Stupid Hotel Etiquette Question
 

If you reserve for 3 nights but leave after 2, hotels in Italy/France are not going to get stinky and try to charge you.

Right?

I think it would depend on each hotel's cancellation policy and how busy they are. Find out before you go if you expect to do this.

It will also sometimes depend upon with whom you booked the reservation if you didn't go directly through the hotel. (People have complained a booking service has refused refunds despite the hotel giving a refund to the booking service.) If they (the hotel or booking service)have a 48 hr cancellation policy, it should be fine as long as you give them 48 hrs. notice (ie when you arrive). You can't expect a hotel to release you from a "contract" with no notice although they may if they're very busy.

I personally think they should charge you. Afterall they held the room for you. What if on your 2nd day of a 3 day stay they told you to leave to make room for someone else. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Hi Matt,

You will probably find that your agreement with the hotel contains a statement that "if you do not cancel prior to X days, you will be charged for one night".

Thus, leaving one day early will cost you one night's fee.

Generally, if you guarantee a room and you fail to cancel it -- usually 4 to 6pm on the day of arrival -- you will be charged anywhere from one night up to all nights you've reserved. For the most part business hotels tend to charge one night and resorts tend to charge the entire stay or some large fraction.

For me it's a one way street: if they want my business, they need to accommodate my flexible schedule . . . at least on business. Or else I won't stay there again . . . GARYNFLA's comment is nutty (sorry GARYNFLA, no offense meant . . . hotels better be a little more accommodating than you suggest.)

I often book for 3 then stay only 2 and I have yet to be charged for the 3rd night. However, I tell them at least 24 hours in advance.

"I tell them at least 24 hours in advance."

I found that to be the key in most European countries.

Keep in mind that hotels don't make money if they don't fill a room. They might be turning people away who could fill that room, and then if you decide that you don't want it the third night, they might not be able to fill it. They lose money. Check their cancellation policy and assume that they will hold you to your word.

Here's a different slant to the problem. We booked four nights, months ahead of time for the Munich Le Meridien hotel at a great rate. Then we rented an apartment for a week in Garmisch, which means that we have double booked our last night in Garmisch which is also our first night in Munich. When I called and also tryed to email Le Meridien to cancel the first night, but keep the other three they have informed me that I can't do that. Because I booked on the internet, all they can do is cancel the entire booking and rebook for three nights instead of the original four --but at a new rate which will cost me more for one night less! My reservation clearly states that I can cancel up to 6 PM on the day of arrival, so I"m hoping I can wait until that day, cancel the first night and still have my other three nights at the original rate. Here I am, trying to help them out by giving a long advance notice of cancelling, but they won't cooperate. I guess they prefer the last minute cancellation.

Personally if I was the hotel owner or manager I would charge you for 3 nights up front in full. If I knew I could fill the room the third night I would give you a refund for the third night and would expect a tip. IMHO.

Snoopy, I don't agree with you obviously! A business deal is a business deal. I understand situations do change but when you ask a "stupid question" meaning you are pre-arranging to bail-out on a pre-arranged business agreement and expect the business to possibly loose dollars due to ones un-descicive travel plans is more "nutty" than the question asked, but not nearly as "nutty" as your reply.. Hello???? Not all answers will be in favor of the travelers. I am a Business Manager for a milti millon dollar company and tend to look at the angle of "all persons concerned". Perhaps so should you....

P.S. Snoopy when you book for 3 nights and bail out on 2,you deny some of us the availabilty to book because you booked for 3 nites and only stay one. I guess that's nutty also. I guess using your sense on rationality,that is ok? I am assuming you are only interested in what is good for you and could care less about the people ypu bailed out on that may be trying to provide a living for their families. I guess according to you, that is ok as long as you got what you want??? Gimme a break!!!!

Just to show that there is another "nutty" traveler out here, I agree with Garynfla.

I ran into the same problem as Patrick (sort of). We booked a room in Vollendam for 3 nights, but discovered that we needed to push the trip ahead(?) one day so we could meet up with a student in Germany. But we would have to cancel and remake, and we were afraid to do that. So we stayed one night in Amsterdam, then went to Vollendam and told them we would only be staying 2 nights (they didn't charge us). I don't know what else you can do when they make it so difficult to alter reservations. (We did call the hotel proper prior to our trip, but since the reservation was made on the net, they claimed they couldn't change it.)

I'm in the same bind for an upcoming trip. I messed up the day/month thing and intend to leave on May 3, but my reservations show through May 5. I have finally decided to do nothing, figuring I would run into the same situation. At any rate, I will be cancelling the last two days almost a week before.

Should I at least try to call the hotel directly?

LVSue--what is the hotel's cancellation policy for the type of reservation you made?

I enjoyed this thread. I think it proves that posters can have an interesting disagreement with some vehemence about a travel subject (not a political one) and even a smart remark or two in spite of registration. I was beginning to miss the old non registered free for all.

As an attorney and businessman, I think if you reserve three nights and don't tell them you are cutting out the third, you should pay. Depends on the policies of the hotel, and if you advise them well in advance, preferably when you initially make the reservation, you may have to leave early. Otherwise, they hold it open for you and don't sell to another, and rely on your honesty and ethics for this is the way they make a living. It also reflects on you and our culture and is simply good manners, which works in every culture.

I have cut short stays at hotels without being charged, at 24 hrs notice.
The usual reason was that I didnt like the hotel.
Although it would be bad form to cynically overbook, and while I can understand hotels wanting to charge for this, we need to be able to protect ourselves - hotels arent always what they seem whem booked.
On all occasions the reaction was friendly to neutral.

It's a contract issue. What does the policy of the hotel say? All hotels have policies which govern these things. Now, some hotels may be more accomodating depending upon the circumstances.

Now, I'm really curious about the consequences of my cancelling the first day of a four day stay on the expected day of arrival as I described above. Although my cancellation policy clearly states I can cancel up to 6 on the day of arrival, am I going to have a problem just cancelling the first day of the stay? Since Le Meridien won't let me cancel just the one day now and keep the other three at my original price, will the hotel let me do that at the last minute, since they won't let me do it in advance? Or will they insist then on cancelling the whole stay and rebooking the three nights at a much higher price? Incidentally, the rate I got was not for a four night stay, just a special website per night price.

Patrick
I wouldn't assume that when you cancel the first night that you will retain the same favorable rates on the remaining nights. I hope you do and wish you luck, but there may be other factors affecting the rate you got--weekend days vs weekends, minimum number of nights, rebooking fee, or any other arcane policies they may have.

As for the original question here,
I don't think it is "stinky" of a hotel to try and charge you if you don't comply with whatever their cancellation policy is, as long as they have disclosed it, even in fine print. It's inconvenient or disappointing, but not stinky imo.