wetrat0

I doubt that escalating with AA will help at all-- they have put out their policy and it's pretty clear that they will let you reschedule travel to a later date but not to a different destination.

I have two pieces of advice:
1. It sounds like you booked a "vacation package", since you say it "included" a flight with American Airlines. Assuming this is true and that the flight was not booked directly through AA, your first call should be to the agency that booked the package. It's their responsibility to sort it ALL out, since part of the package (hotel) was canceled.

If this doesn't work...
2. I concur with zpaul and Phasers that credit card coverage is your next best bet. Those of us with lots of travel experience do not rely on travel providers in this kind of situation. I book all of my travel on a card that provides up to $10,000 per person in trip cancellation. One of the explicitly covered losses is "Severe weather that prevents the start or continuation a covered trip". Even if you do not have a "fancy" travel credit card, even many basic rewards cards offer some level of protection (for example with a lower limit). You may have this benefit on your credit card and not even know it!