Voucher for Rome hotel already paid for

cheryl, please note that this Forum is not a way to reach Rick Steves' offices. That is the Contact Us button somewhere else on each webpage of ricksteves.com

If you are on a laptop it is at the bottom of this page - if you are on a different device it may be in a different place, often under the "burger".

If you scroll back a few pages you will see lots of posts with similar topics.

Hopefully somebody can give you good advice.

Welcome to the Forums.

Having dealt with Hotels.com in the past, I can say that it is easy to book a room and virtually impossible to cancel or change a booking. I believe this is because the company is in the business of purchasing non-refundable blocks of time from the hotel and then just upping the price slightly to make its own profit margin.

I wish you luck but when I last lost a two night stay in San Francisco due to weather, the room remained empty because the no refund policy was in place. The lesson? Book directly with the hotel and check out their cancellation policy.

Because it was a non-refundable reservation....

Cheryl, this is your problem. Because it was non-refundable, the hotel isn't under any obligation to issue you either a cash refund or a voucher. That's why I almost never make a booking I can't cancel, up to the date stated in the hotel's policy, without paying a penalty. The only time I've done it is for one or two-nighters either so close to the booking date that we've a very small chance of having to cancel, or for a one-nighter at such an inexpensive amount that I'm willing to eat the cost if necessary.

Unfortunately, you are not alone in this situation as plenty of other travelers out there are kicking themselves for choosing non-refundable bookings! In the end, it has cost them MORE than it otherwise had they chosen slightly higher, 100% refundable rates. Some hotels have been able to issue goodwill, future-stay vouchers to some of the folks they are otherwise under no obligation to compensate but that can't be an expectation for all of them.

That you made your booking through a 3rd party (hotels.com) doesn't help. I've a hunch that the accommodation may have been a little more willing to come up with a voucher you'd booked directly with the hotel via their own website or by phone, assuming either or both were an option. Timing is another problem; back when much of Europe was under lockdown, people with even non-refundable bookings were seeing some vouchers for accommodations which were closed during the reservation dates. As your chosen hotel is very likely open again, they can't be on the hook for not providing the services agreed upon, whether you are able to travel to Rome or not. You cancelled; they didn't.

So sorry but I think you might be out of options here. :O(
Editing to add: Your Rome stay would have been independent of the RS Sicily tour so I don't know as the RS team could be of much help.

Travel/trip insurance?

Hi Cheryl,

I had a 3-week trip to Italy booked for September. Several of the hotels were on non-refundable reservations through Booking.com or directly with the hotel. I wrote a nice request to each hotel, translated into Italian, asking for a refund, since we likely won’t be allowed into Italy (I’m American) and hoping they could use the room for an EU traveler, instead. I did not cancel any of the reservations myself.

Of the non-refundables, two gave me vouchers, two refunded my money, one shows a refund on Booking.com but I haven’t received the credit on my cc, yet. The only one holding out on doing anything is my reservation for Rome. He replied that Italy law says he can’t do a voucher until the date if Italy still won’t allow travel. Since these were all non-refundable, I’m thrilled that I even received this much back in refunds or voucher credit.

Unfortunately, since you cancelled the reservation already before receiving a voucher, I would be surprised it they now gave you anything in return.

Really a long shot idea here...

If you are a US resident it is unlikely you will be allowed entry to Italy by Oct. If you paid with credit card you may try them to see if the charge can be reversed; Or if your card has some perk that might apply to your situation.

Given that you booked through hotels.com, it is no surprise the hotel has given you the cold shoulder

Hope you are able to salvage something

EDIT-- corrected the 3rd party booking agency ID--- (my caffeine level was low)

Given that you booked through booking.com,

Joe, she booked through hotels.com, not that it makes much difference, maybe?

The fact that you got a voucher from the hotel in Paris is a plus. But I see no recourse here. You paid a very large amount of money for a hotel which is non-refundable. Then you cancelled. If you read the terms I’m sure it will say if you cancel your money is non-refundable. None of the entities suggested will cover your loss-travel insurance, credit card, etc. You’ve lost the money. Don’t book non-refundable hotels going forward, but you already know this.

There is big difference between booking.com and hotels.com.

Booking.com acts like a travel agent. It is simply an easy way to book a hotel and they get a commisssion. You are booking the hotel but through Booking.com.

Hotels.com is different. You are booking a room with them. They then book the room at your hotel at a lower negotiated rate.

Technically, it's Hotels.com you need to issue the refund but they don't like to do that.

Hotels.com is owned by Expedia Group that also owns Expedia, Hotwire, Travelocity, Travelocity, and others. They are in serious financial trouble so issuing a refund on a non-refundable reservation is not high on their priority list.

If you used a credit card, you might look to see if they can help.

Yes, you save money by booking through some third party sites. And if all goes well, it can be fine. But if there is a problem, good luck to you. Most hotels may be willing to work with you if you book directly. Booking through a hotel discounter like Hotels.com.....not so much.

I will only book directly with a hotel. Occassionally, I have used Booking.com when the hotel's own reservation system isn't very good. But I would never use the others.

Frank, thanks for the explanation of difference between hotels.com and booking.com. I've never used the former but have used the latter for reservations abroad and haven't experienced any difficulties. Then again, I've rarely chosen non-refundable rates on that site, outside of the few instances mentioned in a previous post, and wouldn't take that risk for a 10-night stay.

Have you considered modifying the reservation to next summer or next fall? Unfortunately I booked non-refundable stay for August 1 in Florence for 3 nights (quadruple room, great view - $1500 Canadian). Decided not to take the planned trip to be safe, but knowing the non-refundable rate, I moved the reservation to next summer instead. You may consider moving the reservation to a date which will allow your future travel.