“This feels like a scam. You make a reservation … they keep your money.”

Next time you cancel a hotel room, get a number. Otherwise you might have to pay for your reservation, whether you show up or not.

Cancellation numbers, like reservation numbers, are verifications of a transaction. They’re useful not only for the hotel, but also for your credit card company in the event of a dispute.

And what if you don’t have one? Then you end up like Pat Aldridge:

I am completely at my wits end. I don’t know what to do and I don’t want to scream.

I reserved a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express Mcdonough, Ga., for a June 11th check in. I called two weeks later and canceled the room because I would be staying with relatives.

I remember the male representative trying to convince me to keep the reservation but I declined. I hung up with no doubt that he had canceled the reservation. But I did not get a cancellation number.

Bad mistake. They charged my credit card $147 on June 15th.

I have made numerous calls to guest relations, to the hotel. I have spoke with the manager at the hotel, who says without the cancellation number they will not reverse the charge. I sent an email to corporate, which forwarded my message to the manager and the owner of the hotel. She said I should receive a response in 48 hours. Of course, nothing occurred. I expected nothing less.

This feels like a scam. You make a reservation. You think you cancel. They keep your money.

Even my bank has said I can’t get the money back without a cancellation number. I am so frustrated. In this economy I cant afford to just walk away from $150 especially when I did everything I was supposed to do to ensure this reservation was canceled.

I contacted Holiday Inn on Aldridge’s behalf. Here’s what a spokeswoman told me.

After reviewing the case in its entirety, guest relations determined it was handled correctly based on our policy. The reservation was not cancelled, and the guest has no cancellation number, so there is no criteria to over turn the denial for credit without that information.

So, no cancellation number, no refund. End of story.

Well, not exactly. When a guest calls to cancel a room, a well-trained employee will cancel and issue a number without pushing back. We’re left with two possibilities.

1. Aldridge dealt with a rogue employee or someone who was under orders to stop any cancellations from being transacted. Given the rough economy, it’s possible that hotel employees are being rewarded for preventing cancellations.

2. Aldridge never called Holiday Inn to cancel and made up the entire story. Also a possibility. But it’s unusual for travelers to enlist an ombudsman to their cause when they’ve misrepresented the truth.

I believe Aldridge phoned Holiday Inn, but that the cancellation was never made. Corporate Holiday Inn has no proof of this, so its hands are tied.

Not an ideal outcome, but a lesson learned: Next time, either get a cancellation number, or work with a travel agent.

  • David Z

    Another possibility is the customer might’ve called in a hurry to cancel, and the agent noted but eventually forgot to cancel. That especially happens if the agents are swamped with calls or people demanding their issues be resolved now no matter what.

    Confession time: I once did that. I paid quite a heavy price for that, but lesson learned.

    One other thing the customer ought to get is a cancellation email, albeit that depends on the travel provider sending one after cancelling a trip.

  • http://travelwordsmith.com neha m shah

    I’ve also seen cancellation policies that outline stricter terms than what we know as the norm–24 or 48 hours. He says he cancelled two weeks prior, but some of these hotels offer certain rates that are not valid for cancellations once you click because it’s a special online price or just deeply discounted (I know, it may be deeply discounted in the hotel’s eyes only). In any case, just like with airfare, you’ve got to read their legalese.

  • Amy

    “…especially when I did everything I was supposed to do to ensure this reservation was canceled.”

    No you didn’t, Pat. You didn’t get a cancellation number or request a confirmation.

  • Carol

    The hotel should’ve made good when you called–it’s unlkely the customer invented the story. So my take-away is do not reserve with Holiday Inn. Period.

  • Jasper

    Here’s the cancellation number. 43218765-3. Sorry, that’s not in your computer? That’s not my problem. What kinda bogus is this? How does a number prove anything?

  • Amy

    Jasper, a valid cancellation number proves everything when you are disputing a charge with your credit card company.

  • http://travelwordsmith.com neha m shah

    I also like to note the time and ask the name of the staff/rep assisting me. I’ve had some issues even with a cancellation #, so I tend to aim for further documentation. When you dispute these types of things with your credit card company and you are in the right, it’s usually a case of guilty until proven innocent. Just cautious since I’ve dealt with it before.

  • Amanda

    I agree with Amy. Pat could also have called the hotel back in a few days to confirm the cancellation went through. While that is a step you shouldn’t have to take, you can’t be too careful. Aldridge may hve ended up speaking to a different CSR who realized the reservation was never in fact cancelled and could do so and provide a confirmation number. I hate to say it, but as a customer service rep myself, I’m with the hotel on this one.

  • Bill

    When he had little or no confidence that the concellation was made, he should have waited 8 hours or so and called again to do it. Failing that, he should have called their central reservations. When you have an idea that something has not happened as it should, you are often right – and need to rectify it before the fact.

  • Neal

    If you showed up, had no confirmation proof and there was no room, you would have no recourse either correct ? Sorry this person has no proof that they cancelled, therefore the business is correct in what they have done.

  • Carver

    Most of the suggestion made are excellent ones. The problem is that not everyone is an experienced traveler. Readers of travel blogs, and in particular, those of us who regularly comment, travel enough to know these things. But a casual traveler is very unlikely to know these little tips and tricks that we have picked up over the year. I can easily see someone being mislead into believing that her verball conversation was enough. Road warriors know better.

    Depending on how difficult it is for Pat to get back to Georgia, this is a case which cries out for small claims court. If I were Pat, I would fill out the small claims form for Mcdonough, Ga., I would then fax it to the hotel explaining that you will file this in 7 days if your money is not returned. The hotel may very well blink. If they don’t you can than decide if you really intend to file and go through with it.

    Good luck

  • Brian

    Use your cell phone and it records, saves the 800 number you called. It could help as “proof” along with the cancellation number.

  • Rose

    I’m really surprised by all the blame-the-victim responses. As Carver wrote above, how on earth would the casual traveler know about the magic “cancellation number”? Why is the traveler supposed to assume that the hotel representative is lying about canceling the reservation? I travel a few times a year but almost always in small hotels or inns, not chain hotels. When I’ve had to make adjustments to reservations, I call the hotel or send an email and make the change, and it would simply never occur to me that the hotel representative would lie about making the change and then try to scam me. The situation described here is truly a scam. Holiday Inn should be ashamed.

  • Christine

    If you buy something then decide you don’t like it and return it, you get a receipt. If you used a credit card, you hold on to the receipt as proof of the return in case the refund doesn’t go through. This is the same deal. The credit card company won’t take your word that you returned the item if the store can prove you bought it but you can’t prove you returned it. It’s not about being “travel savvy,” it’s basic financial common sense. You need some kind of proof to back up your statement.

  • Don

    Very frequent traveler. Odds are excellent Holiday Inn made the mistake. Have had similar experiences, with cancellation numbers, where they charged my credit card anyway & although i always recovered I’ve always thought it “interesting” they would charge after having issued a cancellation number. Have also arrived on very late flights with confirmed reservation and found they had sold my room and refused to leave until night manager finally admitted they do it regularly and he put me in a suite which was half of the entire top floor of the hotel.

  • Joe Farrell

    folks – EVERY SINGLE CALL CENTER CALL is recorded. Sue the hotel in small claims court. Then, send a Notice to Produce to the company seeking a copy of the call. They WILL simply credit your account. Its too much trouble to get the call.

    The fact of your making a call is not proof you canceled – it is supporting evidence to buttress your claim you canceled but the fact of call could have been to reconfirm or some other question. But the recording is proof positive that you called.

    Unless you receive a confirmation that the res is cancelled you can assume it was not . . . if they claim there is no cancellation number, which may be the truth, retain the name of the rep, date and time of the call. It is common for people not to do their jobs at call centers. . .. and to fail to properly record customer interactions and promises made.

  • Grizz

    Traveler states that the representative encouraged her to keep the reservation – this is the point at which it starts to smell a bit fishy. Why on earth would an agent make that comment?
    Any agent taking the call should be taking the care to offer a cancellation number, regardless if one is requested by the caller.
    I have to side with Holiday Inn on this one. The facts don’t fully support traveler’s story.

  • Carver

    @Grizz

    You’d be surprised at what some companies pull. Traveler’s story is not that unusual. A friend of mine worked for a large electronics store. His sole job was to discourage consumers from returning items or alternatively to settle for store credit in lieu of cash. He would get rewarded based on the total dollar value of the items that he successful prevented for being returned for a cash refund.

  • Jasper

    @ Amy:
    1) This is utter bogus. The number is just a way to make it harder to cancel a room. If Pat truly called, she did her duty. A customer does not need to keep a duplicate administration in case a hotel can’t keep it’s own up.

    2) My cancellation number is valid. The guy at the phone gave it to me. Really. It is not in the format that the hotel uses? (which would prove my previous point) Well, then he must have read it wrong to me. I really called and this is the number they gave me.

    Any solution now?

    My point: All these numbers mean nothing. They are random strings of numbers. Insert Seinfeld clip in car reservations.

  • Grizz

    @ Carver
    I’m saying – it just doesn’t make sense.
    If the traveler needs to cancel because she’s ont going to be staying there – why would the reservations agent try to prevent her from cancelling the reservation?

  • http://travelwordsmith.com neha m shah

    I also always ask if they can email the cancellation email. Whenever I haven’t gotten one, I’ve just persisted till I get it in email.

  • http://www.hotelscouter.com John Cooper

    From a hotel employees perspective, we get quite a few calls from people “claiming” that they cancelled their reservation and were still charged. Most of the stories are bogus. I am not saying that the person described above was making up the whole thing up, but i do not think blaming the hotel is the solution either. Cancellation numbers are the only way for us to make sure that a reservation was in fact cancelled. If there is a better way, let me have it. Also, hotel emplyees are not incentivized for not cancelling reservations. We are taught to do right by the guest. Anything else would mean a loss of future revenue.

  • Carver

    @Grizz

    Well, for starters, the hotel made $147 that it provided neither goods nor services for. Second, I was making the point that sometimes people get compensated by preventing cancellations like my friend at the electronics store. Third, not all agents are well trained. Hence the Flyertalk mantra, if you get a stupid agent, hang up and call again.

    @Jasper

    You are confusing theory with reality. In theory you can make up any set of numbers and claim it’s a cancellation number. However, unless you already know the format, it is fairly easy to tell if its true or not. There is a reason why companies use long strings of numbers and letters for reservation confirmation and cancellations. There are entire fields of mathematics devoted to this issue.

    For example, suppose the Holiday Inn uses 14 numbers for its cancellation number. If you present a cancellation number with only 5 numbers, you are unlikely to be believed. Whereas a 13 digit number is much more likely to be believed.

  • Jasper

    @ Carver: You missed my point. A randomly picked number in a certain format proves nothing. The long numbers are nothing else than a way of shifting responsibility to customers for actions that hotels should perform. End of story. It should not be up to me as a customer to make sure that a hotel actually does what is says it does.

    Seinfeld clip:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7uvttu8ct0
    “The holding is the most important part of a reservation. Anybody can just take ‘m”
    Replace “holding” by “confirmation number” and you’re there.

  • Carver

    @Jasper

    I respectfully disagree. The confirmation/cancellation number is the customer’s proof. Should the hotel take care of its responsibility. Of course. But when it doesn’t, whether through inadvertance or malice, the confirmation number is a backup if you will, that the customer can rely upon so that its not a he said, she said, as in this very matter.

    Moreover, the confirmation/cancellation number is never a randomly generated set of numbers any more than a Vegas slot machine is random. Very smart mathematicians create complicated algorithms with multiple level of redundancy which allows them to instantly know whether a purported number is a fraud, or a simple transcription error.

  • Glenn

    One other side note: I forget which chain (since it’s been more that a couple of years) but whenever I asked, the cancellation number was always the same as the confirmation number! How would that be used in a proof of cancellation?

  • http://www.cutcat.com Regina

    RE: “How on earth would the casual traveler know about the magic ‘cancellation number’?”
    Huh? Unless you have never traveled in your entire life, you would know about cancellation numbers. They’ve been used for years and hotels usually give them to you without being asked. While this hotel may be sleazy, it was ultimately the customer’s responsibility to get that number. When she found herself talking to an employee who didn’t want to cancel the reservation, that should have set off a red flag and she should have asked to speak to a manager.

  • Jasper

    @Carver: Very smart mathematicians create complicated algorithms with multiple level of redundancy which allows them to instantly know whether a purported number is a fraud, or a simple transcription error.

    Again, this is only proof that hotels are shifting the burden of doing their administration on the customer. This is ridiculous. Do I have to keep stock for my supermarket? No. Of course not. I’m not the manager.

    The customer should get her money back. She reserved space, canceled it, and never used the service offered. There is no sell.

    It is the world upside down when customers have to do the administrations of a company. This customer now ends up paying for a company failing to do their administration properly, without ever using a service.

    I can not see how this is not an enormous incentive for companies to not maintain any administration, and just let the customer pay up. “Sorry, you don’t have our 256 digit cancellation number, the fourteen unique PIN numbers and the 37th digit of the number pi? No, we can’t cancel your room.”

  • Bill Oei

    if you called the 800 # there would be a recording. you can demand HQ review the recording. you will also win in small claims.

  • Karen

    My thoughts on this is- she booked a non refundable/no cancellation rate. Then the hotel’s agent would have try to have her not cancel- since they would not allow refund whether she stayed or not. The traveller booked the lowest possible rate which demands prepayment and no cancellation. That’s a reminder to read all policies on the rate you book and also a plus for travel agents- We know and do that for you!

  • Nobody

    “I want confirmation, Kaminski.”–Capt. John Earle, Honolulu Holiday Inn, December 7, 1941.
    “If it ain’t in writing, it never happened.”–Nobody, every day

    Here lies Fast-Gun Eddie
    RIP
    Nobody was faster

  • Kitty

    And for hotels that do NOT process cancelation numbers? There are still many, many, MANY hotels, even large chains, that do not provide such technical details. I worked at a hotel that still worked on a DOS system, where you were lucky to be able to check out if the system was doing a reboot or the FIVE HOUR LONG manual night audit. I can’t tell you how many people got pissed off at me for the d**med computer problems. What am I suppose to do, buy the hotel a new computer system?

    But yes, most often the fault does lie with the desk. Customers still are usually right, after all.

  • Ron

    Life is often unfair and the naive get cheated. How many of us have been burned and then learned the lesson? Sure, a cancellation number turns out to be important when you need it, but not everyone realizes that the first time around.
    Live and learn.
    (either scenario is quite plausible: no-show guest who wants to get refund and less than competant or mal-intended hotel employee/management)
    Sites like these are good to avoid learning things the hard way. But then you have to have a somewhat suspicious attitude to start with, to even read these sites.

  • http://tdhurst.com tyler hurst

    If we can make reservations online…why in the hell can we not cancel online?

  • Paulette

    Jasper: Simply referencing anything Seinfeld reduces the credibility of your arguments to nil.

    Did this person try to cancel online? Most hotel chains (Motel 6 being one exception) allow online cancellations at their primary Web site, some even for reservations not made online. And I’m not buying another poster’s argument about people who aren’t regular travelers not understanding the need for a cancellation number. You need a confirmation number to stay; it makes sense that you’ll need another number to stay away. This person was savvy enough to enlist a travel ombudsman, he/she should have known about needing a cancellation number.

  • Jim

    We have an interesting reversal of this situation.
    On November 22/08 we booked online and received a confirmation number from Advantage Rent a car for a car rental in Toronto in July 2009.
    Hertz bought out Advantage’s rights in April 2009.
    Hertz decided not to honor any of the bookings that Advantage already had in place and Advantage did not demand they honor those bookings.
    To top things off, nobody even had the consideration to let us know the reservation ceased to exist.

    Your confirmation/cancellation number means nothing!

  • RCP

    Some chains may keep the same confirmation/cancellation number. It is the event chain that tell you what occurred. If there are so many hotel haters on here, go buy an RV. Don’t rent it. You think you hated hotels, you will be beside yourself with RV rentals.

    If you do not have a cancellation number, you will not get refunded. Just like you will not get a refund without a receipt at any store in the world.

  • David Z

    If we can make reservations online…why in the hell can we not cancel online?

    Some do, albeit that depends on the vendor.

  • Carver

    @RCP

    Actually that statement is not close to being true. Many stores have policies and procedures for giving refunds if the customer doesn’t have a receipt.

    @Jasper

    I’m don’t disagree that the hotel is being as ass. My point is simply that a confirmation or cancellation number is powerful evidence for the traveller. Its akin to having a receipt. I can photoshop a receipt in 5 minutes, but unless I know what the store receipt looks like, no one will believe its veracity. A confirmation/cancellation number is the same. Unless you know the format, a fake one is pretty obvious.

    @Jim

    That’s a bit of an extreme and unique situation that’s hardly relevant. A confirmation number is proof you made the reservation. It says nothing about whether the travel provider will honor it. But its hardly useless in most cases.

    @Paulette.

    You don’t need a confirmation number. You get one, but if you show up without the confirmation number, you still get the room if all’s well.While it is logical that a cancellation number provides proof, like one poster said, not every chain provides a unique cancellation number.

  • Jenna

    So what happens if you ask for a cancellation number but tell you that they can’t give you one unless they’ve already charged your credit card?

    This happend to me. I have since sent the establishment an email asking for verification of my reservation cancellation in writing…and detailed who I spoke with and that she could not give me a cancellation number etc. I’m hoping at any rate, if I have to dispute the claim, I have some proof that I did try to cancel the reservation. Any other suggestions of what I should do?

  • Guy

    From the hoteliers point of view ?
    On our reservation is stated clearly : all cancelations should be done in writing and confirlmed by the hotel.
    But then how many guests read the confirmation they got for their booking ?

    People call us and get angry when you ask them politely to send a short message by mail, that will be answered

    People tend to forget that a booking is a legal contract.
    One party pays, the other party delivers.
    Any changes ? make it legal too ….

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