Can they charge me more than the room cost?

June 13, 2023 9:05 PM

I have a hotel reservation at a massive international chain. Due to medical emergency, I will not be able to make it, but the room is non-refundable. Representatives on the phone have reiterated this point. I am not objecting to this policy.

...therefore, can I use their "online check-in" function to check in, and thereby make sure they don't resell the room, without incurring an additional expense?

We're several days away from the intended room stay, and given their global reach I am strongly inclined to make sure that if they cannot refund me, they must therefore not be able to re-sell the room, and my idea is that checking in (and then not showing up due to medical emergency) will cause them to carry the empty room and just make the money I gave them, rather than my money plus someone else.

Thoughts? If you're going to argue that multinational hotel chains deserve more consideration than average citizens, don't bother, just go check out Reddit.

posted by aramaic to Travel & Transportation (19 answers total)

Response by poster: My apologies, I should have noted that I did not see any particular information regarding this situation in their T&C nor the FAQs.
posted by aramaic at 9:07 PM on June 13, 2023

This is called a ghost stay and people who churn airline points do it all the time. Some are successful in earning those points and others are not, so some chains may be doing some kind of cross check. Either way, you won't get in trouble for it, so go ahead.
posted by soelo at 9:22 PM on June 13, 2023 [8 favorites]

In my experience, online check-in is hit-or-miss. And individual properties have a surprising amount of discretion in how they handle their rooms and reservations. Hotels are kind of Wild West; each is kind of an independent operator despite how consolidated the industry is.

I assume you’ve talked to the desk at “your” hotel? They might be able to do things for you.
posted by mr_roboto at 9:27 PM on June 13, 2023 [5 favorites]

Could you perhaps re-schedule your stay instead? Is there any possibility that you would be visiting the area and would use the hotel room?
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 9:43 PM on June 13, 2023 [16 favorites]

I've had luck calling the hotel directly (this is with an international hotel chain) giving a health emergency as my reason for not being able to honor a non-refundable reservation. They've made courtesy cancellations for me with no fee/payment involved and just refunded my card.

I've also had confirmed reservations with guaranteed remote check-ins with the same chain (same hotel) and suddenly switch rooms after I selected them if I got there later than I said I would. They're pretty clear on their app that the remote check-in isn't a guarantee to that specific room, so you might want to keep that in mind. More than once I've had to go to the front desk and get a room key because the app didn't catch up with the room switch.
posted by dancinglamb at 10:40 PM on June 13, 2023 [11 favorites]

I'd worry that checking in might trigger some additional fees/taxes but not sure if there is a way to figure that out other than calling the hotel and asking. Last time I had a non-refundable hotel booking that I had pre-paid for and couldn't use due to circumstances, I transferred it to friends which felt better than it entirely going to waste.
posted by emd3737 at 11:25 PM on June 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

If they know you aren't there, they are extremely likely to sell your room, if they need it. I'd be surprised if they accept an online check in and yet never confirm if you are there or not.

If they don't need it, then maybe.
posted by tiny frying pan at 4:54 AM on June 14, 2023

I'd worry that checking in might trigger some additional fees/taxes

This was my first thought, too. The cancellation fee will just be the room rate, but if you check-in you’ll also end up paying state and local taxes which, if it’s a major tourism city, can be quite hefty.

Also, does the property have the dreaded “resort fee”?
posted by hwyengr at 5:21 AM on June 14, 2023

You don't actually have an assigned room at the hotel until you show up, remote check in or not. And they will know you're not there because they won't have made you a key card - - this stuff is all tracked now. Seeing as hotels will slighly overbook during peak times to make sure they don't have empty rooms, if there is an event or similar, they are quite likely to give away your spot that evening if you don't show, and there is no real way to prevent this. Also how would you be able to confirm that there is an empty room they could theoretically have had you use? I guess you could call the hotel and lie and say you're arriving very late at night, but that still won't guarantee anything.

If you object to them earning double on your room on principle, I second trying to appeal to a human to get your room refunded. If you booked through a third party, you'll have to go through them for the refund tho, since your money is at the third party and not the hotel yet.
posted by ananci at 5:23 AM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I can only speak for Hilton properties: I use the digital check in and enter my room using my phone and haven't used a physical key card or visited the front desk in years. My bill (beyond the prepayment) is always $0 - no additional fees or charges. It's possible the app or door lock reports to the hotel and will tell them that I never went in the room - I'm not at all sure about that end. They certainly have to keep the room open for the first night of the stay, although that goes for any room reservation at any hotel chain.
posted by ftm at 5:40 AM on June 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Failing the above: is there anyone you know who could use the room, such as a friend or relative in the area who could take a spontaneous "staycation"? Or even just show up to check in and out?
posted by jedicus at 6:07 AM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I think it comes down to: either the hotel will be full and they will re-sell "your" room unless they have evidence that you are actually there/coming, or the hotel will not be full and "your" room will be one of the empty rooms.

Maybe think of it less as "stopping the hotel from screwing you over" and more as "allowing another traveller to have a place to stay"?
posted by mskyle at 6:12 AM on June 14, 2023 [8 favorites]

I would second the suggestion to try rebooking; I've seen rates that prohibit cancelling but allow date changes. If that really isn't possible, then whether online check-in works depends on the hotel chain and the country. Some places there's a legal requirement to see or take a copy of an ID document so they can't fully process a check-in remotely.
posted by yangj08 at 6:14 AM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

n-thing calling the front desk and telling them "need to reschedule this non-refundable room due to medical emergency."

If you have any kind of status with their points/club/membership/whatever, it might be worth trying to call that number instead of the hotel directly, but telling a human being "medical emergency, super sorry, but I promise I'll come spend those dollars on a room at your location as soon as I can" may be more fruitful than fighting with the official on-line system.

(And if the [expletive deleted]s won't spot you for a medical emergency, mail me the name and we can boycott them together, forever.)
posted by adekllny at 6:41 AM on June 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

One potential outlier anecdote on a risk of doing this - a friend of mine did this as part of the points scheme listed above. A window was broken overnight and they were charged damages for it and the ensuring weather impacts to the unit.

It was eventually sorted out (I think it was a projectile of some sort from the outside) but it took months for the resolution to occur but they had to wait months for the charges to be reimbursed. The fact that they had checked in was held against them - they indicated they were there and agreed to the damages policy and "I wasn't in the room at the time" is a common enough excuse for hotels that they did not believe them.
posted by openhearted at 7:31 AM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I would double check first whether doing this makes you liable to pay for the entire number of nights. If it is just one night obviously a non-issue but i have had situations when someone i made a booking for, as part of my job, guest ended up being a no show and we were charged for the entire stay of three nights (initially - i managed to negotiate it down to one night. Guest did not care as we paid).
Check the booking confirmation or phone them.
posted by 15L06 at 7:50 AM on June 14, 2023

If you can reschedule the room for a later date, rather than cancel (say, a few months out) and then call them again in a few days to cancel it (because the new date is now inside the cancellation window)...this sometimes works.
posted by griffey at 8:48 AM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have never had any hotel give away my room, and we generally arrive late and often leave early (my shortest stay last year was 2.5 hours). So IMO, the chance they will truly resell your 'slot' is pretty low. So yeah, I'd so an online check-in, and hold the room. If you are feeling extra sneaky call a few times to re-verify your room and say you'll be there late.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:50 AM on June 14, 2023

I worked for Hilton for twenty years and ftm has it right as far as Hilton goes.
posted by oldnumberseven at 6:58 PM on June 14, 2023