dyons

Hello Flyers:
My 9 AM flight UA 922 EWR-LHR departing EWR at 9 AM EST on March 6 (and arriving LHR that night) was cancelled owing to maintenance issues. UA booked me on the next available flight that day, UA 800 departing at 6:05 pm arriving the next day.

Unfortunately I had a hotel reservation in London at the Hilton (at an non-refundable advance purchase rate). Hilton refused to credit me for the night of the 6th despite my request to do so, as I said it was not my fault. I offered to provide them proof of the airlines' cancellation.

From your collective experiences, it is possible for me to ask UA to compensate me for that one night's charge?

If so, how do I go about it? When I called UA, they asked me to use the UA portal, but I cannot find a link.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

mahasamatman

It's always possible to ask, but I've never heard of anyone getting satisfaction.

This, however, would definitely make me avoid that hotel in the future (and I thank you for that public service). I don't think I've ever heard of a hotel that didn't offer flexibility for situations like this.

controller1

If you have not already done so, please go to the Hilton | HHonors Forum and post this in the hotel specific thread in order to warn others about this action from the hotel property.

Kacee

Concur.

When I had a similar issue last month, the Shangri-La Bangkok was quite gracious about changing my reservation and not charging me for the night I missed.

controller1

I will say they have all been in the US, but I have never been charged for the six+ times this has happened to me. I've always provided the flight number to the hotel and they have always been understanding.

ATXflyer

You might also ask the hotel if they were completely booked. If they had lots of rooms, they did not turn any one away because of your no show. Marriott is pretty good about this.

dyons

Thanks you. I have just done so.

PV_Premier

To contact UA, use the "contact us" link on the top right of the home page. From there you should reach a screen that allows you to link to a form to email. Include your hotel invoice as a PDF attachment. You won't get cash but you might get a voucher for a future discount on UA that's comparable to what you spent.

exerda

This is what trip insurance is for, if you choose to buy it. The airline is not going to reimburse you for non-refundable hotel nights.

villox

I believe many of the Chase cards also offer automatic protection for such situations.

Volga981

I think the logic might be the opposite. If the hotel is underbooked, then not charging for the room means that the hotel loses whole refund.

If, however, the hotel is overbooked, then releasing the room means that the hotel might avoid overbooking or might sell the room to another person.

However, I agree that in the OP situation at least a partial refund would mean a lot in terms of loyalty. Four years ago priceline refunded my room that I booked through "name your price" tool, and I appreciated that a lot; now I am more confident in booking on priceline (and do it all the time).

EmailKid

Some of us use pre-paid reservations. I've lost at least three of these in past couple of years due to UA's inability to get me to my destination in a timely manner

mahasamatman

But even so, most hotels will at least allow you to use the prepaid amount for a future reservation.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

The hotel is not responsible for your arrival when you buy a pre-paid stay. This is clearly part of the terms one signs when purchasing. On the other hand, the hotels that make allowances in such situations get my continued business vs those who don't.

Cost savings can be significant and still can be achieved if you miss one night of a multi-night stay. I once personally pre-paid a 2 week stay via a re-seller at a London hotel at 60% of the best price our corporate travel (AMEX) people could quote. Even if I lost a night, I (and my company) would have ended up 'way ahead, even if the hotel didn't make an allowance.

mahasamatman

Even fully refundable rates usually become non-refundable one day (or more) before the stay.