Before booking a hotel room, we advise you to thoroughly read the cancellation, (pre)payment and no-show policy of the hotel. Hotel policies vary wildly. Read on to learn more about your consumer rights when something has gone wrong before or during your stay at a hotel.

Take your time when making a reservation
Most of the time, you can’t cancel a reservation for free, unless you choose to purchase the cancellation option (which can be more expensive). Don’t click “next” before making sure the information you entered is correct and the offer meets your needs.

Taxes included in the price
The hotel or broker must quote prices including all mandatory fees and taxes clearly and at the beginning of the booking process.

What additional options do you need?
In case you want to add additional services to your booking, e.g. breakfast, sauna, parking, check if they are included in the quoted price or if you need to pay extra for them.

Insurance? Check what it includes!
Think about what kind of insurance you need. Read the terms and conditions of the insurance policy before accepting it and avoid unnecessary insurance.

Read carefully
Often if you don’t want to add an additional service to your reservation, you have to “opt out” of it. It only takes a moment of inattention to guard against this, throughout the booking process check that the amount indicated at the beginning has not changed.

Insure yourself in evidence
During problems with the online booking process, screenshots will prove that your claim is legitimate.

Make sure 2 times!
Before clicking the “Book Now” button, check the data you entered carefully. Even just after you make a reservation, changing them will most likely incur a fee. Remember that your reservation may be binding even if you did not have to enter your credit card information.

Tourist fee
While you are there, the hotel may ask you to pay a tourist tax. Its amount may vary from place to place.

Ready to unwind and recharge, you go on your well-deserved holiday. But it soon turns out nothing is the way you’d imagined it to be. The food is bad, the room is dirty, or the waiters are far from friendly. If such things occur, you should take the right steps — that’s a prerequisite for receiving appropriate compensation.

Collect evidence
If you want to file a successful complaint, it is usually not enough to merely describe deficiencies. As a holidaymaker, you should collect evidence, preferably by shooting useful photos and videos that show the defects in their context (for example, photos of the entire bathroom — not just a single dirt spot that has been greatly enlarged).

Try and remedy the situation
Do you believe silence is golden? That is definitely not true when it comes to travel defects! You should report defects and inconveniences immediately and request remedy. Sometimes, the problem can be solved quickly — by recleaning the room, supplying missing amenities (such toilet paper, towels, or a hair dryer), or providing alternative accommodation. In such cases, you can still enjoy the holiday you have booked as expected.

Find your own solution (under certain circumstances)
If the hotel does not respond to your complaint, you may be able to find a solution yourself by looking for an alternative in a similar price segment. If, for example, the quality of the hotel’s food is far below par, you may want to dine elsewhere and claim back the money you paid for it from the hotel. Of course, you should pay attention to proportionality: if you have booked full board and the hotel food does not taste good, you can’t fill your stomach at a five-star restaurant that charges astronomical prices. You should make do with the local restaurant.

Make a complaint in writing
If you have made a complaint on the spot and the matter has not been resolved, you should try once more to find an out-of-court solution: after you have left the hotel, make a complaint in writing and demand a price reduction or compensation.

Do you think all you can do is hope for a successful police investigation, as that is the only way to get your stolen items back or receive compensation for damages? That is not necessarily true. In many European countries, landlords are liable for any damage to, destruction of, or theft of items the guest has brought into the accommodation establishment. This has been laid down in the Convention on the Liability of Hotel-keepers concerning the Property of their Guests. Please check if the country in question (in which the hotel where you have suffered the robbery is located) has ratified this European agreement.

There is no right of withdrawal for accommodation bookings and other leisure contracts if the service has to be provided at a certain time or within a certain period of time. If you cancel, you may have to pay a cancellation fee.