Same here- I can‘t even find the stated law.

Furthermore, the „local law“ exception has been added later or I just haven‘t seen it the day I cancelled via the hotline. The lady granted me a full cash refund within 90 days.

Too bad...

Marriott is the booking system and Marriott is a US company and so should be subject to US laws. The airline industry got a stern warning regarding trying to issue credits instead of refunds for canceled flights and impacts during waiver periods. Sounds like the same is needed to the hotel industry.

Totally unacceptable behavior to offer a credit for some future unknown travel and have your money tied up for an additional 18 months. I would continue to escalate with Marriott, and contact corporate customer relations. If you aren't getting anywhere, you can also contact Elliott Advocacy and see if they'll help with the situation, as they are very pro-consumer rights and this sounds like the type of thing they'd jump all over.

Greece Hotel will not return prepaid reservations for 18 months
 

So I just received the email for my Greece "prepaid rate." They are not refunding my money unless I am unable to get there in the next 18 months. We actually do want to rebook next year. Where I'm not happy about them holding my money, I guess I'll view it as a 10% return on my investment. And I can sympathize with the loss of revenue. Below is the email I received: "At Blue Palace we have always been committed to people and to the heritage of Crete, a place well known for its heartwarming hospitality and family values.Today more than ever, these core values give us guidance as we navigate the difficult events unfolding all over the world due to Covid-19. The safety and well-being of our guests and our people is at the center of our attention and an absolute priority.

We fully understand how recent events may have affected your life and influenced your preference not to continue with your plans to travel. The global travel community is trying, like everyone, to navigate this extraordinary situation. Faced with the unprecedented turn of events and in effort to ensure that any disruptions in businesses of the travel industry are minimized, the Greek state, as well as other EU countries, recently introduced legislation* directing businesses to issue vouchers for existing bookings.

OUR GUESTS ARE OUR PRIORITY Our company has complied with national legislation and issued such vouchers, the value of which is identical to the value of payments already made by our guests in relation to their bookings.

As a gesture of our appreciation we would like to offer you a choice of an extra benefit:

- Increase the face value of your voucher by 10%

- Earn 7.500Bonvoy points

- Earn2.500Frequent Flyer Miles with one of our preferred partners of your choice

Our official pricelist for 2020 will remain unchanged for 2021, until further notice, to give you more flexibility and ample time to plan your visit. If you do not redeem you voucher within 18 months, the amount of your original deposit (861€)will be returned at that time.

On behalf of all of us here at Blue Palace, I would like to personally extend a warm and sincere thank you in advance for your understanding and support. The entire industry is currently trying to adapt to the coordinated efforts of the Greek State to minimize further social disruptions. As much uncomfortable as we feel knowing that the new legislation may inconvenience our valued guests, we cannot emphasize enough that this is a collective call to also safeguard entire communities, particularly in Greece, whose primary source of income is tourism. We truly believe that this call brings us all together and want to thank you in advance for your solidarity.

We assure you that we will continue to strive for even higher level of services when regular travel possibilities resume. We are constantly monitoring protocols and instructions from Marriott Int., the Greek State and the World Health Organization and we will proactively comply with all procedures and guidelines. We very much look forward to giving you the warmest of welcomes in Crete when you are ready to travel and show you the Greece we love! To claim your voucher and preferred value add, kindly contact our reservation department to assist you at [email protected]"

Wow that is a pretty insulting 'offer' for the 7500 points or 2500 miles. Those would cost the hotel on the order of 10s of dollars. Absurd that they are refusing to refund and instead keeping your money for 18 months. Things like this should be elevated to media level and publicized so that Marriott takes negative press for it.

In the U.S., the airline industry is regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT). There is no federal agency such as DOT with similar jurisdiction over hotels.

Be wary of 90 cash refunds. After 90 days, you can no longer file a credit card dispute.

Don't forget their official pricelist for 2020 will also remain unchanged for 2021. How nice of them to not raise rates during an economic downturn. :)

I just cancelled (yesterday) a prepaid reservation for May at the Hotel de Berri in Paris and I got a nice note today from the hotel assuring me: "reservation xxx have been cancelled without penalty. The credit of your deposit is being processed for refund."

So I am quite pleased.

Also interested to see how this plays out - I have a June Reservation at Romanos, Costa Navarino which will have to cancel

I have had a similar situation with the Westin Grand Berlin for a 5-night reservation in July. I called the Marriott Bonvoy US reservation number this past week and they said I could cancel and they would refund within 90 days (which was also stated on my cancellation email). Two days later, I received an email from the hotel stating:"I have to tell you that the reservation is a prepaid rate and therefore not possible to be cancelled free of charge anymore. In the case of a cancellation we would charge a cancellation fee of 90%. However, to avoid the loss of money we’re offering to postpone you reservation to a later date before March 31st, 2021. We would then transfer the already made deposit to the new reservation and use it as a credit."

I then emailed the link to the Marriott policy (and quoted that policy) and noted that my cancellation from Marriott even stated I'd get a refund in 90 days. Their subsequent response from the hotel in Berlin was:

"we are following the contracted terms and conditions as the actual situation is completely out of our influence too. Making travel arrangements belongs to a personal risk. Due to a different owner and licensee structure we are forced to charge cancellation fees with no exception. Certainly we are again pleased to show our flexibility during these challenging times and therefore we offer to change this reservation to a future date and transfer the deposit that was already made. "

Next step is to contact Marriott US reservations again and see what they have to say. But, I expect a corporate policy to apply to the brand (why do we buy branded hotel rooms?). And, this hotel doesn't fall under the specific situations that the policy exempted.

Frustrating, but I will continue to pursue.

This right here. What is the point of booking a Marriott hotel if all of these hotels are trying to weasel out of the policy?

Refundable Deposit not so refundable
 

I have had a similar experience with Domes of Elounda. I had booked a 4 night stay with a refundable room. We were able to cancel with no penalty within 30 days of arrival. We canceled well within that time frame. The hotel did take a deposit for the amount of the stay ahead of time. We had 8 reservations across Greece, Italy and the UK yet this was the only hotel that refuses to release our deposit. We contacted the hotel were they said they were not releasing deposits at this time...that we could use the money as a voucher and an increase of 20% at any time in 2020 or 2021. Only after 18 months following our supposed time of visit would we receive a refund. God only knows who owns this hotel by then, but I'm guessing they will be bankrupt. I cannot believe Marriott is allowing them to get away with this. I have written the hotel several times and Marriott several times with little satisfaction. Any suggestions on how to elevate this further? This is a completely appalling breach of contract and I have lost complete faith in Marriott as a company for allowing this to occur. I booked this through Marriott to begin with.

Update - now they're saying policy doesn't apply to franchise properties
 

I just got this message from Elounda (vie the Marriot customer service Twitter account):

I pointed out that the published Marriott COVID19 policy does not contain a clause that excludes franchise properties. No response so far...

That's absurd. It has been Marriott's policy not to own any properties if possible. Almost all Marriott properties are franchises.

Absolutely Terry. Marriott operates an asset light, franchise model. To hide behind this is ridiculous. How am I supposed to differentiate between their properties when I book through Marriott which ones are truly refundable and which ones I am dependent on some two bit Greek operator that can breach a contract? This has class action lawsuit written all over it.