Hotel Booking, why cannot be cancelled?

Two days ago, consumer rights and interests protection committee of jiangsu province issued a report on the state of hotel unsubscribe, the results showed that 58.3% of consumers think "cannot be cancelled once hotel reservation is not reasonable, 57.8% of consumers in the process of hotel unsubscribe by fees.

"Cancel" reasonable?Calculating do not calculate overlord clause?In fact, the seemingly subject only the consumers and the hotel, actually in the middle also superposition many OTA, distributors, agents.

Chapter 1

Don't allow to cancel exactly is who?

Refuse to cancel the order, often is not a hotel.

"After the survey found that the hotel reservation cannot be cancelled" reason is more complicated, travel between electric business platform with the hotel may not be directly signed an agreement, but there is a third party agents, dealers, cause consumer opaque and asymmetric information."A third party not retreat" "excuse" to the top of the consumer encounters.Several level proxy overlay relationship between platform with the hotel, also let the consumer rights protection more difficult.

From the perspective of consumers, canceled orders for hotel, is the default behavior, need to undertake should only liquidated damages within a reasonable range.

For refund rules instead of chaos, giants consulting CEO Wei Changren had analysis thinks, in hotel sales link layers of agents added its own rules."Hotel sales links, each link of dealers can according to your own strategy change rule" back, Wei Changren, according to some platform can copy with hotel distributor agreement between direct to the user, also some platform on the distributor agreement to add more stringent rules.And consumers not privy to the OTA between platform and its upstream hotel operator or distributors such as the content of the agreement, therefore can only follow the platform's rules.

Chapter 2

"Cancel" reasonable?

There is no relevant regulations and requirements due to industry, also the lack of regulation and supervision, every hotel, agents, tourism electric business platform is set unsubscribe the rules for themselves.Tourism electric business platform, agents tend to minimize losses, unsubscribe condition is more severe, causing the appearance of the case such as "cancel".While the hotel want to consider to maintain the customer resources, unsubscribe relatively loose condition.

Businesses profit is understandable, but it is not "cancel" to become the reasonable reason.

"Consumer rights and interests of the People's Republic of China protects a law" regulation, the business operator shall not format terms, notice, statement, shop notices, etc, to eliminate or restrict consumer rights or mitigated punishment or be exempted from operator liability and liability for consumers and other unfair to consumers, unreasonable rules ".Disappear is protected appoint complaint department of jiangsu province, director of Fu Zheng said, "cannot be cancelled after booking hotel belongs to this kind of unfair format clauses, hotel, agents and travel electric business platform for all legal norms and constraints should be made for their actions, may not set" cancel ".

But there is also a lawyer said, under the current law, consumer can choose only afterwards relief, namely claim liquidated damages are too high, it has the certain difficulty for ordinary consumers, and program trival, so many people gave up.

Chapter 3

The solution of the problem, more than one way

Cannot be cancelled "clause, not overnight can cancel, but calls for the joint efforts of industry and policy.

Express unsubscribe rules and agent information, first of all, let consumers to know the specific housing reservation information, presence of agents in the middle, and comprehensive unsubscribe rules, etc., to further safeguard consumers' right to know and free choice.

Second, can not set "irrevocable" and other unfair format clauses.Room reservation after "cancel" is "out of consumer rights, eliminate operator responsibility, increase consumer responsibility" the unfair format clauses, hotel, agents and legal norms and behavior of platform were deal with their own legal constraints, may not set "cannot be cancelled.

To unified rules unsubscribe, encourage tourism electric business platform directly signed an agreement with the hotel, at the same time, will charge service fees and hotel accommodation costs difference between itself, further express charging items and unsubscribe.

Third, the platform should be perfect after-sales service, take the necessary measures within constraints platform operators illegal behavior infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of consumers.In the current widespread "hotel and the agent is not retreated back", the platform should also play a more active role, take the necessary measures constraint agent infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of consumer behavior, for the consumer complaints disputes, further improve the internal processing mechanism.