Hotel refund: when you're owed one, and how to get it

You are owed a hotel refund when you cancel inside the free cancellation window, when the hotel cannot give you the room you paid for, or when the price charged is not the total price that was advertised. A non-refundable rate is exactly that by default, but hotels waive it more often than people expect, and your card gives you a second route if the hotel does not deliver. This guide covers each case, the deadlines that matter, and the exact message to send.

On this page

• The hotel refund rules in one table
• Refundable bookings: cancel before the deadline
• Can you get a refund on a non-refundable hotel room?
• When the hotel does not deliver what you paid for
• Booked through Booking.com, Expedia or Hotels.com?
• Hotel refund through your credit card
• Hotel refund request template
• How long does a hotel refund take?
• FAQ

The hotel refund rules in one table

No federal law forces a US hotel to refund a canceled stay. What you get depends on the rate you booked, the hotel's policy, and whether the hotel kept its side of the deal.

Your situation	What you are normally owed	Best route
Flexible rate, canceled before the deadline	Full refund, including any deposit	Cancel in writing, keep the confirmation
Flexible rate, canceled after the deadline	The penalty on your confirmation (often the first night) is kept; the rest comes back	Ask the hotel to waive; cite the reason
Non-refundable rate, change of plans	Nothing by default	Ask for a date change or credit; resell the room
Non-refundable rate, documented emergency or travel disruption	Nothing by default, but waivers are common	Email the hotel directly with proof
Hotel overbooked or room not available	Full refund of what you paid for nights not provided	Hotel first, then card dispute
Room materially not as advertised	Partial or full refund, hotel's discretion, then your card's	Complain on the spot, document, then dispute
Charged more than the advertised total price	The difference back	Cite the FTC fees rule, then dispute
Charged after you canceled correctly	Full refund	Card dispute with your cancellation confirmation

Refundable bookings: cancel before the deadline

A "free cancellation" rate means you can cancel at no cost up to a cut-off set by the property, shown on your confirmation as "cancel up to x days" or "cancel before a date and time" (Booking.com FAQ). Properties on that platform typically set the window one or two days before check-in (Booking.com partner policies). Chains set their own minimum: Marriott's standard is 11:59 pm local time two days before arrival (Marriott franchise notice). The penalty for missing the cut-off is set per hotel, usually a charge for the first night, so read your confirmation rather than assuming.

Three details catch people out:

• The deadline is in the hotel's local time, not yours. Check the time zone before you leave it to the last hour.
• Cancel in writing and keep the email. The cancellation number is what wins a card dispute later. Booking.com tells guests to contact the property if no cancellation email arrives within 24 hours.
• Deposits follow the same rule. Returned if you cancel inside the window, kept if you cancel after it.

Can you get a refund on a non-refundable hotel room?

Not as a right. A non-refundable rate is a trade: a lower price for giving up the option to cancel. Booking.com's FAQ is blunt: a fee applies if you cancel or change, and "changing your dates for non-refundable bookings isn't possible" through the platform. What you can do is ask, and how you ask matters.

What actually gets a non-refundable booking refunded

1. Call the hotel directly, not the brand's central number. The front desk or revenue manager can waive a penalty for their own property. A call center usually cannot.
2. Ask for a date change or a credit before you ask for cash. A hotel that will not refund will often move your stay or hold the value as a credit.
3. Give a documented reason. Serious illness, a death in the family, a canceled flight, a weather warning. Attach the document. Hotels waive penalties for documented disruption far more readily than for a change of mind.
4. Ask if the room can be resold. "If you resell the room for those dates, would you refund me?" Some hotels will agree, because they are not out of pocket.
5. Change the guest name. Many hotels and booking sites let you change the lead guest, so a friend or a resale service can take the room and pay you. Remove your card from the booking first.
6. Claim on travel insurance. Trip cancellation cover pays for the reasons listed in the policy. "Cancel for any reason" cover pays a percentage, and only if you bought it before the problem came up.

One tactic that goes round the internet is to move a non-refundable booking to a later date, then cancel inside the new window. Booking.com does not allow date changes on non-refundable rates, and a moved direct booking almost always keeps its terms. Do not plan around it.

When the hotel does not deliver what you paid for

This is the strongest position you can be in: the hotel took money for something it did not provide.

• Overbooked or "walked". You are owed everything you paid for the nights the hotel could not provide. Many hotels will also find you a comparable room elsewhere and cover the difference and the taxi, but that is a courtesy, not a law, so get it in writing before you leave the lobby.
• Room not as advertised. No working air conditioning, undisclosed construction noise, a lower room category than you paid for. Raise it at the desk immediately and ask for a fix or a move. If neither happens, photograph the problem, note the time and who you spoke to, and ask for a partial refund before you check out. Hotels rarely refund a full stay nobody complained about.
• Charged after a correct cancellation. That is a billing error, and the card route below handles it quickly.

The total price rule

Since 12 May 2025, the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR Part 464) requires US short-term lodging to be advertised at the total price, including mandatory resort and cleaning fees. The FTC's own example: a $199 nightly rate with a mandatory $39 resort fee must be advertised at the total; only government charges, shipping and optional extras may be left out (FTC FAQs on the fees rule). The rule does not cap fees or force refunds, but if your card is charged more than the total you were shown, ask for the difference back and cite the rule.

Booked through Booking.com, Expedia or Hotels.com?

The cancellation terms are the ones shown at booking. Two practical points:

• Cancel through the platform, not the hotel. The platform's record is what both sides work from, and you should get a cancellation email within 24 hours.
• Who holds your money decides who refunds it. If you paid the platform ("pay now"), the platform refunds. If you paid the hotel ("pay at property" or a hotel prepayment), the hotel refunds and the platform can only chase. Check which applies before you dispute, because disputing the wrong merchant wastes weeks.

If the hotel refuses, open a case with the platform with the same evidence. Platforms often refund from their own pocket after a hotel-side failure.

Hotel refund through your credit card

If the hotel will not pay what it owes, your card issuer can. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you two separate rights (CFPB: how to dispute a charge; California Attorney General: disputing a charge).

	Billing error	Claims and defenses (goods or services not as promised)
Use it when	Charged after canceling correctly, charged twice, charged the wrong amount, charged for a stay you did not take	Hotel did not provide the room or the stay was materially not as described, and the hotel refused to fix it
Deadline	Written notice within 60 days of the first statement showing the charge	Within one year of the first statement showing the charge
Conditions	None beyond the deadline	Over $50; seller in your state or within 100 miles of your billing address (issuers often waive this for online purchases); you tried to resolve it with the hotel first
What the issuer must do	Acknowledge within 30 days and investigate; remove the charge if you are right	Investigate; you can withhold the disputed, unpaid amount while it does

Send the dispute in writing, and not only by phone. Attach the booking confirmation, the cancellation email, your exchange with the hotel, and photos if the stay was the problem. Our guide to reasons to dispute a credit card charge has a letter you can adapt, and if you paid by debit card the rules are different, which we cover in can you dispute a debit card charge.

Do not report a refund dispute as fraud. It is a different process, it can get your card canceled, and it does not help your case.

Hotel refund request template

Email the hotel's own address, found on the property's website. One ask, one reason, one deadline.

Subject: Refund request, booking [confirmation number], [check-in date] to [check-out date]

Hello,

I booked [room type] at [hotel name] for [dates] under confirmation [number], paid [amount] on [date] by [card ending 1234].

[Pick one:]
- I canceled on [date] at [time], inside the free cancellation window, and have confirmation [number]. A charge of [amount] still appeared on [statement date]. Please refund it.
- On arrival the room was not provided / the room was materially different from the booking because [one sentence]. I raised this with [name] at [time] on [date]. Please refund [amount] for [nights or difference].
- I have to cancel because of [reason]; [document] is attached. I understand the rate is non-refundable and am asking you to waive the penalty, or to move the booking to [dates] or hold the value as a credit.

Please confirm the refund within 7 days. If I do not hear back by [date], I will raise it with [the booking platform] and my card issuer.

Thank you,
[Name]
[Phone]

If you want the longer form with the escalation steps built in, use our complaint letter template.

How long does a hotel refund take?

The hotel or platform releases the refund, then your bank posts it. Hotels rarely publish a figure, but the lodging platforms do: Airbnb tells guests to allow up to 15 business days for a refund to major credit and debit cards once it has been issued (Airbnb: when you'll get your refund), and card refunds from hotels move through the same networks. A pre-authorization hold (the amount frozen at check-in for incidentals) is not a refund at all; it drops off on its own once the hotel closes your folio, which Booking.com describes only as "after a certain period of time". If a refund you were promised has not appeared after 15 business days, ask the hotel for the refund reference and the date it was issued, then give that to your bank. If the hotel cannot produce one, it has not sent it, and that is your cue to file the card dispute while you are still inside the 60-day window.

A worked example

This is an illustration, not a real case. You book two nights at $180 plus $30 tax per night on a flexible rate, $420 total, cancelable until 48 hours before check-in. You cancel 70 hours out and receive a cancellation number, so the full $420 should come back. Two weeks later your statement shows a $210 charge: one night's room and tax, the late-cancellation penalty printed on your confirmation. Because you canceled inside the window, that is a billing error. You email the hotel with the cancellation number and send your card issuer a written dispute within 60 days of the statement date. The issuer must acknowledge within 30 days, and with your cancellation confirmation in hand the charge comes off. Had you canceled 40 hours out, the $210 penalty would stand, and your only route would be to ask the hotel to waive it.

Leaving a prepaid stay early is a different sum. Our prorated refund calculator works out what the unused nights are worth.

FAQ

Can a hotel refuse a refund?

Yes, if its published terms allow it: a non-refundable rate, or a late cancellation under a flexible rate. A hotel cannot keep money for a room it failed to provide, or charge more than the total price it advertised, and if it does, your card issuer can reverse the charge under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

How do I get a refund on a non-refundable hotel room?

Call the property directly, give a documented reason, and ask first for a date change or credit, then a refund if the room will be resold. Changing the guest name to someone who will take the room is the other reliable route. Booking.com will not change dates on non-refundable rates, so the hotel itself is the lever.

What is the deadline to dispute a hotel charge with my credit card?

For a billing error, such as a charge after a correct cancellation, send written notice within 60 days of the first statement showing it. For a stay that was not provided or not as described, the claims and defenses right runs for one year, needs the charge to be over $50, and requires that you tried to resolve it with the hotel first.

Do resort fees have to be included in the hotel price?

In the United States, yes. Since 12 May 2025 the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees requires short-term lodging to be advertised at the total price including mandatory resort and cleaning fees, with only government charges and optional extras left out. If your bill is higher than the advertised total, ask for the difference back and cite the rule.

Who refunds me if I booked through Expedia or Booking.com?

Whoever took your payment. If you paid the platform at booking, the platform issues the refund. If you paid the hotel, the hotel does, and the platform can only chase it. Cancel through the platform so the record is clear, and ask which party holds your money before you open a card dispute.

How long does a hotel refund take to show on my card?

Allow up to 15 business days after the hotel or platform issues it, which is the figure Airbnb publishes for major credit and debit cards. If nothing has appeared by then, ask the hotel for the refund reference and the date it was sent. If it cannot give you one, the refund was never issued, and you should file a written card dispute while you are still inside the 60-day window.