[wdr1]

> All bookings in popular places or on popular dates are NON REFUNDABLE. As in "click and you will never see any of this money again" non-refundable. Very non-refundable. If I have to cancel, I lose all my money.

The Atlantic recently wrote on how hotel policies have changed, with many no longer allowing free cancellations.

Why Hotel-Room Cancellations Disappeared

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/11/hotel-room-ca...

TL;DR: Hotel aggregators (e.g. Booking.com, Expedia) adopted a "cancel-rebook" strategy, where the aggregators would monitor hotel prices & rebook if the price dropped.

[jwr]

I think the "cancel-rebook" explanation is a red herring. Yes, it might have been a factor, but that's easily fixed by having a cancellation fee. Reservations being totally non-refundable at any date or time are an entirely different matter and it's a power grab.

Also, I tried booking directly with the hotel networks several times recently, in most cases non-refundable was all they offered, or the option of refundable was so much more expensive that it bordered on ridiculous.