How to Cancel Hotel Reservations on Booking.com and Get a Refund

By: Fatima Turla

Booking.com is one of the most popular online platforms for people seeking hotels, hostels, or any other accommodation when they’re traveling. Due to its convenient and easy to understand booking style, a lot of travelers use this when they’re planning to go out of town.

However, if a sudden event happens or a circumstance that you can’t control (best example is the COVID-19 issue that’s happening now) and you don’t have the choice but to cancel your booking, you’ll be left with the question “How to cancel hotels reservation on booking.com?”. Good thing is that it’s not really difficult to do that. In this article, we’ll tell you how you can cancel your reservation on booking.com.

Annie Spratt

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Step-by-Step Guide on How to Cancel Reservation on Booking.com 

The cancellation via email only suits you in case you changed your mind within the permitted period.

Step 1: Remember that when you book accommodation on Booking.com, you’ll get a confirmation email. In this email, you’ll see a button “Cancel Booking”.

Step 2: Click that button.

Step 3: You will be redirected to the page with the details of your booking.

Step 4: At the bottom page, you’ll find the red button “Cancel Booking.” Just click it and your reservation will be canceled.

REMEMBER THESE:

• Always pay attention to the information written below the red button. It states the period of booking cancellation.
• You can only cancel the booking for free if you chose this option in advance.
• Booking.com usually offers “free cancellation”. Most of the time, the rooms with free cancellation are more pricey so always check the price when booking.
• Please be reminded that free cancellation can be made at least 2-3 days before the date of your check-in. Sometimes you need to do it even earlier. Different hotels have different conditions, so make sure you know them before reservation. If, however, you decided to cancel the booking one day before your check-in, the hotel will charge the fee from the card you entered when you made the reservation. The total you will be charged depends on the hotel and its terms.

If the booking cancellation suggests a fine, it will be charged from your bank card. The fine stands as a partial payment of your stay. The reason for this is because the sooner the date of your check-in, the owner of the hotel is more likely to be left with no guests. And that’s the purpose of the penalty.

Booking.com will notify you via email about the fine if they encounter some problems regarding charging the money from your card.

How to Cancel if There’s an Unforeseeable Circumstance

Step 1: Just write a formal letter to the hotel. It must include the following:

• The reason for cancellation;
• Why you can’t pay the fine;
• Also mention that you really love the hotel and that you’re planning on staying there one day;
• It must be written in English;
• Send your email to the hotel’s email address.

Step 2: Expect to receive a reply in a few days. In case you receive a recommendation to cancel the reservation on Booking.com, it means that, unfortunately, you’re offered to follow the standard procedure and that you should pay the penalty fee.

If this happens, you can write another email. But this time, you must write a more detailed one:

• Describe your situation;
• Highlight that you will not stay in the hotel and that you don’t have enough money to pay the penalty fee.
• Ask the hotel politely to contact Booking.com to cancel the reservation without the fine.
• Again, don’t forget to mention that that kind of hotel will be quickly booked by other people. Just be friendly and positive!

Please remember that before you reserve accommodation on Booking.com, always read the terms and conditions that they have since it depends on the hotel’s cancellation policy. No worries as the cancellation process in Booking.com is smooth!

About the Writer

Hi there! I’m Fatima. My first major travel was in 2016 in the beautiful city of Cebu. After that, I got interested in traveling. Now I enjoy learning languages and other country’s cultures. My goal is to visit at least one country each year and to share my experiences with other people through writing or blogging. Witness my journey by following me on Instagram.

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