sbtinme

Which, let's face it, represent perhaps 1% of leisure travel in the US and maybe 20% of biz travel.

UA-NYC

Yes - and those tix cost 3x-4x the amount of non-refundable tix...very different than hotel pricing

jb3t

Interesting, I wonder if this applies to all rates and SET numbers. For example, the government rate typically has a 6 PM cancellation policy. It's possible that this is negotiated.

After re-reading Lurker's post it appears not. Curious on govt rate though.

mahasamatman

It's in the OP.

I'm really surprised Starwood is handcuffing their properties by preventing them from offering a potential competitive advantage.

MSPeconomist

But what's the definition of negotiated contractual rates for this policy? Government? AAA? AARP? Senior rates? Or does this just mean corporate rates that have been negotiated individually by some particular company?

Dr. HFH

As pointed out upthread, that's really not the case. It's up to the hotel to put the charges through for the no-shows. Regulars at particular properties already get leeway and I have no doubt that that will continue, just as William mentioned.

Keyser

i agree....hotel bookings are the only ones i need to cancel at the last minute....

Starwood Lurker IV

As always, thank you everyone for your participation here. We would like to clarify this topic a bit more.

Contracted rates include any Corporate Rates where negotiations between Starwood+Company, or Hotel+Company have arrangements that include same-day cancellations as part of their contract. As jb3t mentioned, some Government rates include a same-day cancellation policy and some do not. Each potential scenario would need to be considered based solely on the type of rate for that reservation, and also if any additional Contract terms are included.

Also, even though this hasn’t been asked yet we would like to be clear that privately negotiated contracts where same-day cancellation policy was agreed to in the contract negotiation (such as weddings, conventions, meetings, etc) are still able to have same-day cancellations allowed.

If anyone is still confused what qualifies and what does not – please just reach out so we can best address your concerns.

Best regards,

Christopher Carman
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

MSPeconomist

So if someone books a rate online on spg.com that they are entitled to use, whether it be SET, AAA, AARP, senior, government, etc., can we assume that the cancellation conditions shown on line are correct and ignore the statement about the updated cancellation policy? However, would it also be correct to expect to see fewer such rates that permit cancellation on the day of arrival?

Starwood Lurker

I think you'll find that when this change goes into effect, the cancellation conditions that will be show online will be in line with the updated cancellation policy. Of course, if you feel there is a discrepancy that needs to be looked into, by all means, let us know.

I think that is going to be a definite side-effect of this change in policy. YMMV, however.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Football Fan

It seems too orchestrated. Marriott, Hilton, Starwood are all instituting this at the same time.

Competition authorities should look into this. Smells a lot like some of the industry giants have agreed on anti-competitive measures here.

Flews

I'm not too exercised about this. I suspect it may cost *wood some of my stays, because I do sometimes need to hold rooms in case I have to overnight, which I might have to cancel at the last minute if I don't. A bit irritating, butlots of other options out there.

Cheers,

3Cforme

It's not against the law to follow. U.S. antitrust law prohibits collusion, not marginal commonality.

czj48

Hey, it's a brilliant ploy.

Cheese off your small business customers, who are already paying you the highest business rates, and then get into a race to the bottom with Hilton and Marriott for customers bigger than you.

Super.

Football Fan

I am not claiming to be an expert on US antitrust law, but cancellation conditions are part of what makes a rate more or less competitive. They are an element just as the price.

Collusion: conduct in which two or more firms agree to reduce rivalry between them in order to enable one or both to exercise market power - I would say that this is clearly the case here. The question is if the explicit agreement can be proven. I think they all know that it would have been hard for just one of them to go through with this, so they must have agreed to do it, that's my assumption.

The issue in a collusion case is simply whether the collaboration among the competitors is likely to increase or decrease the output of the parties to the agreement. Quite clearly, more restrictive cancellation rates are going to increase the output of these three large hotel chains who, together, dominate a large section of the hotel market.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...on_course.html

Finally, yes, this will mostly hurt the small business owners who are already screwed because they don't get the corporate rates, although, if you take them all together, I am sure they make up a large portion of the business - but they have no lobby to get corporate rates. I am pretty sure that IBM or Microsoft or Accenture will not accept these new cancellation rules for their corporate rates.