Hilton joins Marriott with stricter 48 hour cancellation policy
Hilton will join Marriott International by imposing a stricter cancellation policy on room bookings at the end of this month.
Starting July 31, customers are required to cancel at least two days ahead of check-in or be hit with a full price one-night charge.
Last month Marriott imposed the 48-hour rule for bookings at most of its brands.
The policy will be rolled out at all Hilton owned hotels in North America while franchised hotels may opt out if they wish.
The industry says the practice of booking up rooms, only to cancel when a last minute deal becomes available means too many rooms go unsold.
Last-minute cancellations in particular have prevented rooms from being made available to our guests," Hilton told the New York Times.
"The industry is trying to figure out or to develop a strategy where customers remain loyal to the brand and are dissuaded from looking for better options later in the game," said Scott Berman, hospitality and leisure group leader at PwC.
Still, it is going to hit the lucrative corporate market most, where last minute changes and delays are part of life for road warriors.
"Typically, for corporate travelers, they require a degree of flexibility with their travel," said John Lyons, vice president and general manager for the global client group at American Express Global Business Travel.
"A hotel chain that’s amending its policy to cancel 48 hours out could be problematic. That reduces their flexibility. It could potentially increase their costs."
Industry experts believe other hotel groups will likely follow suit with tighter cut-off times to cancel free of charge.
Meanwhile a Business Travel Coalition poll this week said 59% of travel managers would likely move business away from Marriott hotels due to its policy.
The survey polled more than 200 travel managers and travel-management company executives globally.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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