Q: I recently made a reservation for a room at the Gite Nadia near Casablanca, Morocco, using Booking.com. Because of a scheduling error, I realized I would not be able to use the room. A gentleman on the train, who spoke French, agreed to call the hotel to explain that I couldn’t make it. But the Gite Nadia refused to cancel the reservation.
The terms on Booking.com say, “You won’t be charged until you arrive.” So I thought I was safe, but I’m being charged $70 for a room I didn’t use. Can you help me get a refund?
— Evalee Dahn, Benson, Arizona
A: The terms on Booking.com can be a little confusing. Actually, the site says that cancellation and prepayment policies “vary according to room type.” When I entered a few sample dates, the inn offered “free” cancellation 24 hours before check-in, which is fairly standard.
It wasn’t clear, based on your initial request and the paper trail between you and Booking.com that you sent me, when the man from the train had phoned the hotel on your behalf. If it happened 24 hours before check-in, and the hotel simply refused to take the cancellation, then you have a valid case. If, however, you were within the 24-hour cancellation window, then I’m afraid the chances of you getting a refund are not good.
Booking.com’s records suggest that you were a “no-show,” which means you didn’t tell anyone you weren’t going to make it. That contradicts your account, which is that you did indeed try to tell someone about your scheduling error.
The only way to sort this out was to ask Booking.com about this. I thought that maybe the company could review your reservation and ask the hotel to take a look at its own records.
Before I get to the resolution, I want to tell you how to avoid this in the future. If you call to cancel a reservation, ask for a confirmation number and make a record of it. That number is proof that you canceled, and it can be used later to verify that you weren’t a “no-show.” Also, consider contacting the agent through which you made the reservation. Even if the Gite Nadia didn’t give you a cancellation number, Booking.com would have — and that might have made this case easier to resolve.
I asked Booking.com to look into your cancellation. In an email sent directly to you, Booking.com agreed to ask the hotel for your money back. Separately, you filed a credit-card dispute. We can’t be sure what did the trick, but you received a full refund for your stay.
Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of “How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler.” You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org
(c) 2016 Christopher Elliott. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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