hi there. as i mentioned in another thread, i am seriously considering hotel residence monge for our september stay (8 nights). i have exchanged a few emails directly with the woman at the hotel, and i asked for their cancellation policy. here is her response -

"Please note that we do ask for 15 days' cancellation notice to prevent any charges from being incurred. In the event that no prior notification is given, the cancellation charge will be equivalent to the cost of the three first nights' accommodation for each room reserved."

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while i am okay with the 15 day part (i'd prefer three days, but no biggie) - the being charged for three nights' accommodation if cancelling with less than three days seems a little excessive. from my experience with hotel booking, it is usually one night's stay...not three! having kids and senior-aged parents and in-laws, who knows when a trip may need to be cancelled or postponed at the last minute.

your thoughts?! thx

Hi xplors, I sure understand your concerns. Is it to late for you to purchase insurance to cover this in case you do have to cancel?

I'm not sure how you are reading this.

The way I read it is a follows:
If you give more than 15 days notice prior to arriving, there will be no penalty charge.

If you don't give them 15 days prior notice you will be charged 3 days for each room you've booked.
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I always make sure to have a 48 hour cancellation policy with no penalty.

We had a trip planned for 9/26/2001 and my wife refused to go.

After some prodding Iberia gave us a full refund in cash and I cancelled all of the hotels. The only charge I incurred was the tickets purchased for the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

We're going to Prague, Budapest, brugge and Amsterdam in a few weeks. i have free cancellation for 48 hours.

I think you can find a place with a better cancellation policy. If you're really set on this place, try negotiating with them, but do it all in e-mail.

At Accor hotels (Sofitel, Mercure, Novotel, Ibis, Etap hotel and Formule1)you can cancel on the same day (before 6 or 7pm) without penalty, Holiday inn as well and Envergure hotels (Bleu Marine, Kyriad Prestige, Kyriad and Campanile)

I interpret it like Myer does. 15 days is too strict for me; I like a little more leeway.

thanks for your responses. it seems we interpret the policy the same way, and that the general consensus is that i can find a more lenient cancellation policy. i agree, as i currently have bookings with palais bourbon and abotel prince albert.

that said, i really like everything ive read about hotel monge! perhaps i will try to negotiate via email, as suggested. i dont know that it will do any good, but it couldnt hurt. as far as cancellation insurance, we usually get it when booking all-inclusive trips to mexico and the caribbean, but with this trip we are flying on points...and if we have to cancel, we can use the points later for a (relatively) small penalty.

i'll keep you posted. and by the way, while i currently have two reservations and am considering hotel monge, i will make my final decision very soon. that will give the hotels more than three months to re-rent my room!

okay, so, i heard back from hotel monge, and they are inflexible with their cancellation policy. i will have to think long and hard as to whether it is worth it to have to pay 300 euros in the event we have to cancel our trip. im thinking no, at this point.

we are also booked at somerset bayswater, in london, the week before. i have been dealing with a booking company. when i was about to reserve, i was told i was required to pay the full amount up front (give my credit card details and i would be charged right away). i think not! i then asked if they can hold off charging my card until sept. 1st, and to my surprise, they said okay. of course i was very pleased with that. and, their cancellation policy is "10 GBP if cancelled within 3 days. 1 night's stay if cancelled with less than 3 days' notice". very reasonable.