The word “refundable” used to mean one thing. Now it means, “it depends.” (Illustration by Dustin Elliott)
🧾 What does refundable mean anymore? — William Farrer typed a hotel’s name into Google, clicked the first result and read terms promising the room was “refundable” for a limited period. Seconds after he hit confirm, a booking site emailed to tell him the limited period had already closed and his $3,228 was spent. What’s going on here?
On Backchannel, Celia Chavarria’s 45-minute connection in Denver turned into five hours, she missed the family event she flew to Colorado for, and United offered her 2,500 miles.
For Members Only: A proposed class action says McDonald’s has run a machine-learning pricing engine since 2019 that tells each restaurant how much its customers will tolerate. The company says its franchisees set menu prices and AI doesn’t. So who decides what your lunch costs? — Christopher Elliott
FEATURED ARTICLE
Refundable booking? You may not get all your money back
The travel industry is rewriting what the word “refundable” means, and the new definition comes with subtractions. Online agencies pass along a $30 distribution charge that stays nonrefundable even when the fare isn’t, then add service fees of their own on the way out. Small hotels now bill back the card-processing cost of sending your money home. So what does refundable even mean now?
OUR UNDERWRITER
Travel Leaders Group is transforming travel through its progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Travel Leaders Group assists millions of travelers through its leisure, business and network travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands, including All Aboard Travel, Andrew Harper Travel, Colletts Travel, Corporate Travel Services, CruCon Cruise Outlet, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, SinglesCruise.com, Travel Leaders Corporate, Travel Leaders Network and Tzell Travel Group, and its merger with ALTOUR. With more than 7,000 agency locations and 52,000 travel advisors, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry’s largest retail travel agency companies.
📌 Here’s what you missed this week
Catch up on the latest stories from the Elliott Report
Refundable booking? You may not get all your money back
William Farrer read terms promising a New Orleans hotel room was refundable for a limited period, then got an email seconds after booking saying the period had closed on his $3,228. Agencies now subtract a $30 distribution charge and their own cancellation fees from rates still advertised as refundable, and small hotels bill back the cost of sending the money home.
Are holiday flights too expensive?
Thanksgiving round trips average $402 and Christmas fares $452, both the highest in a decade. Jet fuel is up almost 70% this year, which is the industry’s explanation, but Delta’s chief executive told analysts in October that he sees limited resistance from passengers.
No, your pet doesn’t want to go on vacation with you
I’ve never heard a pet ask to go on vacation, and unless you’ve been taking hallucinogenic drugs, neither have you.
Is your hotel room safe? The mistake you’re making right now
Nala Fox left a balcony door cracked at a five-star resort in Negril, Jamaica, and woke from a nap to find her carry-on and passport gone, with the security desk telling her this sometimes happens. Hotel security consultants call the condition resort security amnesia, and it shows up in cloned key cards, key sleeves with the room number printed on them and balconies an intruder can cross at night.
Holland America canceled my cruise because of a pricing error. Can it do that?
Cindy Woodring booked a 10-day Zuiderdam sailing at $479 a person, applied a $200 credit and paid the $758 balance in full. Three days later Holland America called the fare a pricing error and billed her $1,530 more, then offered a complimentary stateroom upgrade to anyone willing to pay it.
Hells bells! How did these AC/DC tickets go from front stage to the worst seats in the house?
Jerry Auer paid $506 for AC/DC tickets at Notre Dame Stadium after StubHub’s seating chart showed Section 121 beside the stage, and the official venue map put those seats behind it. StubHub fixed the flipped map the day after he reported it, then used the corrected version to tell him he had bought precisely what he ordered.
Triple-stacking and high-low tracking: New strategies for preventing luggage loss
Virgin Australia scanned my son’s purple Peak Design rollaboard in Queenstown and again in Melbourne, then lost track of it for almost 48 hours. Travel experts now recommend stacking trackers on separate networks, adding a battery-free QR tag and photographing the 10-digit barcode on your bag tag at check-in.
OUR UNDERWRITER
Travelex Insurance Services is a leading travel insurance provider in the United States with over 55 years combined industry expertise of helping people dream, explore and travel with confidence. We offer comprehensive travel insurance plans with optional upgrades allowing travelers to customize the plans to fit their needs. Compare plans, get a quote and buy online at Travelexinsurance.com.
💬 What you’re saying on Backchannel
What do I deserve for a missed connection?
Celia Chavarria’s 45-minute connection in Denver stretched to five hours and several gate changes, and the agents she reached handed her a card with a QR code instead of rebooking her. She missed the family event in Colorado she had flown in for, and United offered 2,500 miles once she got home and filed a complaint. Is a used ticket really the end of the argument? Here’s our team’s advice on Backchannel.
OUR UNDERWRITER
TravelInsurance.com makes it fast and easy to compare and buy travel insurance online from top-rated providers. Our unbiased comparison engine allows travelers to read reviews, compare pricing and benefits and buy the right policy with a price guarantee, every time. Compare and buy travel insurance now at TravelInsurance.com.
Subscribe to Elliott Confidential PRO to read the rest.
Become a paying subscriber of Elliott Confidential to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content. You'll be a smarter traveler!
UpgradeA subscription gets you:
- Full access to our members-only content.
- The key to our private community on our Backchannel forum.
- All my books.