How to get a (partial) refund on your non-refundable hotel bookings

I know that a lot of readers are sitting on potential losses from non-refundable hotel bookings they have made and cannot now use.

If the hotel is open and trading then you have no right to a refund (unless the chain has a brand-wide policy) and you would need to fall back on your travel insurance.

Reader Simon sent me a clever trick he has used to cut his losses, although not eliminate them.

Simon had various hotels booked via Hotels.com for this Summer.  They were booked on non-refundable rates and the hotels are open, so he is not entitled to a refund even though he is no longer able to travel.

However, Hotels.com offers a price match guarantee.  See here for full details.

If a hotel you have booked is now being sold for less, either on Hotels.com or another website, Hotels.com will refund the difference.

In Simon’s case, he found that the non-refundable bookings he made earlier in the year were, on average, now 35% cheaper.  He submitted a price match guarantee to Hotels.com and was paid back promptly.

He is still sitting on a loss from his non-refundable hotels rooms, of course, but the loss is 35% lower than it would have been if he hadn’t invoked the guarantee.

You can learn more about the Hotels.com Price Match Guarantee here.  Other booking platforms may have something similar.

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