Hotel Cancellations During the Pandemic

What To Do

You might have questions regarding your next hotel room stay during the coronavirus pandemic. Are people even checking into hotels right now? Is it safe to stay there? What do I need to know before I go?

But before you get to any of that, make sure you're aware of the basics – including how to cancel (or book) your hotel room if you're wary of traveling or can't get there because of travel restrictions because of the pandemic.

If you have a hotel or short-term rental booked for this summer or are planning to book, first check your hotel's cancellation policies. If you prepaid for your room, is it eligible for a refund or rebooking? If so, for how far out? Remember that if you booked through a third-party site, you may have to abide by their rules.

Keep checking your hotel website if the date you booked isn't eligible for a refund just yet as the hospitality industry has been updating cancellation policies frequently because of the pandemic. Airbnb, for example, recently extended the eligibility for certain guests to seek refunds.