Beware package bookings that include Hilton

[Argento]

Two words: travel insurance. First thing a travel insurance company is going to do is go to work on the providers, wringing as much out of them as humanly possible, which is usually a lot. Providers will do their best to stick it to the little guy but an insurance company has lawyers and the threat of litigation is usually enough to get them to play ball.

Second, the insurance company doesn't want to litigate either so after they're done with the providers, they will usually just cover whatever is left to satisfy your policy.

I used to think travel insurance was a waste -- that is, until I needed it -- now I get it every trip.

 

[disneychrista]

I was always under the impression that anything booked through 3rd party sites, like expedia, were non refundable. That is the price you pay for paying the discounted price.

 

[bumbershoot]

I was always under the impression that anything booked through 3rd party sites, like expedia, were non refundable. That is the price you pay for paying the discounted price.

They sometimes are and sometimes aren't. It's very important to know exactly what contract you are making, each time you enter into one.

I had a refundable reservation at the Carousel once with Orbitz, though the cancellation date was something like five days out from the stay. (and then four days away hojo popped up some entertainment rates and I was sad). And I've had nonrefundable reservations with priceline at the Hilton, too. Reservations through hotels.com can go either way easily. Important to know what you are agreeing to, and not rely on exceptions!

 

[Peace.love.mickey]

I was always under the impression that anything booked through 3rd party sites, like expedia, were non refundable. That is the price you pay for paying the discounted price.

I JUST canceled a reservation and they said I will get a full refund! That was what was stated when I bought it. This was Orbitz though...not sure about the others!

 

[JessicaKnits]

I have written the below post under the assumption that this was booked as a non refundable reservation.

While I have never worked for Expedia, I did work as a supervisor in the customer relations department for their sister site, Hotwire.com. I have since left my position for something a bit less taxing on emotions.

Both Expedia and the Hilton are being ineffectual at explaining why you will not be getting your money back. They are passing the buck back and forth between eachother instead of simply stating that the room is non-refundable, and the cancellation was for personal reasons, so they aren't giving you a refund. Harsh, but that is the way it is.

When a hotel releases inventory to a third party to sell, often at a reduced rate through either a package, or a non-refundable reservation, they do so because that third party (in your case, Expedia) promises to that hotel that they are going to get paid for that reservation regardless of whether or not the room actually gets used. Hilton is under no obligation to refund the money to you (which Expedia has probably already provided to them) because their contract with Expedia says they don't have to.

And Expedia won't refund your money, because the reservation was sold to you presumably under terms that it was a non refundable booking. They have paid Hilton and under the terms of their agreement with Hilton, cannot ask on your behalf for the money back at this point. So if they gave you a refund, the money refunded would be at a loss to their company.

That being said, even though Hotwire has hard and fast rules about all bookings being final, there were back-end policies in place with partners that allowed for refunds for circumstances beyond the consumers control like airline cancellation (for reasons other than weather, for weather you would have needed a travel insurance policy) death of an immediate family member, an unreasonable schedule change from the airline making the reservation unusable, etc.

The most important advice I can give, and I know this of no comfort to you now, is that you need to read and understand the terms of any online booking or purchase that you make. Unfortunately in your case this is going to be an expensive lesson to learn.