What can I do if a hotel charges me for late cancellation yet they sell the room to someone else?

A Sf hotel had a 72 hour cancellation policy. I cancelled 24 hours ahead and they told me that they would charge me. I called the day of and they had sold the room and were sold out. So they basically sold the room twice.

What can I do to recoup my money.

I work in a hotel. You can pretty much do nothing about it unless you are a member...such as if it is a Hilton and you are a Hilton Honors member, Marriott - Marriott Rewards cardholder. You can always call and speak to accounting or the GM. But if were aware of the policy, then kiss that money good bye! I know it sucks...I'm nice to my guests...I never charge for cancellations.

nothing. what is it about 72 hours that you don't understand?

What can you do to recoup your money? Nothing, you're SOL.

Its always part of a hotel's policy to charge for late cancellation and it is written in their regulations. They are still allowed to sell their rooms and charge you. So no luck for ya.

I think they can do that actually

If you cancel then you are charged. There is no way to reclaim your room or your money. Thats how hotels stay in business. Next time follow the rules and cancel before 72 hrs and you wont have to worry about charges.

If the hotel has a 72-hour cancellation policy, that means that if you cancel more than 72-hours before your check in, there won't be any cancellation charges (provided you haven't paid any amount yet, because some hotels would not refund if you have already paid) BUT if you cancel 72 hours or less (as in your case - 24 hours) then you must pay the cancellation charge.

Since you already cancelled, they have every right to sell the room which you did not avail. What you paid for was a cancellation charge, not a no-show charge (usually 100%). And even for no-shows, if a guest with a reservation does not check in within the required check in time, they can release the reservation and re-sell the room to walk ins.

There is some hope though. If in the case that the reason for cancellation was unavoidable, (like death, grave sickness or any other event that's not controllable by man) you can appeal to waive the cancellation charge. You'll just have to show proof like a death certificate, medical certificate, etc. You have to prove to them that the cancellation was not in your control. But if you just cancelled because you didn't feel like it, or you want to transfer to a different hotel, there's no escape for you.

But you already paid the cancellation charge right? They rarely give refunds. If you had a just cause, you should have told them immediately. Sorry about this, I just hope their cancellation charge wasn't 100%. At most, it should be a one-night cancellation charge. Just be careful next time.

You can try to appeal to you credit card Company, but I doubt that will do any good. The policy was disclosed and you were aware when the reservation was made.

It does not matter if they sold the room;there was a chance the room would have remained unsold with so little time left

I would suggest that you be very careful next time you reserve a room and cancel within the prescribed time frame.

You could sue them in San Francisco County's Small Claims Court. But I doubt you'd win.

Legally, they are completely within their rights to bump you for someone else and charge you. A - You told them you weren't coming (in effect, verbally voiding any obligation they had to hold the room for you) and B- You promised to give them at least 72 hours notice when you made the reservation (which you didn't do, therefore, violating the original contract).

all you can do is protest the charge with your credit card company. the hotel has the legal right to charge you a cacellation fee as well as resell the room if they can.

It's their right to do that.. You booked the room and entetred into contract with them.. Then you cancelled within the 72 hours they had on the contract..

You had cancelled and they had the right to charge you..

The fact they rented the room to somebody else was luck on their behalf and a bonus to them.. I'm sure they often get cancellations and are unable to rent out the room.

The reason hotels now charge this cancellation fee is too many rooms are getting cancelled..

It's happened to me and I don't mind.

It's really not something to get upset about and I suggest you arrange your life a bit better so you are not cancelling rooms!!

Have a nice day!!

everyone else is right... when you make the reservation and give your credit card info you are agreeing to the cancel policy.

heck you were lucky they are nice enough to give you 72 hours ... at disney and most of the places in florida it is a 5 day cancelation policy!

for about a year i was the billing person people called when they had disputes on their credit cards (same place where you would have to call) honestly SO many people try to play lets make a deal when it comes to things they know they did wrong, they have your money cut your losses and move on.

They don't have to pay you, but if you call and talk to their customer service they may let you out since they sold the room anyway, or maybe only charge you half. Be polite and contrite, it's worked 3 out of 4 times for me.

of course they can sell the room. they are not gonna leave it empty. you are paying because you made a reservation and that included adhering to the cancellation policy.

You cannot do anything to get your money back. If the hotel has a 72h cancellation policy and you go beyond this to cancel, they can charge you the maximum charge, and still check someone else into the same room.

Sorry, mate.

I don't believe they say if you pay the penalty they will hold the room empty. The penalty is for breaking the rules, not for keeping the room empty.

Sorry - seems unfair, but you lose.