Note: This article pertaining to Read Your Hotel Cancellation Policy Carefully — Especially When Free Cancellation Expires was originally published on Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 9:49 in the evening and has been updated.
Whether — or, perhaps, especially if — you are a seasoned frequent traveler, you should always take a moment to check and ensure that you understand the cancellation policy of the hotel, motel, resort, or other type of lodging property at which you plan on booking a reservation and staying.
Read Your Hotel Cancellation Policy Carefully — Especially When Free Cancellation Expires
Numerous articles at The Gate With Brian Cohen state that the official expiration policy of a promotion or lodging reservation end on a certain date — usually followed by a phrase as to the specific time at which the period ends. As an example, the cancellation policy of a room rate could be “Free cancellation until Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.”
When you see enough of those, you might automatically be jaded and simply quickly read what could seem to be a similar phrase every time you book a reservation for lodging…
…and here is an example of what sounds like the same phrase — but read the entire statement:
You might automatically be lulled into thinking that “Free cancellation until Wednesday, September 1, 2021” means that the free cancellation policy ends at 11:59 in the evening on that date — so you should be able to simply cancel your reservation with no penalty…
…but the next statement reads “If the reservation is cancelled on or before Wednesday, September 1, 2021, you will receive a full refund.” No exact time is specified; so you might want to double check with the property or lodging company to determine exactly at what time — and, just as importantly, in which time zone — the free cancellation policy expires.
Sometimes — albeit rarely; and depending on the lodging company — the phrase “Free cancellation until” a specific date could mean that the free cancellation policy actually ends the night before at 11:59 in the evening, as the word until technically means up to a specific date or time. This scenario is one for which you need to especially watch.
Final Boarding Call
One might argue that certain terminology should be shared by an industry as a standard — similar to a matrix which was created by the rental car industry that is known as the Association of Car Rental Industry System Standards — so as not to confuse customers; and arguably, the terms of the duration of a cancellation policy should be more standardized by the lodging industry…
…but all you really need to do to protect yourself in most cases is to read the official terms and conditions as carefully as possible — especially as cancellation policies vary since the days when most cancellation policies had no penalty up until 6:00 in the evening on the day of arrival.
Also, keep time zones in mind, as cancellation policies pertain to the local time zone of the hotel or resort property. As an example, if the free cancellation policy expires at 6:00 in the evening on Wednesday in Wellington in New Zealand and you are based on the west coast of the United States, that expiration time is actually 11:00 in the evening on Tuesday…
…and do not forget to factor in Daylight Saving Time, as the change in time in the United States does not exactly correspond to that in other countries around the world — and some countries do not observe Daylight Saving Time at all.
By the way, did you know that some lodging companies build in an unwritten “grace period” so that if a cancellation of a reservation does occur shortly after the official end of the free cancellation period, you will likely not be penalized?
Even still, cutting a cancellation of a lodging reservation that close is typically not a good idea. Ensure that if you need to cancel a reservation, give yourself enough time so that it is not disputed by the lodging company.
Past articles at The Gate With Brian Cohen whose topic is the cancellation policies of lodging companies include:
- Update of Flexible Cancellation Policies October 2020 With 24 Lodging Companies
- Warning: Flexible Cancellation Policies to Expire With These Lodging Companies — Unless…
- 6 Lodging Companies: Change and Cancellation Policy Not Without Penalty Anymore?
- New 48 Hour Cancellation Policy With Hyatt Effective January 1, 2018
- A Seven Day Cancellation Policy?
- New 24 Hour Cancellation Policy In Effect With InterContinental Hotels Group
- New 48 Hour Cancellation Policy Response From Hilton
- The “New” Marriott Cancellation Policy is Not New — Just Expanded
- Check Your Hotel Reservations — The Cancellation Policy May Have Changed
- Stricter Day Before Cancellation Policy: Starwood Joins Hilton and Marriott — But Is That Bad News?
All photographs ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
