Refundable vs Non-Refundable Hotel Reservations

I have only chosen a non-refundable reservation once, for a long stay in Barcelona in August, booked perhaps 6 weeks ahead of time. Long stays are sort of iffy for last-minute bookings; what are the odds that a budget hotel will have a room available every night over a 7-day or 10-day period? I felt as if the hotel rate would probably increase quite a bit if I waited longer to book, and I got a 10% discount for making a non-cancellable reservation. I was already in Europe at the time, and Barcelona was my last stop, so the only question was how many nights I wanted there. Knowing that there was more to see in Barcelona than I'd have time for, I just went ahead and allotted as many days to the city as I thought I could spare.

Non-refundable reservations are less risky for travelers who take out travel insurance and know they will not cancel a trip except for a covered reason. I self-insure.

The pros of refundable is that if you change your mind you get you money back after you have reserved space. You get more flexibility to change and cancel.The cons of refundable are that they are always more expensive.

The pros of non-refundable are that they always cost less than refundable. I generally buy these when I know for certain one way or another that I'm going to be somewhere. The cons of non-refundable are that you will not get some or all your money back after booking.

Some web-based reservations have a fully refundable option (booking.com is good on this). I have noticed the non-refundability is more prevalent in certain countries or certain locales. I am not sure about Ireland, but I have begun to think of Scotland as "home of the nonrefundable deposit" -- many places require you to pay for the first night even if you cancel.

The disappointing part of non-refundable hotel rates is that the discount is rarely a satisfyingly big savings for the trade-offs. Not like the significant advance-purchase discounts you can get on many train tickets. Don't push the button without thoroughly proof-reading your purchase. Mistakes are also not refundable.

Most of the time I book hotels with refundable reservations, but there are times when the non refundable rates are too good to pass up and my itinerary is fixed.

I only book non-refundable hotel rates when it's really a substantial savings and then, only if my travel insurance is in effect.