FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Reservation Cancellation Policies (General Discussion)

Sep 4, 2017 | 3:25 pm

#10

LPCJr

Join Date: Dec 2004

Location: PHL

Programs: Marriott LTT, Amtrak Select, Hertz 5*, AA Gold, IHG Plat, National Exec

Posts: 1,314

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horace

It's amazing that Marriott.com continues to use ambiguous, confusing wording. How hard would it be for Marriott.com to replace the ambiguous wording with something that leaves no doubt about the cancellation deadline?

Marriott started the new cacellation policy on June 15, 2017. It applies to most of Marriott's brands, including most of the brands from the Starwood acquisition.

If you make an online reservation for brands from Starwood, such as Sheraton and Westin (still using the old Starwood Hotels online reservation system), the cancellation policy is absolutely clear. The cancellation policy identifies the exact date and time of the deadline, such as this for a reservation beginning October 12, 2016:

CANCELLATION POLICY
If you cancel between Mon, 04 Sep 2017 and 6:00 PM hotel time on Tue, 10 Oct 2017, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 6:00 PM hotel time on Tue, 10 Oct 2017, the forfeiture amount will be a 1 night stay. There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.

There's no need to guess what "until 2 day[s] before arrival" means. Until what time? The beginning of the day (such as 12:01 a.m.)? The end of the day (such as 11:59 p.m.)? Or some some sort of "normal" check-in time (such as 4:00 p.m or 6:00 p.m.). Or maybe the guest-selected "expected arrival time" specified on the reservation?

This. Despite the fact that some folks feel that the Marriott policy is clear, I think the wording just leaves a great deal of room for potential interpretation and thus argument. Why not have a policy that defines a specific point in time? I don't think that anyone would dispute that 6:00 PM hotel time on October 10 means 6:00 PM in the time zone in which the hotel is located, on whatever day is October 10 in said time zone. Very clear. As a customer, I would appreciate that kind of clarity.

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