Can I get a refund from a non-cancel hotel?

Bogof_Babe

z1a wrote: »

So, £10.50 a night!

Or 20%!

..........

z1a

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Or 20%!

..........

And? My point is, she may have saved a tenner and is now losing £50 if the hotel sticks to the policy.

esuhl

I thought that hotels/restaurants could only charge you if they are unable to re-sell the room/table, and that they should make reasonable attempts to re-sell.

I found this article on the VisitBritain.org site, which says that:

It is important to note that any cancellation terms and conditions need to be fair to the customer. For example, demanding fulll payment in advance and having a cancellation policy that would see the customer forfeit the entire payment, regardless of when the cancellation was made, would be deemed to be unfair.
...
If a guest cancels a booking or checks out early, they are in breach of the booking contract they have with you. You may be entitled to claim damages for any losses you have suffered from the cancellation/curtailment. This applies regardless of whether you have cancellation/curtailment procedures as a booking condition.
...
If you want to make a claim for damages, the procedure is as follows:

• Re-letting the room: You must first make every reasonable effort to minimise your loss by trying to re-let the accommodation. If you re-let the room at the same price, you should have not suffered a loss and so cannot make a claim.
• What amount can I claim? If, despite your efforts, you cannot re-let the accommodation, you will be entitled to claim damages that reflect the losses you have incurred as a result of the cancellation. This is the value of the booking or the part of it for which the accommodation could not be re-let, less the cost of any items that you did not supply. For example, you cannot charge for food, heating, electricity or cleaning as you did not supply these products or services. You are also not able to include any service charge.

• Note: there is a general rule of thumb that your loss will be about two-thirds of the value of the booking, but individual cases differ.

So, "non-refundable" hotel rooms would seem to be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

If the room was re-let, you are entitled to a full refund. If not, you owe the hotel "damages" for your non-attendance.

If you have problems getting a refund and paid by credit card, the card company is jointly liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act#supply-of-a-service

Bogof_Babe

z1a wrote: »

And? My point is, she may have saved a tenner and is now losing £50 if the hotel sticks to the policy.

Depends on your mentality I suppose. I always book Advance train tickets which are not refundable, and yes sometimes I waste one if my plans change, but overall I save quite a lot doing it that way.

If I knew a plan was up in the air, subject to change or cancellation, then I would book a refundable hotel, but the OP was confident they were going to London to see an artist, they were in no doubt as to their own plans, so it is just unfortunate that the artist has pulled out. I almost agree with the poster who said Adele should refund incidental expenses as well as the concert tickets.

To some people a tenner is worth saving where possible.

But London is well worth a visit, even if the original purpose is not going to happen. Unless of course the OP has been there hundreds of times and has nothing left there to see!