So you’ve found a great deal online for your family vacation hotel and you booked it. The hours of searching for the perfect spot with the best price paid off, and now you have a great hotel.
All that would be great but what happens when you need to cancel or make alterations to the reservation?
Most Hotels Charge A Healthy Deposit
Most hotels either charge a healthy deposit up-front or they will charge your credit card if you cancel within a certain number of days.
The best way to prevent be charged or having a deposit held is to write a Hotel Booking Cancellation Letter.
Hotel Cancellation Service
All hotels, except some small local motels, use the internet as a way for customers to book rooms.
Because everything is so automated, it can leave some room for error. If you know that the dates your booked for your vacation are not going to work, you need to let the hotel know as soon as possible.
Some web-sites have online cancellation services where you can go in and cancel without issue. But it is best to always follow up with a letter to ensure you get your deposit back.
File A Chargeback?
Some people wait till it’s too late and then try to file a chargeback with their credit card company.
Filing a chargeback won’t usually work in this instance, as the company has procedures in fine print that you agree to.
This letter doesn’t have to be all formal and such, but it needs to be packed full of information.
First, it should have the parties’ names that appeared on the reservation, followed by the lasts four digits of the credit card used and the reservation number.
The dates and location should also be put on the form, lest there be any confusion. The more details the better, in case the agent can’t find your reservation one way, they can find it using other information.
Hotels Cancellation Policy
Before writing any letter, make sure you know the hotels cancellation policy. If you are already outside the terms of the cancellation period, it may be a moot point drafting a letter and a phone call might be better.
Most hotels will hold to their cancellation policy and will not waiver, but there is always some room for negotiations. Know the policies before drafting any letter; it will help you be able to specify your rights.
Start the letter out and get straight to the point. List the reservation number and who the reservation was for, the name.
State the dates of the reservation and the location. Get right to the point quickly, as hotel chains get 100’s of letters on a daily basis.
Most hotels will write you a letter in return confirming the issue has been resolved. Be sure to ask them for some sort of confirmation. Most hotels will be able to give a cancellation number.
Here is a sample of how the letter should look.
Hotel Booking Cancellation Letter Sample
Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip Code
DATE
Name of Receiver
Position of Receiver
Name of Hotel
Address of Hotel
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Name of Receiver,
I made a reservation for the [Hotel Name] on [Address] for the year [Year]. The reservation number for this transaction is [C39093FG341].
I used the online system to make my reservations and the credit card used to book this room was a [MasterCard] with the last four digits of [7845]. I was charged a deposit of [$400], to my credit card, upon booking this reservation.
Due to circumstances that are beyond my control, I am unable to fly to Las Vegas for this vacation and need to cancel my reservation.
According to your hotels cancellation policy, I am entitled to a 100% refund, as I made my cancellation within 30 days preceding the reservation.
I am requesting a cancellation at least nearly 60 days in advance so there should be no problems getting this reservation cancelled and a refund of my initial deposit.
I would like the deposit to be put back on my credit card upon receipt of this letter and to cancel the reservations.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at my letter address guest@gmail.com or on my cell phone at 555-908-4569. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Printed Name
Copy to Corporate Office