Otel.com - Not Refunding Booking for Closed Hotel

L

lledlledlled

Registered User
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I booked a long weekend in Europe for a friend's wedding. The airline refund debacle is well documented elsewhere so we'll see how that pans out. Hotel is booked through Otel.com. Paid in full upfront, choosing the cheaper 'non-refundable' rate.

Am i not entitled to a refund now that the hotel is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions? I assume the intent of the 'non-refundable' rate is if i choose to cancel the booking, i lose out. But in this case, i can't stay at the hotel even if i want to! I would also assume that the hotel in question are not charging Otel.com for my stay, so the website are just pocketing my (and presumably others) money.

I keep getting automated emails from Otel.com reminding me about my upcoming trip and to print my voucher etc., even though the hotel is closed. Any of my friends who booked directly with the hotel received full refunds as soon as they asked for them. I've filled out enquiring forms (the only way to contact Otel.com!) four times now in the last three weeks, with no response.

My fear now is that operators like Otel.com may be keeping such monies in preparation of possible impending liquidation/bankruptcy due to the volume of cancellations this year. If they do stay afloat, they certainly aren't helping their reputation by not engaging with customers like this.

Is there anything i can do?
 
No, you can ask Mastercard to do a charge back.

I presume that there is a time limit, but I have never heard it raised.

Brendan
 

Ok, not good. There's a lot to be said for booking directly with hotels/airlines.

I suspect Otel.com will hide behind the 'we're so busy because of Covid' line to not respond to people, in the hope that many will just give up on their refunds.

From a legal standpoint, i must try dig out the T&C's of how they define a 'non-refundable' rate.
 
RedOnion said:
Not necessarily. You've generally got up to 180 days to do a chargeback.
But banks are looking for more & more details before they'll initiate a chargeback due to Covid-19.
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I'd have all of the details alright but booking was back in early October so well over the 180 days limit. I'm closer to 220 days.
 
lledlledlled said:
I'd have all of the details alright but booking was back in early October so well over the 180 days limit. I'm closer to 220 days.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I've clarified with someone (this isn't something I do for a living!).

Time limit with MasterCard is 120 days, but that's not from the date you paid. It can be from the date you expected to receive the goods / service, or the date you became aware of the issue, so you're ok from a time limit perspective.

However, some banks look for evidence that you've exhausted attempts to get a refund from the merchant first.
 

That's good to hear regarding the 120 days. The receipt of goods/service date has yet to come.

Just off the phone to KBC Transaction Disputes Team. They seem to think i have a strong case for a refund.
They will send me forms in the post. I need to fill them out, scan, and email back, along with any evidence i have such as original booking confirmation, and any subsequent attempts at correspondence with Otel.com in relation to requesting a refund. Appartantly, it would have been much more difficult to dispute if i had cancelled the booking with Otel.com.

Many thanks for the response as ever. I will post whenever it is resolved. Hopefully Otel.com have the decency to provide a refund themselves in the meantime.
 
I suppose Otel.com’s approach is to wait until the date has passed. Then you should be entitled to a refund as the good/service wasn’t delivered. On the off-chance the hotel opens on those dates, you lose your money.
 
On a slightly different scenario, this happened to me twice with a non-refundable booking but I'm not sure if I booked direct or not. In both cases I just contacted the hotel directly. they stated they didn't do refunds (fair nuff) but would allow me to change the dates. I changed both to late summer/autumn. Did you try contacting the hotel directly and asking (nicely) what their policy is ?
 

I've just had a similar scenario via booking.com - non-refundable booking made for a hotel in Jersey, the hotel have given me a voucher for the value of the booking to be used by October 2021. I could have re-booked with no penalty for this year, but I don't know what the state of play with the airlines will be. I contacted the hotel via the booking.com "assistant".
 

Is the hotel in Jersey due to be open or closed on your original travel dates? If closed, were you not entitled to a full refund rather than a voucher?
 
lledlledlled said:
Is the hotel in Jersey due to be open or closed on your original travel dates? If closed, were you not entitled to a full refund rather than a voucher?
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I asked for a refund with one because I got an email saying what the choices were, which included refund, but when I requested it they pointed out that it was non-refundable and gave me to option of rebooking.
 
Is the salient point that a refund should only be mandatory where they don’t deliver the service/product?

In advance of the relevant travel dates, the position remains uncertain.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Is the salient point that a refund should only be mandatory where they don’t deliver the service/product?

In advance of the relevant travel dates, the position remains uncertain.
Click to expand...

The travel date is tomorrow and the hotel remains closed. From Monday, the travel dates will have passed but i'd be surprised if Otel.com contact me with refund options.
 
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