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hotel no show by mistake

We booked a hotel at Lake Como 9 months before our trip and completely forgot about it. We ended up staying in another hotel. We received an email the day after our first scheduled night with the Lake Como hotel telling us we were a no show and must pay for all three nights. I emailed them back that day apologizing and canceling the rest of our reservation, but they are insisting that we pay for the full three night reservation - $1000! I'm willing to pay the first night, but not all three nights. Is there anything we can do about this? This is their policy - Our cancellation policy: “If cancelled or modified up to 10 days before date of arrival, no fee will be charged. If cancelled or modified up to 5 days before date of arrival, 100% of the first night will be charged. If cancelled later or in case of no-show, the total price of the reservation will be charged.”
Thanks.

Posted by
3985 posts

You quoted their policy so you know the answer --- "If cancelled later or in case of no-show, the total price of the reservation will be charged.” Of course they insist that you pay for all 3 nights. You agreed to their policies when you booked the hotel and you were a no-show as you stated above.

This is an expensive lesson learned and I trust you will NEVER forget about lodging reservations ever again.

Posted by
5239 posts

That's their policy and it's a fair one. They've potentially lost out on a booking due to your forgetfulness, why shouldn't they charge you the full amount?

If I was the hotel owner I'd be inclined to charge an administration fee as well!

Why do you think it's acceptable to pay for one night?

Posted by
23178 posts

It is straight forward. Why should they suffer for your mistake? I think they had a decent cancellation policy - better than many so why should you not abide by it. If it was big hotel with 200+ rooms maybe you could make an argument that they really were not hurt financial because they probably had other vacant rooms. But, if it is ten room hotel, and they didn't have the opportunity re-rent that room, that is a significant lost to them. Caulk it up to another, expensive, life lesson. I have had a couple of those in my past. I know that this is not the answer you wanted or expected. Sorry.

Posted by
7010 posts

Whether your being a 'no show' was intentional or accidental, you are responsible for the entire amount based on the cancellation policy you agreed to abide by when you made the reservation. It's a tough and expensive lesson but one well learned I'm sure. Whether you're male or female you need to 'man up' and pay the price for your mistake.

Posted by
15679 posts

'Fraid you're out of luck. The cancellation policy was clearly stated and what you agreed to when you booked the room, whether you read it at the time or not. An expensive mistake that I'm betting you won't make again. :O(

Posted by
11613 posts

Sorry, and I doubt that your credit card company (if that's how you paid) will support your position, either.

"I forgot" isn't a very compelling argument.

Posted by
14482 posts

If you are a " no show", expect to lose the entire amount. I had a family emergency on the 2013 trip, had booked several nights in Vienna, and was willing to lose the entire amount minus 10% because I was a no show and I knew what the policy was.

I came back, the situation stabilised, called the hotel from here to tell them I would not be arriving at the hotel due to what happened. The woman appreciated that and offered to hold my reservation for two weeks as if nothing had happened. I thanked for her understanding and offer but under the circumstances could not take up her offer, even though I knew, as I told her, that I would lose the amount of ca 500 Euro, ie strictly going by the book, so to speak.

Posted by
5239 posts

My only question is are they honest to let you know if they gave the rooms to some one else?
If they did I would pay the first night not the last two.

Why should it matter? They're running a business not a charity. If they were lucky to fill the room at such short notice then that's all well and good and in spite of the lack of cancellation.

Posted by
23178 posts

....honest to let you know if they gave the rooms to some one else?.....

What bearing does that have on the situation? If he cancelled within the 5 day period, maybe so. But what if he showed up on the third day demanding his room. The policy is well statement with little wiggle room.

Posted by
19653 posts

Lake Como is a resort area. They have a short seasonal window to make ends meet, and people know that and book well in advance to get the best prices and the views they want. So after the OP was a no-show on the first day, it would be a miracle if somebody just happened along that day and needed a room. My experience with ski resorts is that the rooms have to be paid in full 30 days before arrival. There is no question about refunds. If this happened recently, it was in prime season.
Their cancellation policy seems very liberal to me.

Posted by
2111 posts

I agree that forgetting is not a reason for a refund of one night or all three nights, regardless of whether the room was re-sold for all or a portion of the nights.

Trip insurance would NEVER cover the lfunds used for a purchase because someone forgot to take the trip or forgot to stay at a hotel.

You need to respect the cancellation policy of the hotel. Admit YOUR mistake and press on in life. In the future, maybe jot down in your calendar what reservations you have made and by which date they need to be cancelled, so you won't forget again.

Maddening to have forgotten? Of course it is, especially when it cost you money. But, your forgetting has nothing to do with the hotel enforcing its policy.

Put yourself in the shoes of the hotel: The hotel likely could have sold your three room nights over and over again several times with other advance bookings (had they not been committed to you) during the 9-month period. Even if they were able to re-sell two nights of the three nights, it may have been for two different one-night stays, which would have cost them more operationally....changing sheets and other room turnover costs.

Learn from your mistake and press on. Mentally put this thru the shredder, so to speak., so it won't bug you. What would bug me more, if I were you, is the fact that you FORGOT you made a reservation. You are not asking for tips to keep this from happening in the future, but maybe print out all reservations made and put them in a file (along with jotting down the commitments made/funds used) on the inside of the file folder (along with any cancellation dates and policies). That way when you work on the trip planning, you will be constantly reminded of the commitments you have made.

Posted by
15679 posts

My only question is are they honest to let you know if they gave the
rooms to some one else?

It doesn't matter. For all they knew, the OP could have shown up in the middle of the first night, sometime on day 2, or even day 3 due to an emergency delay. Their customer would have expected the room they'd reserved and paid for, and would have been angry had it been given away. It's possible that they did give it away after night 1 or 2 but it's not a certainty how comfortable they'd have been doing so: that's why they have the reservation policy that they do.

Posted by
11033 posts

Is there anything we can do about this?

No--- It appears the terms were clearly stated and you agreed to them when yo made the reservation.

Sadly a very expensive lesson

Posted by
2349 posts

Great. Just great. A new addition to our anxiety dreams. We can add forgetting that we already booked a hotel to showing up without airline tickets, forgetting passport, luggage, money, or losing our kids. Thanks for that.

Posted by
2527 posts

For those of us inclined to enhance and craft pre-trip anxieties, perhaps listing them in a spreadsheet in order of intensity of feelings is in order.

Posted by
5697 posts

For future trips -- if you use Tripit (free) and forward all confirmations to your Tripit file, it will remember for you and show any double-bookings (or, as I did once, booking the right day, wrong month ... of course it was non-refundable.)

Posted by
6265 posts

This is a potential problem that haunts me. I tend to arrange things so far in advance that I sometimes forget what I've booked. So far I never have reneged on a reservation, but I do panic every now and then, thinking I've forgotten something.

I do keep a paper folder with printouts for upcoming trips, and also have a separate "folder" in my email dedicated to each year's travel plans. So far, so good.

I do remember that when I reviewed last year's email folder (before the trip), that I had forgotten about a tour I had booked. Luckily, it was one we wanted to take. Actually, it was backup in case we couldn't get Last Supper tickets, and sure enough, we couldn't. So it worked out -- this time.

Posted by
3985 posts

I put details of all reservation info (hotels, flights, rail) in my 2 page/day compact calendar I keep in my purse. I also add it to my iPhone mobile calendar.

Posted by
362 posts

While TripIt does have its occasional glitches, I second the recommendation for this one. You can forward each flight, hotel, car rental, etc., to the program which then gives you a detailed timeline of your travels.

You can even craft a custom trip timeline for things like...Rick Steves tours.

Posted by
14482 posts

I double booked one time several years back. I reserved this particular night in London at a B&B, did likewise in Paris at a small hotel at Gare du Nord. The mistake was that I would be arriving in Paris the day after the night I booked at that hotel, clearly an oversight on my part and I would be a no show. When I discovered the mistake a couple days before, I did think of calling up Paris saying I had made a mistake in booking but gave up on the idea as useless since the hotel could say, is that our problem or your problem since it is your mistake? Tant pis. So, I ignored the booking, didn't show up since I was still in London, knew I would lose that night's amount , ca. $80. Later booking.com sent me an e-mail in which it said I would be charged for that one night for being a no show. ..just what I expected.

On "is there anything I can do?"...Why would you want to ? I wouldn't.

Posted by
3940 posts

...and this is why I have a notepad beside my computer with all the places we will be visiting and as soon as the accoms are booked, it gets highlighted or checkmarked or something to let me know...

Posted by
4730 posts

Putting it on the computer or phone is great unless there is a technology glitch that prevents access -- and most of us have had that happen. That why writing things down on paper is still a great back up. In addition, reviewing the notes periodically, as Jane does, jogs the memory and decreases the possibility of a situation such as the OP encountered.

Posted by
2455 posts

Thank you 2ordway for sharing your experience, and quoting the hotel's cancellation policy, as a warning to us all. We can all give thanks. You can give thanks that your reservation was for three nights, not a week. And we can give thanks that you are not one of those posters who so often come to this forum screaming "SCAM !! -- Boycott all Italian hotels!".

Posted by
4495 posts

The mistake was to make the hotel reservation with such terms in the first place (but for vrbo or Airbnb this is standard). Also, you could challenge the tax part of the stay through your credit card since the tax should only be levied on the action of staying which you didn't do.

Morally, despite the agreed upon terms, many hotels would only charge for their loss, so if they were able to recoup one or two of those nights you would not be charged for that part of the reservation. Also, if they had a vacant identical room those dates then they would not charge you anything since there was no real loss, i.e no business was turned away. If they don't follow these guidelines then they were shady at best, but we don't really know. The 10% discount mentioned above by another poster also makes sense since there were no linens or toilets to clean.

I've had an issue with hotels giving away guaranteed rooms because of late arrival, after 10 pm so now always call to reconfirm if late.

Many US chain hotels have gone to a 48 hour cancellation policy which is aggravating for business travelers.

I did think of calling up Paris saying I had made a mistake in booking but gave up on the idea as useless

I would always call. I expect most hotels would happily change nights in advance despite their policy, or apply the funds to a later, more expensive stay.

SCAM !! -- Boycott all Italian hotels!

But those posts are the most fun.

Posted by
11294 posts

Your post is an important reminder to read and understand all cancellation policies BEFORE making any booking. If you aren't comfortable with the cancellation policy for a hotel, apartment, flight, guided tour, etc - don't book it. But once you've booked it, you are most likely going to be held to the policy (that's why they have them). Can there be exceptions - of course. But that's what they are - exceptional, and a favor, not something to be expected.

Posted by
14482 posts

If it is my oversight in booking two places for the same night, I am going to be a no show at one of the 2 places. That no-show hotel will charge me, regardless, since it was my error in the first place. Calling them out of courtesy might have been in order but not to expect a break in not being charged. Why should the hotel give me a break? I didn't call up since I thought this hotel would see my error as a perfunctory matter anyway.

Posted by
1825 posts

I've made some expensive travel mistakes myself. Thanks for sharing.