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How To Cancel a Hotel Reservation and Get Refund on Hotels.com

By Two Monkeys Travel - Contributor March 31st, 2020 Posted in Travel Blog 23 Comments

Just in case your most-awaited trip got canceled due to an event that’s out of your control, you must know how you’ll be able to cancel or get refunds. Whether it be from an airline or hotels/lodge/rentals.

Remember that each of them has different cancellation and refund policy. Before you book your hotel or flight, it’s important to learn about it. But what if you already have your booking reservation? And suddenly, you can’t travel anymore? What can you do?

My Luxury Hotel Stay with The Capitol Hotel Tokyu

In this article, we will focus on Hotels.com and how you can cancel and get refunds here. The good news is that canceling your booking reservation with Hotels.com is so smooth and doesn’t require you so much time. 

Refunds During Unforeseeable Events on Hotels.com

If something occurs, like what’s happening right now with the pandemic, Hotels.com made sure that they are able to accommodate its customers. However, due to the continuing impact of this pandemic, a lot of people are contacting Hotels.com (not only Hotels.com but also other online lodging metasearch engines and airlines). And because of that, refunds may take longer than normal. 

Hotels.com recently made a refund policy regarding this current situation. This is what Hotels.com stated:

  • If we charged you, your refund could take up to 30 days to process. (You’ll see our brand name listed on your credit card statement.)
  • If the hotel, airline, or car agency processed the charge, they’ll determine the refund timeline. If you have questions, we’d recommend contacting them directly.

To check more of the latest updates about the current pandemic, visit Hotels.com’s Travel Alert.

Steps on How to Cancel Your Hotel Booking with Hotels.com

Canceling your hotel with Hotels.com is as easy as 1-2-3. You can do it in two easy steps:

Step 1: Go to your bookings. Or find your booking, if you forgot to sign in first.

How to Cancel and Get Refunds on Hotels

Step 2: Choose Cancel booking and follow the next instructions.

AND THAT’S IT. Just remember to read the cancellation and refund policy of your chosen hotel. 

How to Cancel Your Vacation Rental with Hotels.com

If this is the case, you need to contact your property manager. They will be the ones who will take care of your cancellations and changes of their vacation rentals. You will find your property manager’s contact in your booking details

Hotels.com Cancellation and Refund Policy

  • Hotels.com don’t charge any cancellation fees, but your hotel or vacation rental might. You can easily see your hotel or vacation rental policies in your booking details.
  • Your refund amount and how long it takes to be credited to your account depends on your booking type and your mode of payment.

Refunds on Hotel and Vacation Rental

As stated above, when and how you can get your refund will depend on how you paid.

When you paid with a credit or debit card

  • Hotels.com will process your refund and credit the card that you used for your booking within 24 hours. After that, your bank will do the rest. Just be informed that it may take them up to 7 days to post the credit to your account, and up to 2 billing cycles to appear on your statement.
  • If it’s already 7 days and still no refund on your account, contact your bank or card company immediately to know the status.

When you paid with a gift card

  • Within 4 hours of processing your refund, Hotels.com will send you a new gift card for the refunded amount to the email you used when you booked.
  • If the refund amount is small and you’re living in a state that requires low gift card balances (usually those that are less than $10) be refunded, you can send an email to [email protected] to request for a cashback.
  • For more assistance with gift card refunds, you can contact the Gift Card Customer Support.

Non-refundable bookings

Please remember that not all bookings are refundable, some of them are non-refundable. Even though you can cancel, you won’t receive any refunds. Also, some hotels or vacation rentals may charge for an additional cancellation fee. It’s all up to your chosen hotel or vacation rental, so it is important to read their cancellation and refund policy or even better to email or contact them. 

Hotels.com Contact Details

Hotel questions:
Local (toll-free): 800-807-6641
From abroad (charges apply): 1-417-521-0845

Flight & Package questions
Local (toll-free): 855-877-1508
From abroad (charges apply): +1-817-333-5170

Or you can directly contact them here.

Have you tried canceling your booking with Hotels.com? Share with us your experience!

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About the Writer

Fatima Turla2Hi there! I’m Fatima. My first major travel was in 2016 in the beautiful city of Cebu. After that, I got interested in traveling. Now I enjoy learning languages and other country’s cultures. My goal is to visit at least one country each year and to share my experiences with other people through writing or blogging. Witness my journey by following me on Instagram.

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23 thoughts on “How To Cancel a Hotel Reservation and Get Refund on Hotels.com

  1. I need to know what the steps are to process a refund. I had to down load an app so they could direct me through the process. They wanted verification that it was me who was calling and would get the refund, They had to contact a friend who had a Venmo account because that’s how they would verify my identity, The whole process is vey bizarre. I know I called the correct number. Somebody tell me this is their process and not a scam. .

  2. I booked several hotels with Hotels.com and somehow 1 was not with my account. When I saw a charge on PayPal that I did not immediately recognize and did not see it on my Hotels.com account, I filed a claim with PayPal. The next day I found the paperwork for that charge and realized my mistake. I cancelled the hotel rooms at that particular hotel and later called PayPal to rectify the situation. Hotels.com tried to refund the money but PayPal had not lifted my claim yet. I called Hotels.com to explain the matter and it is now over a month later and I still have not received my refund of over $650. I called numerous times to be told that either I will receive a phone call within 24 hours or an email and I have yet to get either. Now when I call I am left on hold forever and I eventually hang up. I realize the initial mistake was mine but I am furious with how I am now ignored. I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN.

  3. DO NOT USE HOTELS.COM. I was one of those affected by the SWA foul of October 2021. Contacted hotels.com and they said contact the hotel. Spoke with Reservations Manager and she informed me that hotels.com uses a third-party booking service -Expedia- that sends them the first and last names with date of arrival and departure only. They don’t send the hotel the money, the hotel bills hotels.com after the stay. The hotel agreed not to bill them considering the circumstances but hotels.com sent me an email stating the property didn’t agree to waive the charges. I was on the phone with a hotels.com agent and she got the name of the manager and verified they wouldn’t bill them but hotels.com management will not honor it. They are the ones holding the money, not the property.

    SCAM!! Will not use them, again!

  4. Hotels.com has horrible customer service and a terrible refund policy. I booked a nonrefundable hotel with a pool but the pool was out of service. The hotel was very accommodating and offered to cancel and refund my money because the pool closure had not been disclosed. However, they needed Hotels.com to cancel the reservation and request the refund because the reservation was booked through them. I called Hotels.com customer service and got a recording with a SIX HOUR call return! After several calls, back and forth and waiting nearly a day to get through, I talked to a customer service agent and requested the cancellation and a call back confirmation. I got nothing. Another several hours to get through again being on hold 1-3 hours, etc., this time connected to a different customer service agent… and discovered nothing has been done. Requested again that Hotels.com call the hotel and cancel and request a refund. Several days later, I check my credit card and was charged by Hotels.com for a three day stay that I didn’t use. Obviously, nobody at Hotels.com ever cancelled the reservation with the hotel that had already been offered! Now, Hotels.com refuses to refund my money because the reservation was nonrefundable – even though the hotel offered me a full refund! My advise is to use the third party travel websites to price check hotel rates but book your reservations directly. If you must use a third party travel site, don’t use Hotels.com!

  5. THE HOTEL WE RESERVED WAS A DUMP AND DISQUSTING AND FILITHY WE COULD’NT STAY THERE AND DID NOT KNOW WHAT A FILITHY PLACE IT WAS UNTIL WE GOT THERE.SO NO REFUND,WONT BOOK AGAIN ON HOTELS.COM.AND WILL PASS THE WORD AROUND.THAT HOTEL SHOULD BE REMOVED OF THE MAP.

  6. I’ll never use hotels.com again. I booked a room for a same night stay, fully aware it could not be cancelled. That was fine, it was late and I just needed a room for the night. I showed up to the hotel and was informed that they were sold out. The hotel told me I would have to contact hotels.com for a refund. I’ve called them 5 times at this point, waiting 1-2 hours on hold each time and this still hasn’t been resolved. It is an extremely frustrating process. If you’re going to use hotels.com for a last minute reservation, be sure to call the hotel before booking to make sure they actually have a room or you’ll likely be hassling with hotels.com for days to get a refund. This company is a nightmare.

  7. I’m having a difficult time getting up with anyone to speak to about my booking tomorrow. I’ve been calling since 2:00pm which meets the 24 hr cancelation policy. I have spoken with managers at the place we are to check in tomorrow. They are willing to refund my money due to a death & funeral that I must attend. However, all that is needed is for Hotels.com to send a cancellation email & I can’t get up with anyone to do this.

  8. Never again will be using hotels.com even after the hotel said to have them call and they will approve the refund I still didn’t get them to do my refund it took me 4 days calling twice a day and waiting over two hours to talk to someone the last and 4th day a rep cancelled my room and that was that I’m so pissed especially since the hotel I booked through would approve my refund

  9. Will never use Hotels.com EVER AGAIN. Tried to get a refund regarding hotel booked through them in Italy. Spoke to different people who only said the hotel voucher would probably be extended. We were going to a wedding which was postponed due to Covid, told them voucher no good to us and Covid hasn’t gone away so could not travel. Same rehearsed mantra. They are happy to take your money but you try getting a refund, they don’t seem to acknowledge there is a world wide pandemic out there!!
    Told us to ring them when Covid has completely gone away!! Really?? STEER CLEAR OF THEM.

  10. Was provided one year vouchers because of covid 19 in regard to a non refundable reservation. We were not able to get to the hotel in Greece because of Covid 19. Indeed, the hotels were not even open during our reservation timeframe. These vouchers can only be used at same hotels in Greece. Voucher are good for one year, but I will not be able to travel during that year because of covid.
    Hotels.com first said contact hotels. One hotel said they gave the money back to hotels.com and thought I already had it. The other said just talk to hotels.com. Finally got through to someone (who spoke very poor English) and said go ahead and rebook-then when the time comes they will deal with it. That would not work as you have to make a lot of other plans when traveling to Greece. What I really wanted from Hotels.com was a refund. If not that, at least a years extension on the travel voucher. Any ideas.

  11. Was provided one year voucher because of covid 19. This voucher can only be used at same hotels in Greece. voucher is good for one year, but I will not be able to travel during that year because of covid.

  12. Hi Fatima. Hope you are safe and well. I wish you luck in your travels. I don’t know who to contact. I made
    a reservation with Hotels.com at the Sands at Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos. Confirmation No 8112594261497. I gave Hotels ,con my debit card no. The hotel charged me 42898.62. Our check-in date was 24 Mar 2020. Air Canada cancelled our flight to Turks and Caicos on the 23 Mar 2020 due to COVID-19. There fore we could not check in and have our holiday. How can I get a refund.
    Many Thanks Zaheer.

    1. Hello Zaheer! Have you tried contacting Hotels.com regarding your concern? If yes and you didn’t get a response, we advise you to contact your hotel directly. 🙂

  13. Good morning

    I made a reservation for another person confirmation was canceled (number 9196798034549), I paid with with my credit card.

    My concern is I paid the reservation total was $ 171.75, the reimbursement will be $ 113.00 why is the different

    Thanks

    1. Hello Juan! Is the cancellation of your reservation made by the property? If yes, you can directly contact the property manager (their contact details should be in your booking details) to tell them your concern because Hotels.com doesn’t charge any cancellation fees but your hotel or vacation rental might.

  14. I tired cancelling during the pandemic. I called and could never get a live person. The “virtual assistant” said that the hotel would not refund my $. So I called the hotel. They said they would glad cancel and refund but they don’t have the money – hotels.com does and I can’t find any way to talk to a live person there. They are ripping people off during a pandemic. I have used them a lot in the past and I will NEVER EVER use the, again. I wouldn’t if I were you either.

  15. I accepted a full refund of my monies paid for 7 hotel rooms cancelled due to Covid19. The coupon code was emailed after 30 days. I was amazed that It was a full refund enabling me to change the dates and rebook the 7 rooms! Too good to be true, and it was!! The voucher code only allowed 1 ROOM to be booked!! I could not believe such a reputable company could act in this way! After several phone call during which I was lied to by at least 6 agents I stand to lose €2500. I was instructed to book the rooms individually, told I would receive another voucher and told the reason the code didn’t work for all the rooms was there was no availability for that number of rooms! All, of course, lies. I believe this to be sharp practice and surely contravenes consumer law?

    1. I have exactly the same problem. 2 rooms booked but cancelled due to Covid. Got sent a coupon for the full amount but can only use for 1 room. I have spoke to hotels.com via phone and chat 8 times, and each time it’s been the same story. They say they’ll escalate it to their corporate team who will email you within 24-48-72 hours. They never do. The agent today actually tried to help by suggesting that I book a fully refundable room using the coupon and then cancel the booking. Sounded plausible so I tried it. Guess what? The coupon code is no longer valid even though I got an email from them 3 weeks ago to say they were extending the validity of the coupon till the end of this year. So I’m now back to the ‘you’ll get a response within 24-48 hours ‘mode. Terrible customer service. I’m at my wits end with them.

  16. I have cancelled my reservation withHotels.com and asked for a refund, as cannot currently travel due to pandemic plus FCO advice. I understand I am due refund under Passenger Travel Act.

    However, they are assuming by cancelling that I am accepting a voucher. I have NOT asked for a voucher and am getting nowhere with them Will never use the site again

  17. WE STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED A REFUND FROM HOTELS.COM DUE TO COVID 19 LOCKDOWN SCARE ON A CANCELLED TRIP TO GEORGIA. 2 MONTHS AGO. FOR TWO ROOMS NOT ONE, BUT TWO ROOMS

  18. We have been struggling with Hotels.com regarding a cancelled trip to Krakow.

    We had a booking planned and paid for for 3 nights for my wife and another couple. We had two apartments booked.

    Due to the Covid19 lockdown the trip was cancelled. Hotels.com informed us that we would receive a voucher to be used within 1 year at the same accommodation. This wasn’t a problem as we are happy to book and go next year.

    The problem came about when we tried to book the same accommodation, the same two apartments in April 2021.

    I entered to code given their bookings page and the code wasn’t able to be used for multiple room bookings and can o let be used for 1 room bookings.

    I have been trying to get this sorted for over a month now but Hotels.com will not budge on their “terms and conditions of the voucher”.

    Hotels.com have said brook one room with the voucher, then we will send you another voucher with the balance left, so you can then book the second room. This second voucher will take 30 days to be processed. By which time the other available rooms could be booked by others.

  19. Absolute nightmare with Hotels.com,I will never use them again,due to covid19 on the cancellation policy it states non refundable booking will get a refund or if the hotel you are staying in prefer to give you a voucher,I contacted Hotels.com to ask for a refund as stated in the policy and was told the hotel that I should have been going to will rather give a voucher,I contacted the hotel and asked them could they offer me a refund and they said we do not have any of your money we only take the money on your arrival,so it is all down to Hotels.com kidding on that is the hotel when it is them,yet it says clearly in the policy but they can do what they want very unfair

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