Did Hojos Cancellation Policy Change?

[Kayla's Mom]

I just went to book three dates at the Entertainment/AP rate and right before I clicked submit, I noticed that it appears their cancellation policy may have changed. Here is what it says:

Cancellation Policy: There will be no credit or refund for early departures, cancellations, no shows, or changes in your reservation for any reason. Guests will not receive any refund or credit.

I tried a different date w/entertainment rate and got the same message. When I removed the entertainment code it switched back to the usual 48 hour cancellation policy.

Wow! Looks like if you are booking the entertainment rate you better be sure of your dates! I was checking future dates because we are supposed to leave Sunday and DD4 has come down with the flu/UTI infection/pink eye. Luckily my confirmation still shows the 48 hour cancellation policy.

 

[tdashgirl]

A couple of weeks ago I booked all my possible 2011 trips at HOJO. I hope to make them all but you know how things can happen! I always book with hotels that have a cancellation policy - all my HOJO bookings had the 48 hour thing. I'll hold them to it! And if this happens for future trips, quite honestly I'll book with another hotel.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

When I read this post, I just went to the ET page at Hojos site to take a look and found this:

"Due to the high demand of our "Retro Discount" we have implemented a non cancelable/non changeable policy on these reservations to prevent "date squatting" by making multiple tentative reservations."

I too had already booked most of my 2011 dates, but I did it before this policy took effect. Too bad. We have stayed at Hojos 11 times of our 13 trips in the past 3 years and really like it there. Many of those stays were on the cheap rates, several were not. Even though I rarely cancel my reservations entirely and don't actually make that many changes except to request rate adjustments for dates already booked that have gone cheaper, I expect that I will also be booking less frequently with Hojos because the possibility of a change of plan makes me too nervous. I would rather pay higher rates with the secure knowledge of being able to cancel or make changes than take the risk of a non-refundable booking, even a "cheap" one. If the "non-refundable" payment was offered back to me as a credit with that Hojos, I might still consider it, but I'm still not sure.

 

[skiingfast]

It appears that Hojo is done with letting it's system being abused.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

Ok, here's the deal:

Due to the high demand of our "Retro Discount" we have implemented a non cancelable/non changeable policy on these reservations to prevent "date squatting" by making multiple tentative reservations.​

Basically, we're finding that some folks were "squatting" on a bunch of dates and snatching them up as soon as they were posted. This makes the dates unavailable to other AP/ET members, and we were ending up with too many last-minute cancellations. The rates are still available; we just want to limit this great deal to those who sincerely plan to use it!

Any reservations made prior to this implementation are exempt from the policy.

Jonathan, GM

 

[GrandBob]

Wow! That's a major, major change of policy. I agree with longtimedisneylurker that this will make it much less likely that I'll book Hojo in the future. Which is too bad, because I really like Hojo.

Fortunately, I too booked my Nov reservation before this change took effect. I just looked at the confirmation email, and verified that it has the 48 hour cancellation policy in writing. The irony is that I apparently hit a wrong key somewhere when I made the reservation, and I have one more night booked than I had intended. So I had intended to simply make the change after I checked in. Now I'll be sure to print the confirmation and bring it along with me.

I'm very disappointed in Hojo about this change. Up until now, they've had an excellent customer service record.

-Bob

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the clarification, Lorealle! I think that makes practical business sense on HoJos' end to sort of narrow down the ET rate reservations to the people will be 99% likely to use/keep them, even though it will probably not go over well with some people (which I can understand as well, and would probably be frustrated about if I were booking).

For a while, DLR was not requiring any up-front deposit for its room-only/non-package hotel reservations, and when they started requiring a one-night deposit up front a couple of years ago, I sort of thought their motive was similar to what's behind what HoJo's is doing with the ET bookings - they probably wanted to narrow down the bookings to the people who are pretty serious about using/keeping them.

I have not yet stayed at HoJo's - ET rate, AP rate or otherwise - but I keep my eye on the HoJo's threads because I know I will end up there eventually! I like to keep up on the rates and the booking policy. One of these days I will get there!

 

[Hojoanaheim]

Please keep in mind this policy is ONLY for the special AP/ET "Retro Rate". Our standard 48 hour cancellation policy remains intact for all other reservations.

 

[GrandBob]

Please keep in mind this policy is ONLY for the special AP/ET "Retro Rate". Our standard 48 hour cancellation policy remains intact for all other reservations.

I understand. But a lot of hotels have special non-refundable rates. I never use them, because I can't be 100% sure that my dates won't change. We take our granddaughter, and her schedule is subject to the whims of her local school district and of her parents' employers. Although I've never had to (yet) cancel a HoJo's reservation, that's due to my DDIL going the extra mile on occasion to accomodate us. I'm never sure that the dates won't change until a couple of weeks beforehand.

-Bob

 

[ShaunaM]

...so does this mean you cannot modify your reservation at all?

Example; We are coing at the end February . When I orginally booked I thought I had the right days but then I later needed to shift the reservation back a few days (flight schedule) so the bulk of the reservation was the same but we arrived earlier and departed earlier; would this no longer be allowed?

 

[Mcky36]

Wow, this change makes me sad because we won't book here anymore and I love HOJO! I have a busy law practice and two small kids and I have to book vacations far in advance. Unfortunately, things happen and we sometimes have to cancel. I think a NO REFUND FOR ANY REASON policy once you book, no matter how far in advance you cancel is ridiculous! If I understand this correctly, if I book now for a five night stay in December 2011 and next week something comes up, we have to pay the entire 5 day stay even though we cancelled 11 months in advance? What if you want to modify your reservation? If you need to change your dates, you will be still charged for the original dates as well?

We had two rooms booked for this weekend and unfortunately, my sister's son is very sick and they cannot travel. I had to cancel one of the rooms last night. Thank goodness I booked prior to this change!

This will be our last stay at HOJO if this policy remains in effect. I guess I'm going to have to really make the best of it and enjoy it.

 

[NewbieMouse]

This makes good business sense to me, but out of curiosity, what is the "effective date" of the policy? (that is, when do you have had to have made your reservation to be subject to the old 48 hours policy? Was it before today?)

 

[disney-super-mom]

Although I absolutely understand the reasoning for a change in policy, it seems just a little itty-bit extreme.

Why not implement something like a cancellation/change *fee* (like a $15 or $20 fee for example) for all AP/ET Retro Rate cancellations/changes made more than 30 days out, and then implement a non-cancellation/change policy for reservations 30 days out or less.

I would rather pay a small fee to still have the option to cancel or change a reservation should I need to, rather than be charged for the entire reservation if something came up and we were unable to make it, while still leaving plenty of time for the room to be re-booked.

 

[dalepool]

I sure hope HOJO takes a minute to look at this change. When making reservations for room, airfare, and vacations time off I have used the ET rate adding 1-2 days either side of reservation to make sure (with the moon and stars) all segments of the reservations align.

I do cancel asap. I do not hold till last minute. As soon as vacation is approved and air reservations made I cancel. This is usually 3-4 months out.

I also fear needing to cancel due to medical reasons. Being on Kidney transplant waiting list for near 4 years now I would hate to lose 1k in room fees if I get the "call" just before or during my DL trip. Since I am taking family this next trip I have already told them they are to go even if I get the long awaited call. I know the airline will work with us should that happen, sad that HOJO probably won't now .

I totally understand the new policy and will still stay at HOJO if possible.

Patty

 

[wannagoback]

If I read this right, I think it sounds like a good thing for a lot of people. If people are prevented from scooping up a large number of dates very far in advance, it should leave dates that are available for people who are booking on a short time frame. So, just book at regular rate and hopefully the ET rate will be available when you feel like you can confirm your stay. If not, no penalty for canceling

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

The irony is that I apparently hit a wrong key somewhere when I made the reservation, and I have one more night booked than I had intended.

Hi GrandBob,
You may not have made a mistake. I have noticed an odd bug with the calendar app on the Hojo reservation system since they updated their site. If you use the calendar to click on your dates, it adds an extra day on. Say for example you click 1/26/11 as your arrival date and 1/28/11 as your departure date. I noticed that it fills the corresponding boxes in with 1/26/11 and 1/29/11. I noticed this myself when making a recent online booking and corrected the date by typing it in instead of clicking on the calendar.

Please keep in mind this policy is ONLY for the special AP/ET "Retro Rate". Our standard 48 hour cancellation policy remains intact for all other reservations.

I understand. But a lot of hotels have special non-refundable rates. I never use them, because I can't be 100% sure that my dates won't change. We take our granddaughter, and her schedule is subject to the whims of her local school district and of her parents' employers. Although I've never had to (yet) cancel a HoJo's reservation, that's due to my DDIL going the extra mile on occasion to accomodate us. I'm never sure that the dates won't change until a couple of weeks beforehand.

-Bob

Yeah, I agree. It's not that I'm planning a change. It's the possibility that one might be necessary that makes me nervous. I noticed the 48 hour policy is still there for the regular bookings, but the new policy is bit of a deterrent to me even for those anyway. We usually go in early August or late July for younger DS's birthday. We have stayed at Hojos for the last three years doing this even when the ET/AP rate wasn't offered since the prices were good enough and DS loves Hojos. I was figuring we would probably just do it again this year without question even if it meant just getting the 20% off AP rate. Now though, I feel motivated to go out there and look around again for something comparably priced because I feel like I need an alternate go-to hotel. August seems like the perfect time to try someone else. Knowing myself, I probably won't feel comfortable making a non-refundable booking. Even with the lesser discounts, other Harbor hotels can be competitively priced with Hojos. I'll probably start checking out Candy Cane and Tropicana again; we liked those places before we discovered Hojos.

I noticed Sherry's comments too and agree that Hojos is a business and has to do what's best for business. I think they could have tried some lesser deterrents first though like charging immediately for a first night or allowing cancellations but requiring them sooner than 48 hours, 5 days or 7 days maybe, or offering a refund as a hotel credit. I don't know. I don't work in this industry so certainly don't know and understand all the business details. Just sharing my thoughts.

 

[GrandBob]

Why not implement something like a cancellation/change *fee* (like a $15 or $20 fee for example) for all AP/ET Retro Rate cancellations/changes made more than 30 days out, and then implement a non-cancellation/change policy for reservations 30 days out or less.

I like the change fee idea. I wouldn't make it non-changeable at 30 days though. As I said, I usually can't be sure until a few weeks before, so even that would leave me out in the cold.

I sure hope Hojo management considers modifying their policy. It's clear that the new policy will leave a lot of us out. There are a lot of very loyal customers here that will be forced to look elsewhere. A change fee is a very reasonable compromise.

-Bob

 

[GrandBob]

Hi GrandBob,
You may not have made a mistake. I have noticed an odd bug with the calendar app on the Hojo reservation system since they updated their site. If you use the calendar to click on your dates, it adds an extra day on. Say for example you click 1/26/11 as your arrival date and 1/28/11 as your departure date. I noticed that it fills the corresponding boxes in with 1/26/11 and 1/29/11. I noticed this myself when making a recent online booking and corrected the date by typing it in instead of clicking on the calendar.

Aha. That makes sense. I was sure I had put in the correct departure date, and it wasn't until a week or two later that I looked at the confirmation and noticed the error. Thanks for pointing this out!

-Bob

 

[NewbieMouse]

I like the change fee idea. I wouldn't make it non-changeable at 30 days though. As I said, I usually can't be sure until a few weeks before, so even that would leave me out in the cold.

I sure hope Hojo management considers modifying their policy. It's clear that the new policy will leave a lot of us out. There are a lot of very loyal customers here that will be forced to look elsewhere. A change fee is a very reasonable compromise.

-Bob

I agree. I appreciate their business problem - maybe they could implement the change fee and see if that solves the problem. If not, then go the fully non-refundable route.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Although I absolutely understand the reasoning for a change in policy, it seems just a little itty-bit extreme.

Why not implement something like a cancellation/change *fee* (like a $15 or $20 fee for example) for all AP/ET Retro Rate cancellations/changes made more than 30 days out, and then implement a non-cancellation/change policy for reservations 30 days out or less.

I would rather pay a small fee to still have the option to cancel or change a reservation should I need to, rather than be charged for the entire reservation if something came up and we were unable to make it, while still leaving plenty of time for the room to be re-booked.

Yeah, I like the change fee idea too. I'm willing to take a small monetary risk. We do every time anyway, because that first night is always at risk inside those last 48 hours should a family emergency arise or major illness manifest (things we have fortunately not had happen, but they could happen to anyone). It's the idea of losing the entire cost of a multi-night booking at any price that I can't stomach.