The government of India has discontinued all international and domestic travel to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid growing cases in the country. As a result of travel disruptions on a global scale, holiday companies are scrambling to reschedule their customers’ bookings, while airlines are offering refunds or flight vouchers for later dates. We have covered details around flight cancellations and refund policies.
Here, we talk through your options if your hotel booking is cancelled or if you need to cancel the hotel booking yourself, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
If you are seeking a refund from your accommodation provider, ask them directly before attempting to get compensation from your travel insurer.
When am I entitled to compensation?
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has announced that in case insurers have issued travel insurance policies which were/are valid until 30 April 2020, an option may be provided to the policyholders to defer the date of travel without any additional charge.
If you did not buy travel insurance to cover your hotel booking, it will be a case of contacting the hotel or travel agency you booked with to discuss a refund. If your hotel or travel agent won’t provide a refund or flexible options, call your travel insurance provider to discuss your options.
You may be able to get a refund for your trip cancellation on the basis of COVID-19. Every policy is different, so read the small print. If there is no mention of pandemics or epidemics in the list of things included under cancellation, then there’s a chance that your losses from not travelling will not be covered.
The top insurers in India are covering international trip delay or cancellation claims if the policy was bought before the official travel ban was announced due to COVID-19. For example, ICICI Lombard has announced it will pay claims for food and lodging expenses in case the trip is delayed abroad due to cancellation or re-scheduling of flights due to COVID-19.
Hotel cancellation policies
Even in normal circumstances, big hotel chains often let you cancel your reservation or reschedule your booking for a future date, generally provided that you give 24 or 48 hours’ notice. However, most big chains are now offering COVID-19-related extended cancellation policies, the details of which can be found on each hotel group’s website.
For example, luxury hotel chain Taj has announced that hotels under the Taj, Vivanta, SeleQtions, amã Stays & Trails and Ginger brands are waiving individual cancellation fees for stays through 30 April 2020. Guests must cancel the booking or contact the hotel at least 24 hours before their stay dates for the waiver. ITC Hotels, which owns brands such as Fortune Select and Welcomhotel, has also announced the same policy. Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, along with allowing cancellations with no penalties till the same period, has declared that it is flexible with all new reservations and has instituted a policy that allows travellers to cancel their reservation at any time. If you have paid booking deposits, you may choose to either hold them with the hotel for future travel until 31 December 2020 or ask for a refund.
Small-business holiday homes tend to be less flexible than chains in terms of chosen cancellation policies, but in these unprecedented circumstances some family-run businesses are showing more flexibility in order to allow customers to rebook for a future date.
Can I get a refund for my accommodation?
This can depend on whether you’ve booked directly or via an online travel agency. All travel agents have their own cancellation policies, so if you’ve booked with an agency you’ll need to contact them directly to find out whether you’re entitled to a refund.
If you’ve used Booking.com, check whether you selected accommodation with a good cancellation policy. Some bookings can be cancelled free of charge at any time, while others are completely non-refundable.
However, the company has issued a Coronavirus Cancellation Policy to property owners, saying that customer cancellation fees should be waived for bookings affected by the COVID-19 restrictions, and will be covered by Booking.com.
Similarly, Airbnb properties have a range of cancellation policies, ranging from flexible – which offers free cancellation until 14 days before check-in – to super strict, where guests get a 50% refund provided they cancel 60 days before check-in. However, the company has created an extenuating circumstances policy due to the current COVID-19 situation.
Reservations made on or before 14 March 2020, with a check-in date between 14 March 2020 and 31 May 2020, can be cancelled before check-in and guests will be able to choose between travel credit or a full cash refund. However, for reservations made on or before 14 March 2020, with a check-in date after 31 May 2020, the host’s cancellation policy with apply.
This page was last updated on 10 April 2020. To our knowledge, the information on this page was correct at the time of publication. However, given the nature of the COVID-19 crisis, information will vary by location and change at short notice and over time. We will do our best to keep this page up-to-date, however this cannot be guaranteed.
This page has been created for general guidance only and has not been designed for you or any specific circumstances relevant to you. It is highly recommended that you check your government’s latest travel advice before travelling or making any decisions to travel.
