tl;dr – A simple but effective way to possibly skip out on any cancellation penalties.
The other day, I was about to cancel a Bonvoy hotel reservation but noticed that I had (mistakenly) let the ‘no-penalty’ cancellation window lapse. As the reservation was less than a day away, if I cancelled, it was very likely I’d incur a penalty (charge to my credit card holding the room) if I proceeded.
There was still time before check-in so I pulled a late-in-the-game move and dialed up to the hotel to request my reservation be moved to another day. The hotel was happy to oblige, and in a few minutes, I had pushed my reservation back a week. Of course, I had no plans to stay at the hotel in a week’s time. Instead, having the reservation moved out enabled me to go into my account (the following day) and successfully cancel the newly-moved reservation without penalty.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, try dialling up the hotel and politely requesting that you move your reservation to another day (any day that would provide a refreshed cancellation window with no risk of penalty). Then, once the change is made, simply cancel the reservation.
