Money Moral Dilemma: Friends cancelled our reunion at short notice - should they pay for my hotel?

Stevezzqq

Just book another hotel with your friend(s) for another trip.

Make it expensive.

Tell them to send you the money so you book and pay for it.

Book it with the ability to cancel within 24 hours.

Send them confirmation that you have booked and paid for it.

Cancel it with 25 hours to go, but don’t tell your friend(s). Get the full refund.

Tell your friends 23 hours before and tell them you’re very sorry.

I bet you feel better now? 😜

Mark_d

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

Last year, a group of friends I'd lost touch with arranged a get-together with me. We decided to do it again this year, agreed the dates and location, and said we'd book our own accommodation. Three weeks before, however, they pulled out - this left me extremely sad for the lost friendships and because no one had told me earlier. I'm now left with an expensive hotel booking I don't need and can't cancel. Should I ask the rest of the group to foot my bill?

I don't think there's any chance of the group footing your bill.  Asking the question could only be detrimental to the friendship.

Whilst you can't cancel the hotel booking, maybe under the circumstances the hotel will allow you to move the booking so that you can use the stay as part of a birthday celebration (for example).

With get-togethers there is always the chance that the event will be called off if most people don't commit to the proposed arrangements.  Having learned from experience, nowadays I book these hotels stay on a cancellable rate or I make alternative plans such that the hotel stay wouldn't be wasted.

Bex68

I have travel insurance for all eventualities all year round. I do always select free cancellation before whatever date, because you never know what could happen. I live on an island so if the ferry doesn’t go due to bad weather then I’m stuffed!

nosa17

The best thing to do is to still go on the holiday alone or with a friend, as I don't think they will refund your costs. But don't be surprised to see some of them there too if they could not get a refund too, or maybe the whole thing was a plan to ditch you if they did not want you there!

Salapandajane

Absolutely not. All hotels offer a refundable rate whereby you're covered if you need to cancel. This is a little more expensive than the cheapest available rate which will be non-refundable. You obviously chose to pay a cheaper rate. 

Stella_1963

I don’t think it’s fair to cancel on you last minute, unless it’s a very legitimate reason. If this is case ask the hotel for a credit on your account so that you can take the break at a future date. In future book the hotels that allow last minute cancellation without charge. 

JayD

Sadly I doubt they would reimburse you - and I think that asking them to do so would not make them want to stay in a friendship with you.

Of course, we are not given a full picture here - as always . Did they give you a reason? Odd that they ALL cancelled.

As has been said, best to go and try and have a good time on your own. Treat it as a break you deserve. After all, it 's already paid for and we could all use a bit of adventure in our lives

eastmidsaver

It's really disappointing that your friends cancelled so close to the get-together without prior notice. It makes me wonder if they've also lost out financially too. Did all of them really have to cancel? It's concerning that not even one or two could still make it.

While it’s frustrating, asking them to reimburse you might not be effective if they don’t care enough. Consider this a lesson to book accommodations with free cancellation in the future, even though it costs more and often doesn’t cover very last-minute changes.

In the meantime, maybe you could go solo and try have a good time despite the situation. And you might want to rethink the value of these friendships if this is how they handle plans.

tastyfish

Yes, the lesson learnt here is definitely book a hotel with free cancellation in the event you still wouldn't go even if your plans changed due to others. 

BagpussTheOriginal

You said lost friendships, so i presume (probably not wisely!) that the reason given wasnt an acceptable excuse for them to cancel.  I am afraid to say that they cancelled 3 weeks before the reunion to take place, in my opinion this isnt last minute and would have allowed you to make alternative arrangements ie go anyway, contact the hotel to see if there was any leeway in either cancelling or even moving the booking to an alternative date that would allow you to make use of it,  Asking them to pay for you is wrong as others have said hotels do offer the option of a flexible room rate, free cancellation etc.  i myself in the past have had to cancel a booking and as i went for the non-refundable option i was actually able to move my booking (in fact i managed to move it twice) to a date that i was able to use my hotel booking.  If it is a case that they no longer want to be friends then move on and put it down to experience but if their personal circumstances have changed that couldnt be helped then it may not be a case of a lost friendship..