No refund for a canceled hotel in Mexico?
Expensive Travel TROUBLESHOOTER: I booked a week at the Senses Riviera Maya by Artisan in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, for spring split. The pandemic took place, and we experienced to terminate our trip. I contacted Expedia and it served me get a refund for my flights. But the hotel will not difficulty a refund. An Expedia representative said I ought to get a refund for the lodge, also. But the hotel will not give me my income again.
Apparently, my brother had reservations at the identical resort. The hotel refunded him. I tried to dispute the costs on my credit score card, but my bank sided with the hotel. Can you support me get my $844 again?
— Bernadette Cieslak, Hamilton, Ohio
Solution: If the hotel refunded your brother, it must also have refunded you. Basically, it really should have refunded any one who had to cancel for the reason that of COVID-19. On the day you had been meant to fly, the State Division issued a “do not travel” advisory, urging Individuals to keep home. You did the suitable thing by canceling.
Most accommodations provided a no-inquiries-questioned refund just after that, but some attempted to continue to keep their customers’ money. At a time like that, you can and need to lean on your journey agent to support. But even Expedia was possessing some difficulty persuading Senses Riviera Maya by Artisan to return your funds.
Why did the hotel refund your brother but not you? The response could lie in its present-day refund coverage. It provides the skill to terminate on sure (much more pricey) premiums but not on all of them. It’s doable that your brother experienced booked a distinct rate, which the resort viewed as refundable. I like your notion of a credit score card dispute and am sorry that didn’t operate. A credit card dispute is generally the previous resort for obtaining a refund. I’d say you ended up there. (By the way, I imagine it is time for you to come across a new credit rating card. Your bank is undoubtedly not on your aspect.)
You could have achieved out to an government at Expedia. I publish the names, figures and e-mail addresses of Expedia’s client support supervisors on my purchaser advocacy web page at www.elliott.org/enterprise-contacts. The upcoming time you make hotel reservations, I persuade you to fork out interest to the cancellation terms. If you believe you might have to call off your vacation, consider a journey coverage policy that will deal with your loss.
I contacted Expedia on your behalf. It arrived at out to the Senses Riviera Maya by Artisan. But the hotel still refused to return your cash. Expedia refunded your $844.
