Lisbon hotel offering voucher but not a refund

sand_hun

I had a trip booked to Lisbon in late May 2020. On April 8th, prior to the trip, the hotel e-mailed me to say the following:

"You have an upcoming stay from 05/22/2020 to 05/25/2020 and a non-refundable and no modification rate has been chosen. Given the extraordinary circumstances we will allow modifications by granting a voucher valid for stay dates until 22nd of May 2021 on accommodation services with nº176 and the amount of € 1 449,78.

If you no longer plan to travel and wish to be reimbursed for your booking, you should consult your travel insurance provider, as we regret to inform that we are unable to refund non-refundable rates.
 

In the meantime, we are fully operational. Please feel free to contact us at xxx.com and we will be ready to assist you in every query you might have"

I replied and asked if a refund would be possible, given the extraordinary circumstances. They replied saying:

"In regard to your cancellation request, we would like to inform you that we have two available rates – our normal rates have a cancellation policy of 48 hours of the arrival date and the other appealing rate is prepaid non-refundable. In this form, the client has the choice, paying a little extra for the possibility of a cancellation. 

Your reservation was booked under the non-refundable prepaid rate, which states that no modification is allowed and in case of cancellation no refund will be made.

The outbreak of the Corona virus is a matter we are following very closely from our side and therefore, as a gesture of goodwill, we exceptionally allow modifications for stay dates until the 21st of December of 2020, subject to availability and rate adjustment"

At this stage, I accepted the voucher thinking it was the only option I had. Do I still have a right to go back to them and request a refund, or can hotels get away with offering vouchers?

Thanks

bagand96

Was the hotel open and available or was it closed?

If it was closed then you would have been entitled to a refund.

If the hotel was open then they've done more than they have to by offering you a voucher.

Caz3121

was the hotel open for guests on the dates of your booking?

sand_hun

Caz3121 said:

was the hotel open for guests on the dates of your booking?

I don't know and I'm not entirely sure how to find out, other than asking them, I suppose

sand_hun

OK, so I believe the hotel was closed during the dates of my stay, however they're now saying the Portugese Government passed a law stating that guests who paid hotels for non refundable rooms are not entitled to a refund (unless you can prove you lost your job - which, at the moment I haven't, but that could change). Therefore it looks like I will have to accept their voucher for a future holiday.