Cancellation Refund Delays

[Sabine W.]

This problem is continuing to occur with the new resorts (Stella and Luna). I had made a reservation at Stella for November 2025 (yes, more than a year away!) with a $177 deposit, which I cancelled last week. I had also made a reservation at Surfside, and received my deposit refund within 24 hours of cancelling (it did appear and disappear as a "pending" charge before posting, but that's on Chase). When I didn't receive a refund for the Stella reservation, I called 888-320-6065, the number that was very helpfully posted earlier in this thread (thank you!)

After a 30-minute wait on hold, I got a representative who could see that the reservation had been cancelled but no refund issued. She said it is supposed to be automatic, but it wasn't in this case. She said she thinks this might be because the two new hotels are not set up yet for the automatic refund. When she tried to process the credit manually, she said the system was asking for a code that she does not have. She put me on hold to speak to a supervisor, then said she would need to call me back while they worked on it. I am waiting for that call back now.

Just a warning to anyone who needs to cancel a reservation at Stella/Luna: the way things stand right now, it sounds like you will not receive a deposit refund unless you call! Hopefully now they are aware of the glitch and will work on fixing it.

 

[georgina]

Sorry to hear that is happening with the new hotels. Thought everything was better as I recently cancelled a Aventura reservation and booked one at Cabana Bay with no refund issues.

 

[Sabine W.]

Update: I have now received two calls back from the customer service rep at Loews. She confirmed that their system is currently not configured to provide refunds to people who cancel at Stella or Luna. She said they are working with IT to fix this. Yesterday she told me that she was hopeful that I would receive a refund that same day. As of today, I haven't received a credit on my card. She has been very helpful and sympathetic, but ultimately this seems like a problem that someone in her position does not have the ability to fix.

Another data point: my cousin made a reservation at Stella and cancelled it mid-April. She automatically received a refund to her credit card within 3 days of cancelling. SO....it is working SOMETIMES. No telling who it will work for, though!

Personally, I am unlikely to book again with Loews. I "only" have $177 on the line, but $177 is still a lot of money, and I would hate to have a much larger deposit being kept indefinitely by Loews. I have cancelled many Disney reservations in the past (due to the pandemic), and never had an issue getting a prompt refund. Same for the few real-world hotels that require a deposit for booking. Something is really fishy at Loews, and I do not feel comfortable giving them my credit card information anymore.

Another update: I received a third call back from the same rep. This time she said that the $177 charge shows up on their end as only a pending charge that was never completed. She said it should drop off after a few days. I told her that is not the case. This charge was completed several weeks ago, and my credit card was definitely charged for it. She asked me to email her a screenshot of that single charge--I guess to prove that the transaction was fully posted to my account. I did, and am waiting for a reply. I mentioned that I might dispute the charge with my credit card company, and she said that would be a good idea.

I want to emphasize that my frustration does not extend to the rep I have been speaking to, who has been incredibly considerate. All of these problems are outside of her control. I am, however, very disappointed that Loews can't handle a simple refund after a hotel room cancellation. And that their financial system does not seem to keep accurate records of charges.

 

[Minnie1222]

I canceled our Portofino reservation on 05/01/24 and got the refund on 05/07/24.

 

[tony67]

FYI Cancelled Dockside on the 4th and got the refund on the 10th - still slow my most hotels standards but under the 10 business days they state.

 

[Sabine W.]

Final update: I got my refund! The customer service rep who had been helping me let me know via email that a "guest services agent" on the reservations team at Loews processed the refund. It showed up on my credit card immediately. The rep had been incredibly diligent about helping me. However, I am not sure if the number I called (888-320-6065) was actually the best contact. Perhaps going through the main Loews Universal line would have routed my question to the right person more quickly.

My takeaways from all of this are: 1) some refunds get processed automatically, some do not. I had one that DID, and one that didn't. 2) Loews internal accounting system contains errors. They might get reconciled eventually, but at the time that I called, Loews was still not showing a month-old charge as being completed.

Thankfully, their customer service is A++