GentleGiant

This is what the notification in the app says.

Hotels vary on their cancellation time. So the wording is there to cover these oddities on purpose.

I would rather say cancel by 24 hours before check in, than assume it is 11.59pm local time as you might be too late then if you have not checked. Most people do not check!

wizla

The deadline is usually 11-59pm the day before.

DC9

So, just wondering if anyone has actually ever experienced a Hilton-family hotel that expects cancellations at 2.00pm or 3.00pm? I have not heard of this possible scenario until posted above.

My experience is that a cancel-by date/time is part of the conditions and is quite clearly stated (e.g., by 11.59pm on ..........)

SST

OP here. HUCA works again..... called the diamond desk again this morning. They understood that I was requesting a refund for a cash reservation booked last Feb, before COVID, which was scheduled after 9/30. After putting me on hold for a few minutes, they advised that it would be refunded in full within 30 days. Clearly, the previous agent was incompetent. I note that my call which prompted this post was in fact my THIRD call to Hilton trying to resolve this, AND I’d received the “cancellations are only possible for reservations up till 9/30” twice before, so the incompetent agent was not unique.

Schwann

Has anyone else noticed the en masse return of prepaid/non-refundable rates being loaded into Hilton.com? Seem to have popped up across several different countries that I have searched in as of late.

In all honesty IMO, it is asking for trouble.. maybe other than in the US market where domestic travel is returning to normal. But there will still be people that book them and wonder why it all goes wrong!

lcylocal

Yes noticed them in the U.K. too.

Hotels clearly in a bind with people cancelling accommodation last minute/holding multiple reservations etc. Plus accommodation is very scarce in some areas now for the school
summer holidays and rates correspondingly high. So I see the motivation in having an incentive not to cancel.

The flip side is increasing number of people being pinged by the Test and Trace app and/or testing positive as rates go back up which I feel is the biggest risk to any plans I’m making at the moment.

ChinaShrek

This is where travel insurance would come in handy. For an extra amount ($5-$10 per night), insurance could be added to the cost of the pre-paid reservation. The buyer would be able to get all or part of their payment back if they test positive.

Schwann

For the places I've been searching the cost of flexible bookings is around that cost extra anyway.

hugolover

This means BRG become even easier. Just remember to do it by phone first.

nldogbert

This discussion brings me to the discussion - why did Hilton changed their policy and reintroduced these non-refundable rates. The situation around the world is still so fluid (borders closing, govt requirements to enter, etc changing week to week), they should have if they did not want to keep their Hilton Dream Away rates to something semi-flex like cancel up to 3 days instead of the old non-refundable rate from day 1 of making the booking.
I can understand the need to give some assurance to hotel operators, however if they don't play the game properly - ie.allowing cancellation with a logical reason - Hilton should play the bigger role here.
Just because in the US things are slightly more certain, this does not mean the whole world is in the same situation without any border controls.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers!