I'm posting this to alert Fodorites who travel with their dogs to a practice at a pet-friendly B&B in Lewes, Delaware called Lazy L at Willow Creek. We booked there for an overnight stay with our dog, and had to cancel 2-1/2 weeks before our booked date. When we did so, we were informed that they intended to charge our credit card a $50 cancellation fee. When I protested, I was told the cancellation fee was posted on their web site. I checked the site and, durn it, it was there. Somehow, I had mis-read it and thought the fee was applicable to less than two weeks' notice.

I have no idea what kind of place it is-- it sounded like a pleasant enough base for a two-day getaway with our old
dog-- but I think this fee is outrageous and I wanted to warn people about it who might be considering reserving there -- just in case you might have to cancel too.

Perhaps the better advice would have been to warn folks to understand the terms they agree to?

I don't think that the $50 charge is unreasonable.

This is a very small (only 5 rooms) B&B located in a small beach town.

I agree with Rich, your "alert" should be to read all of the terms before making your reservation.

I think $50 very little. You are not on firm footing at all IMHO, since the cancellation fee is posted. In my neck of the wood, cancellations at popular B&Bs less than 6 weeks out have a fee getting higher the closer to the date

- and if you were talking about Europe - you'd be facing at least a full night's room rate charged to your credit card.

I think this is entirely reasonable from all points of view.

I am not sure what you are warning people of. You did not see the cancellation fee. $50 is very reasonable, for such a small inn I would expect more.

OY! S/he's warning people about the fee. Simple. Why is every daggone post turning into a pi**ing contest lately?

LOL

The OP said "I think this fee is outrageous" - and it simply isn't . . . . .

While I agree with NewbE that things don't need to elevate to nastiness, I'm on the side of the others here.

I really do appreciate being warned of scams, places that don't live up to their reputation or price, etc.

But in this case, a poster mentioned that he/she didn't read the details about cancellation fees that were posted on the B&B's website.

I don't think that warrants a 'warning' in the sense that nothing illegal/immmoral/shocking took place.

But, ckwald, I do sympathize with you. I understand why B&B owners impose such fees (and I've seen many that charge an entire night's rate, and places that charge a fee even if they can successfully rebook the room--so that they aren't out any money)--but I don't like it either.
In fact, I personally tend to avoid staying at places with those kinds of fees unles I"m booking very last minute and am sure I'm positive I won't have to cancel

ckwalk, as others have said above, you must be very careful to know a place's cancellation policy before booking with them. B&Bs in particular are very strict about this as it is not that easy for them to re-book on short notice. I think you were lucky not to forfeit a full night's rate.

It is common for smaller privately owned hotels, B&Bs, and inns to have pretty stiff cancelation policies.

Yes $50 is cheap, most places charge for an entire night.

It's a legitimate thing to warn about, but the warning could be nore general, and not against this particular place.

Many of us are so used to booking at large hotels with a 24 hour hour cancellation policy that we forget that that's not the norm everywhere. Earlier this mnth, I did sit up and pay attention when I saw that the family owned resort at which I was about to book had a cancellation penalty, no matter how far in advance one cancels.

Ckwald, You also need to be careful about reading cancellation policies b/c some resort type hotels have different policies during high season/ vacations/ Christmas, etc - whereas sometimes they may be a 2 wk refund, at others it is longer and/or stiffer penalties.

I do agree with others however who have said, it would have been more considerate to title this something liek 'be careful of cancellation fees' as in, a reminder for us all to read them more carefully - vs. 'be careful booking here' - which , to me, more alludes to a place that said one thing but did another, or 'hid' a cancellation policy so you could barely find it - when then you tell us it was right there on their web site, so the B & B did nothing wrong to garner a 'be careful here' title -

it just seems to unnecessarily single this place out vs. a 'always review cancellation policies' post insead

I think people mention this to you only b/c we do appreciate appropriate warnings from fellow travelers, so we click on this expecting something newsworthy and instead it is only that you didn't check things out before booking.....if everyone posted those types of things as warnings the site would likely be deluged with travel errors on travelers parts !

Agree -

The warning should be

1) to read carefully before you book

2) to expect small B&Bs to have different cancellation policies than large chain hotels

What they're doing is normal for that type of property - not any sort of scam.

For sure, it's prudent to check the cancellation policy prior to booking.

I totally agree that the cancellation fee was NOT "outrageous", particularly since it was stated on the website.

Many properties in seasonal/resort areas have far stiffer cancellation properties.

Friends of ours booked a room at an inn on Nantucket for a "destination wedding". They wanted to stay only one night, but there were three-night minimums required all over for that weekend, and full prepayment was required. When the wedding was cancelled 20 days before, they ended up going anyway (with non-refundable airline tickets as well) and nearly froze to death - and that was in May!

I stand corrected and somewhat chastened. My point was to be aware of the fee, of which I was not aware through my own fault. Perhaps I did not express that clearly enough for some of you.

Frankly, I do not think that 2-1/2 weeks' notice of cancellation, especially for a 1 night weekday stay, puts a great hardship on a B&B in the low season. In addition, I have stayed at B&Bs all over the world over the course of many years of travel, and not encountered that policy anywhere else. Thus I will continue to think it is outrageous. Evidently I am in the minority on this board where that is concerned.

You posted the name of the place, and that's a very strong indication you're trying to warn people about this property. You don't need to name it if you're just warning people about fees in general.

Read THE VERY FIRST SENTENCE of your original post again.

Enough piling on really. I hardly think repeating yourselves is necessary. If someone has already said it, why keep repeating it?? I hardly think it will damage the Lazy L. If the goal is to offend ckwald, you win.