Negative Change Coming to Hilton Hotels

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If you find yourself changing travel plans last-minute, take a look at this latest change from Hilton!

Via One Mile at a Time, Hilton is making it cancellation policy more strict.  Starting July 31, 2017, travelers who book the flexible rate will need to cancel their reservation between 48 and 72 hours before check-in to avoid cancellation fees!

I’ll tell you what we know.

Hilton Cancellation Policy Change

Link:   Hilton Hotels

Hilton is tightening up its cancellation policies starting July 31, 2017!  You’ll soon have to cancel your hotel stay between 48 and 72 hours before check-in.

Folks pay a higher price for the convenience of cancelling their plans last-minute.  But now, that higher price will give you less freedom!

Many Hilton hotels currently have a very lenient cancellation policy.  For example, if you’re staying at the Hampton Inn Dayton, you’ll receive a full refund as long as you cancel by 6:00 pm the day of your stay.

However, if you book a stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Santa Monica, you already need to cancel 48 hours in advance.

As of now, Hilton cancellation policies are the same for both cash and award stays.

Last month, Marriott tightened up their cancellation policies.  So I took a quick look at a few other hotel chains and their cancellation policies.  And it turns out they aren’t much better!

Lots of hotels within each chain had different policies, but here’s what I found to be generally true:

• Choice – As strict as 4:00 pm the day before arrival
• Hyatt – As strict as 72 hours before arrival
• IHG – As strict as 6:00 pm the day before your stay
• Marriott – As strict as 3 days before arrival date
• Starwood – As strict as 2 days before your arrival date (various hours)
• Wyndham – As strict as 8 days before check-in for paid stays, and 24 hours before check-in for award nights

All cancellation policies (except Wyndham) are the same whether you’re booking refundable paid nights or award nights.

I found Choice, IHG, and Wyndham hotels to consistently be the most lenient, with lots of the hotels allowing folks to cancel their stay the day of arrival.  Generally, you’ll see a more rigid cancellation policy when you’re booking a more expensive hotel.

Always check the cancellation policy of the specific hotel you’re staying at to avoid any last-minute surprises!

What Does This Mean?

This new Hilton cancellation policy is only for hotels managed by Hilton.  Other independent or franchised hotels do NOT have to adopt this new policy.

Even so, it looks like hotel cancellation policies across the board are becoming more strict.  And as Hilton follows along, we might see more flexible hotel chains jump on the bandwagon, too!

If your travel plans are prone to last-minute changes, I recommend booking hotels with more forgiving cancellation policies, like Choice and IHG.

Bottom Line

Lousy news for folks who book flexible hotel rates for the freedom to change plans at the last minute!

Starting July 31, 2017, Hilton-managed hotels will have a more strict cancellation policy.  You’ll have to cancel your hotel room between 48 and 72 hours of check-in, depending on the hotel.

If your travel plans aren’t set in stone, consider staying at a hotel chain with a better cancellation policy, like Choice or IHG!

Will these new rules make you switch stays from Hilton to other chains?