Hotel room cancellation problem

[Supine]

Any ideas from the urban hive mind?

I have a hotel room booked in London for two nights at the end of September. I have paid £220 for two nights but I now can't use it.

The hotel want to charge me £195 as a cancellation fee which seems ridiculous. I know the t&c will cover them but wonder if there is something I can do. They have over a month to fill the room if I cancel. I'm pissed off about them selling the room to somebody else and taking my £195 in addition

 

[Pickman's model]

Why can't you use it?

 

[Supine]

Why can't you use it?

I'll be in Bulgaria! Diary fail.

 

[Pickman's model]

I'll be in Bulgaria! Diary fail.

This is where you went wrong, you should have said "surprise for mum's 75th birthday but she's going to cleethorpes" or maybe something more stark. Saying oops I fucked up my diary isn't on that level where they'd feel shit about taking your money. I accept it's a pisser tho

 

[purenarcotic]

Is there anyone you know who could go in your place?

 

[Pickman's model]

Any ideas from the urban hive mind?

I have a hotel room booked in London for two nights at the end of September. I have paid £220 for two nights but I now can't use it.

The hotel want to charge me £195 as a cancellation fee which seems ridiculous. I know the t&c will cover them but wonder if there is something I can do. They have over a month to fill the room if I cancel. I'm pissed off about them selling the room to somebody else and taking my £195 in addition

Is it a big chain where you could escalate it, cos it's not as tho it's next week and they'd have trouble filling it? Bump up the complaints chain.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

If it said when you booked it that cancellations would cost £195, then that's what it will cost to cancel, as much as that hurts.

If it is any consolation, I have one client who last year cancelled hotels after the deadline for free cancellations to the tune of £32,000. Many that she booked at midday for that night and were cancelled around 3pm, £1500 gone, just like that. Different scale of money, but the piss-take from the hotels is on the same level.