Originally Posted by
UKtravelbear
I think you were very lucky. You could have easily ended up paying for two rooms.
What was the cancellation limit on the original booking?
From what you wrote I'd surmise that it was something like 4pm on the day of booking.
Not all hotels have that policy. I've just checked my spreadhseet and out of 6 points bookings only one has an on-the-day cancellation term. 4 have the day before and one has 2 days before.
yea. i was super lucky and this DP is very YMMV. but thats
only cuz of hotel policy and the very strong human element to my DP. but im basically showing there is no technical limitation via IHG systems which was very surprising. u just need to find super nice staff.
so if anyone runs into a future similar issue, just know the IHG systems can handle it, but the FD staff may totally not wanna do it. and will most likely throw their hotel policy book at u.
but as u noted, the cancellation policy will be different based on property. my stay had same day 3PM cancel. super helpful. but other locations in my area had 24hrs cancel policy. not too often i see 2 days before unless its dense city area. but as u go further away from downtown city centers, the pple and the hotel policy become more flexible. best are the rural areas where everything just feels super casual.
Originally Posted by
meijiem
Does the change-then-cancel method not work? Namely change the booking to a farther-out date, then cancel for a refund.
Anyway, I agree that was a very lucky outcome with the checked-in rebook!
well, yes, that would work but whats the point?
changes usually has same policy as cancel. meaning, if ur able to change then ur also able to cancel. i dont think ive ever seen something like cancel policy is 2 days before but change can be day of check in. that wouldnt make sense.
Originally Posted by
margarita girl
I want to know how many pts you saved to take that risk!
15k pts. not crazy but that could be a free nite.