Do you have a holiday you can no longer go to? It happens more often than you think and millions of people are left digesting the unpleasant feeling of canceling your holiday and losing all the money you paid. 

If you have a non-refundable hotel reservation booked, you might be wondering how to get out of your hotel reservation or ask yourself “Is it possible to cancel my hotel reservation” Are hotel reservations refundable?

Are hotel reservations refundable?

Nowadays, most hotels, whether they are boutique or chains, offer their cheapest room rates only as non-refundable bookings. Some charge for cancellations. Some do not allow you to cancel at all. Hotels do this to avoid guests cancelling and rebooking their reservation repeatedly. Some hotels offer more flexible rates, but they are always more expensive. And who books thinking they’ll have to cancel? To check whether you can get a refund or cancel your hotel reservation, check your booking confirmation. Bear in mind that even hotels from the same chain in different locations may have different cancellation policies. But don’t despair if your booking is not refundable, we have listed below a few options on ways to cancel your hotel room and get a refund. 

Can I get a refund on my hotel room?

If your reservation is non-refundable, you still have options

1. Check if you can change the dates. If this is not stated in your booking confirmation, you may have to call the hotel’s reception and ask directly. 

2. Speak with the hotel reception, explain your situation and see whether they might be able to give you a voucher or credit, to use in the future. This is better if you don’t know when you might be going back to that place and don’t have specific dates to change the reservation to. 

3. File an insurance claim, if you do have travel insurance. Insurers won’t cover your costs if you cancel for any reason, it has to be a specific reason stated in your insurance policy. Most of the time it will be due to medical issues for yourself or a close family member. 

4. Sell your reservation to someone else on SpareFare and get your money back! You can read more on this option below. If you’re looking to dispute your non-refundable hotel reservation, we’re going to take you through our guide on how to get your money back from a hotel, the SpareFare style. 

Solution to non-refundable hotels- Advise from the experts

When you have a non-refundable hotel reservation, there are some ways how to get your money back from the hotel. One of the best options is to change the name on your hotel reservation in order to transfer it to someone interested. Please read the step-by-step guide below which will take you through the process of transferring your hotel reservation via SpareFare as a way to get money back from non-refundable hotel. The ides is simple - you sell your hotel room to someone else, he pays you the money, and you get a refund for your non-refundable reservations! 

It’s quite simple actually!

SpareFare is the secure travel marketplace which connects sellers and buyers, making travel easier and more affordable for everyone.  

Follow these easy steps to sell your hotel room on SpareFare:

1. Check with your hotel if you can change the name of the main guest under the reservation and if you will have to pay any fees. If there are any fees to be paid, you will cover these. Please bear this in mind when you accept a bid from a potential buyer. Changing the name will allow you transfer your hotel reservation in the name of the buyer.  

2. Go to SpareFare.net and click on Sell Hotel Reservation. We are a secure secondary marketplace for travel reservations and we will help you find buyers. We do this all day, every day, for thousands of sellers like you. 

3. Fill in the required information. Give as much information as possible and a link to the hotel’s website. Be realistic about the asking price. The bigger the discount, the higher the chances that you’ll sell your hotel reservation.

4. Spread the word that you’re selling your hotel reservation via Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms! Tag SpareFare to show your post to our audience of flexible travellers. 

5. You will receive an email when someone bids for your hotel room. If you are happy with the price offered you can accept the bid, otherwise you may reject it.

6. In order to validate your reservation, we then ask you to forward us the confirmation email you received for your original booking.

7. If you accept the offer, the buyer has 48 hours to place a final bid and send us the money for the hotel room. You will then have 48 hours from the time the buyer places the final bid to accept that final bid and transfer the reservation in the name of the buyer.

8. You will receive a confirmation when the buyer sends us the money – only then you should proceed to transfer the hotel room in their name. 

9. Call the hotel and change your name in the hotel reservation to the name of the buyer. Ask the hotel for a written confirmation of the name change. Send the confirmation to SpareFare.

10. We will send you the money at the end of the hotel stay.

And voila a solution to non-refundable hotels! Although you were not able to dispute your non-refundable hotel reservation, you now know how to get money back from non-refundable hotel bookings.