably go with Refundable booking. Thanks for the feedback.

Den, I just want to make sure you understand something. Several posters above have pointed out that there is no such thing as a refundable room. There are cancellable rooms, which allow you to cancel your booking up to a certain date. These hotels usually do not charge you until you arrive (although there are exceptions).

But there is no hotel that is going to allow you to show up, look at the room and ask for a refund. As others have said, if it's really bad you might have to negotiate something, but it's not just a simple issue. For example, you mentioned an example above of booking a room, staying one night and then having to leave because of a home emergency. If that happens, you're on the hook for the 6 nights. You don't get a refund even if the hotel was "cancellable." This is what travel insurance is for.

Cancellable rooms are mostly for people who like to be flexible and may change their plans at the beginning of a trip. Or maybe they had to cancel the trip before they even left home. Then you can cancel. But you cannot show up and check in, then tell them the room is substandard and expect an instant refund. That's not going to happen and that's when negotiation steps in.

I apologize if I'm beating a dead horse here, but you have been referring to it as a "refundable" hotel room, and I just wanted to make sure that you understand the difference. :)