Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
Was this on an award stay? I'm not convinced that hotels normally refund points if you leave early.
Some hotels have an early checkout fee of $25-50, usually applied if you don't advise the hotel around check in that you'll be leaving early. Otherwise, I don't know that there's a rule, but it would be decent to inform the hotel as soon as you know and not later than the length of the cancellation period.
Of course, there would be no refund on a prepaid stay unless you have a good reason (such as no heat or water, etc.) for leaving early.
It was a cash stay. I hadn't planned to leave early; I just really hated everything about that hotel. I saw that I could get the GH for a reasonable rate so I booked it on the app and told the PH I was checking out. So, there was no advance notice, because I didn't know in advance. I made the decision and was in a cab to the GH within an hour. I was not charged a fee to check out early and it was never mentioned (they didn't say that there was a fee but they were waiving it, or anything like that)
I'm not sure how this would work for award stays, or even if it would go this smoothly at other hotels (or even at the same hotel with different staff working). That was the first and last time I've ever done that (there was one other time that I also would have, at the GH in HK, but it was a very short stay (2 nights IIRC) and I figured it wasn't worth the hassle. Had it been a longer stay I definitely would have been gone after the first night)