What happens when an airline or hotel can’t provide a stay or flight you booked

07.09.2023 - 21:55 / thepointsguy.com

When you book a flight or reserve a hotel, you expect the airline or hotel to provide the services you booked. But sometimes, this doesn't happen.

Perhaps the airline changes its schedule to move your departure or arrival to a time that doesn't work for you. Or worse, the airline cancels the route you booked or ceases operating entirely. In these cases, the airline will usually move you to other flights or refund your money.

But what if you really needed the route and schedule you originally booked? If there's no good alternate on your carrier, you may need to get a refund and rebook with a competitor. However, on some routes, there may be no other options, or the other options may cost significantly more when you rebook.

And it's not just flights. Hotels sometimes close or switch to a different loyalty program. Sometimes, you'll be offered a stay for the same or a discounted cost. But in many cases, you'll just be refunded your deposit and left to rebook. Unfortunately, prices and availability may both be worse by the time you make a new reservation.

We've written stories about airline passenger rights during travel meltdowns, but here's a look at what to expect if your travel provider changes or cancels your reservation weeks or months before your trip.

Hotel bookings are most often affected when a property exits a loyalty program, closes or doesn't open (or reopen) as expected. When a hotel doesn't open as expected or ceases operations, all customers with existing bookings will usually be contacted and given a refund or an offer for alternate lodging. When a hotel exits a loyalty program, paid reservations will usually be honored. Sometimes, award reservations will also be honored, but you usually won't get any elite benefits or earnings you might have expected when booking.

If a hotel can't accommodate you at the last minute, you'll be walked from the hotel and usually offered another place to stay. Let's look at what some major hotel loyalty programs will do if the change or cancellation occurs well before your stay.

Marriott Bonvoy has an Ultimate Reservation Guarantee, but this only covers arrivals at a participating property that is open and operational but can't accommodate you. If a property leaves the program, the Marriott Bonvoy terms and conditions state:

The Hilton Honors terms and conditions don't discuss a reservation guarantee and only state the following about what happens when a property leaves the program:

Meanwhile, the World of Hyatt terms and conditions state the following (where a Point Property is defined as a participating property in an eligible Hyatt brand):

Finally, the terms of the IHG One Rewards program don't explicitly address this scenario, but the terms do reserve