How has Universal's hotel reservation refund process been?

[meryll83]

Hi All,

Looking for some feedback on the experience of obtaining a refund for a Universal hotel reservation?

We've got flights booked from the UK at the end of October, and currently have a cancellable rate for the Hard Rock with a 3rd party website, but thinking of switching to rebooking direct with Universal now their annual passholder rate is out, and it's a better deal.

However, we've had a couple of trips cancelled earlier this year and have found some companies great at refunding, others not so much (I'm looking at you Virgin Atlantic - 104 days to get a flight refund!) so am now a little cautious about who is best to book with, when it's still uncertain whether we'll be able to travel.

What have people's experiences been with getting a refund from Universal on a hotel ressie, whether it's been because they've had to cancel as the resort was closed, or whether you've cancelled by choice? (would be good if you could share which situation it was for you too)

Thanks in advance!

 

[chmurf]

Check the T&Cs before you book. Currently they haven't updated their covid policy (refundable up to 24hrs prior for bookings made before 6/30 and stays occuring up to 8/31

so either they extended those conditions, or they're back to the standard no penalty cancellation if made up to 7 days before check in

I've cancelled my august stay, and was refunded within a few days (I"ve made other cancellations over the years and universal direct has always been good at refunding swiftly


You will need to pay for 1 night as a deposit. The rest will be billed when you check in.

 

[meryll83]

Check the T&Cs before you book. Currently they haven't updated their covid policy (refundable up to 24hrs prior for bookings made before 6/30 and stays occuring up to 8/31

so either they extended those conditions, or they're back to the standard no penalty cancellation if made up to 7 days before check in

I've cancelled my august stay, and was refunded within a few days (I"ve made other cancellations over the years and universal direct has always been good at refunding swiftly


You will need to pay for 1 night as a deposit. The rest will be billed when you check in.

They're back to standard now, I called to check... thanks for the prompt, I noticed the cancellation policy was out of date when I was looking at booking.

Good to know they've been good at refunding in the past, thanks.

 

[Elle :)]

I origi had a package booked but I rescheduled with the AP rate later. They cancelled the package and the funds were back in my account in about a week (they said it could take several weeks.

 

[soniam]

Never had an issue. I’ve done it several times when booking a cheaper AP rate. The funds are always back on my card before the bill is due. Thus us room only. Plus you can do it easily online:

 

[tfiga]

We canceled a July trip in May and over 7 weeks later still have not received our refund.

 

[andieb0602]

We canceled a July trip in May and over 7 weeks later still have not received our refund.

I would call them. I had to cancel and rebook a week or so ago when Portofino wasn't going to open up in time and my deposit was refunded within a week.

 

[skoi]

We cancelled one night at Royal Pacific and three at Dockside for September under regular cancellation rules. No problems with refund, though it took a few days to process.

 

[tfiga]

I would call them. I had to cancel and rebook a week or so ago when Portofino wasn't going to open up in time and my deposit was refunded within a week.

Just called again they said it fell through the cracks and that they would expedite the refund and it should take 7 to 10 days. Fingers crossed.

 

[tlady]

I canceled our Sept stay back in early July and was told at the time it would take 4 to 6 business weeks to refund my $100 deposit! This is absurd. 6 weeks is now past. I called about a week ago and was given no valid reason for why my refund hasn't been processed. Can anyone offer suggestions as to next steps?

 

[macraven]

I canceled our Sept stay back in early July and was told at the time it would take 4 to 6 business weeks to refund my $100 deposit! This is absurd. 6 weeks is now past. I called about a week ago and was given no valid reason for why my refund hasn't been processed. Can anyone offer suggestions as to next steps?

Give them another call.
It probably fell throw thru the cracks again is my guess

Some years back my refund fell thru the cracks and had to contact them

I know it’s aggravating but you will see your refund.

 

[tlady]

We canceled a July trip in May and over 7 weeks later still have not received our refund.

We canceled a Sept trip on July 11. 6 weeks later and no refund. I called a week ago and was given a lot of nonsense as to why.

 

[frank808]

For all the refunds I have encountered this year, Universal has had it done in about a week. Some refunds came in a couple days. One did fall through the cracks as it was 2 weeks and no refund. I had to call to get it started again. That one came through within the week.

 

[georgina]

I've been watching for a refund from an Aventura cancellation due to it being closed. Took 16 days this time. I'm sure they had a lot of cancellations to process at that time. It's weird with Chase credit cards, as they back date the refund to the date of the cancellation, so I had to scroll back a bit through my transactions to find it.