Coronavirus Cancellation Policies for Hotel Chains

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Mar 9, 2020 | 2 comments

Just yesterday, we posted an article on the Coronavirus and all the US Airlines that have policies in place. While some of them (Delta Airlines) seem to by very customer focused, some of them (Spirit Airlines and Sun Country) are giving travelers a big middle finger. What about hotel chains? Hotels such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt all have varying policies depending on when you reserved, the rate you have, and how you booked. Let’s dive in to see how Coronavirus will affect your hotel stays.

If you’re concerned about your airline, you can also check out the list of US Airlines and their cancellation policies.

Accor Hotels

The parent company of such brands as Sofitel, Fairmont, Mercure, and more, has a plan in place for those travelers with reservations. If you booked directly with Accor via all.accor.com, the ALL app, global contact centre or directly with hotels you can modify or cancel their reservations by visiting all.accor.com and click “My bookings†(only for those who have reserved a flexible rate) or contact Accor’s global reservations centre.

Choice Hotels

No cancellation policy. If you’re stuck sleeping in a Choice Hotel, chances are you probably should have made another choice. 

Hilton Hotels and Resorts

Hilton has a fairly complex set of rules about your hotel reservations and cancellations for Coronavirus.

• For guests traveling to, through or from China with stays from January 23–March 31, 2020.
• For guests traveling to, through or from Italy with stays from February 24–March 31, 2020.
• For guests traveling to, through or from South Korea with stays from February 24–March 31, 2020.
• For guests traveling to, through or from Saudi Arabia with stays from February 27–March 31, 2020.

If you have any travel booked in the United States, all current cancellation policies still apply.

Hyatt Hotels

Very similar to the Hilton rules, Hyatt has a waiver in place for those residing overseas or traveling overseas. Even thought the Coronavirus is in more than just a few countries, Hyatt is still limiting it to these ones.

As a reminder, to provide additional flexibility to our guests with travel plans in countries with severe travel restrictions, Hyatt is waiving cancellation fees for stays through March 31, 2020 for the following:

• Guests residing in Greater China, South Korea, Japan and Italy with reservations at Hyatt hotels globally

• Guests with reservations at Hyatt hotels in Greater China, South Korea, Japan and Italy

Additionally, they’re adding a flexible cancellation policy for reservations. If you book between now and June 2020, even for an advanced purchase rate, they will extend a special exception.

• If you cancel a fully prepaid reservation you can earn 10,000 points in lieu of the stay to use at brands in the future.

Intercontinental Toronto CN Tower

IHG Hotels

The parent company of the Intercontinental Hotels and Holiday Inn brands has their own travel advisory policy. Much like the others, it currently ONLY affects China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Italy, and South Korea

Guests travelling to or from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, or the Taiwan region between January 23 and March 31, 2020; and to or from South Korea and Italy between February 28 and March 31, 2020, will be able to change or cancel a valid booking reservation made via the hotel directly, IHG.com, the IHG App, or the IHG Central Reservations Centre, without financial penalty. 

Marriott Hotels and Resorts

Since the Coronavirus is in more than just China, Marriott is taking the definition of “Asia” a little more broadly. They are currently waiving cancellation fees, through March 31st, at properties in:

• Asia Pacific: Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, French Polynesia, Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa
• Europe: Italy

Expect this to change soon as it expands to more places.

Radisson, courtesy of Magic of Miles

Radisson Hotels and Resorts

Once again, with a focus on Asia and Italy, Radisson also now adds in Japan and Iran to their mix.

Radisson Hotel Group continues to closely monitor the development of COVID-19. In response to the global epidemic, Radisson Hotel Group is extending its cancellation policy for the following reservations booked with a check-in date until 30 April 2020:

• Guests who have made room reservations in any of Radisson Hotel Group’s hotels in China, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Northern Italy and/or
• Guests originating from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Northern Italy to any of Radisson Hotel Group’s hotel globally

Cancellation is free of charge regardless of booking channel. Guests may contact hotels directly or use the online form.

For arrivals after April 30th, 2020 normal cancellation fees apply. The regular cancellation policy applies for all other countries.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts

Wyndham has not updated their policy since February, as they are only apparently only waiving reservations as of February 29th. Here’s to hoping someone gets their act together and makes updates.

Honorable Mention, Best Western

While there is no official policy on cancelling reservations, Best Western has decided to extend the elite status of all of their elite members until January 31st, 2022. Also, if your status dropped in 2019, they’re upping it back to where it was before the drop. Nicely done, BW, nicely done…!

Final Thoughts

It would seem that the majority of hotels are only waiving currently reservations to those countries in Asia and perhaps Italy (Iran for Radisson). I expect as the Coronavirus spreads to more countries, hotels will follow the airlines and do the right thing. Stay tuned for more information.