philemer

We have a reunion to attend in Oct. and would rather stay at the GH than the reunion hotel (Residence Inn). The GH currently has a great non-refundable rate of $99 but my M-I-L, aged 95, is not in good health and it is possible we will have to cancel our trip.

Does anyone have a personal experience with Hyatt with getting a full refund if forced to cancel because of a serious illness?

Is it up to the hotel or corp. Hyatt?

joetro

Um that's why they offer those low rates ... Because you can't refund. If people abused this policy, these would disappear. You can't have it both ways.

philemer

I've read through this forum a lot and have found evidence of some folks being allowed to cancel for various reasons. I don't consider a "serious illness" as abuse.

JackE

One problem, sadly and pathetically, is that some guests will falsely claim this.

Don't roll the dice if you can't pay the price.

OsakaWino

It is up to the hotel. It helps a lot if you are a frequent guest at the hotel, because then they believe that your excuse is valid. It also helps if you're a Diamond. Another factor is how far in advance you cancel; if the hotel thinks it can still sell the room they can be more lenient.

But in the end, it is up to the hotel; Hyatt corp or GP might mediate for you, but it is the hotel that posts the charge and it is the hotel that makes the decision on refund.

You might try posting in the thread on the specific hotel and ask if any else has experience.

DCann

I'm sorry to hear that your MIL is not in good health but it's good that she seems well enough to make the trip in October at this point if all things stay equal. I would recommend you consider trip insurance given the circumstances and that would cover your cancellation. The small expenditure is warranted given the possibility that she might not remain able to go.

carnalismocc

A couple of years back I had booked an advanced purchase rate room at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue in Bellevue, WA. because my son had an appointment at the Seattle Children's Hospital. However, on our drive up there (normally a 2.5 to 3 hour drive), a massive snow storm hit the mountain pass and we had no choice but to turn around and return home.

While we were driving back, my wife called the hospital to inform them that we would be missing the appointment, and when we arrived back home, I figured I would call the hotel to let them know that we would not be arriving. I explained to them our situation and went ahead and asked if there was anything that could be done about the prepaid amount for the room. I fully understood the policies of such rates, and was not expecting a refund by any means, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. They put me on a hold for a couple of minutes, and came back and said that they would be happy to simply refund the amount to my credit card, and that they looked forward to welcoming us when we rescheduled my son's appointment.

Oh, and yes, we did stay at the hotel about a month later.

LIH Prem

The property.

If you think you might need to cancel, and it sounds like that's the exact situation, book a refundable rate.

-David

RhubarbPie

I had to cancel my reservation at Hyatt Kyoto a few weeks ago due to circumstances beyond my control and the hotel was very gracious and refunded my BRG rate. Perhaps they partially did it because the rate was ridiculously low due to BRG and they almost surely would be able to make way more if another guest booked. And if another guest did not book, the amount they were losing was so negligible.

As others have said however, it's up to the individual hotel.

Ancien Maestro

Glad it worked out, and the Hyatt hotel treated you like a valued customer!

For myself, a trip got delayed a day going out at another hotel chain.. Fairmont Orchid.. They were gracious to bump me a day ahead.. when I arrived, I extended my stay another 6 nights. I knew that the rate was refundable but they were gracious.

Nowadays, it may be false confidence, but I do book hotels on noncancellable rates, because my Amex has trip insurance. As hotels in Hawaii, where I often book ahead, is non-cancellable within 14 days or so, I have to rely on my cc insurance anyways. I use Amex gold which gives me double the points, but a bit less insurance than my platinum card which gives me 1.25 points per mile.

GUWonder

Hyatt hotels in the US have been very good to me about canceling bookings made with non-refundable rates when I had circumstances hit that were beyond my influence. This may not always work out the way we may wish -- especially in resort areas -- but for other properties in the US, it has worked out well for me with Hyatt.

With immediate relative's death or hospitalization, hotels in the US are reasonably sympathetic if you can find someone in a position to cancel the booking without a penalty and who has the willingness to do it. It is up to the hotel, however.

RTW1

You can always gamble... But why you would even think about booking a non-refundable rate when there is a chance you won't be able to make it is beyond me.

GUWonder

The OP may not even need to gamble. Deal with someone directly at the hotel itself to book the same kind of room at the same price with a notation that the non-refundable rate may be cancelled and refunded (if charged) were the relative to suffer a serious health complication or die.

OsakaWino

Yes, the OP could call the hotel and ask for an exception to the rate rules, but that is essentially begging for special treatment.

I too have benefited from cancellations beyond the deadline and no charge on non-refundable rates for circumstances out of my control, but at the time of the making the reservation I was always pretty close to 100% sure that I would complete the stay. If I thought there was more than a 10% chance that I would have to cancel, I would not select such a rate.

TerryK

It is up to the property.@:-) It was the property who charged you, not Hyatt Corp.

US properties are usually more sympathetic, especially if you are just making date changes. Some properties won't issue refund but will provide credit if you book a new reservation. Internationals are more by-the-book. Personally, I wouldn't book non-refundable rate unless I am 99% sure that I will use it.