36 Times People Were So Infuriated By Canceled Reservations, They Had To Vent Online

Last-minute cancellations are high risk whenbookingrelatively anything—flights, accommodations, dinners, appointments, events, and even classes. Sometimes mistakes or circumstances beyond anyone’s control happen, and cancellations leave people high and dry. That’s just how life usually goes but this doesn’t mean that these instances aren’t highly infuriating or that they can’t occur due to the most ridiculous reasons.Below, ourBored Pandateam prepared a whole list of cancelled reservations that made people want to scream into the void. From services and facilities getting canceled due to double bookings to no explanations at all, scroll down to find the most infuriating situations people found themselves in when their plans got called off.While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out a conversation with Kari LeMay, traveler and founder ofAchieve Your Bucket List, and Tony Jefferson, traveler and founder ofTravelingSession.com, who kindly agreed to give us a few tips on how to deal with reservation cancellations.This post may includeaffiliate links.

Below, ourBored Pandateam prepared a whole list of cancelled reservations that made people want to scream into the void. From services and facilities getting canceled due to double bookings to no explanations at all, scroll down to find the most infuriating situations people found themselves in when their plans got called off.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out a conversation with Kari LeMay, traveler and founder ofAchieve Your Bucket List, and Tony Jefferson, traveler and founder ofTravelingSession.com, who kindly agreed to give us a few tips on how to deal with reservation cancellations.

This post may includeaffiliate links.

Incredible experience this morning. Reserved an Uber to the airport a day in advance. Stops half a block away and then kept speeding away when I would get close. At one point, he drove around the block and passed me while I was standing on the street… only to park in an alley way and insist that he couldn’t see me. I tracked him down in the alley way and decided to record. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised he sled off again when I got close.On top of all this, I got hit with $25 cancellation fee. I’m just going back to regular taxis.

Cars driving under a rusty bridge with trees in the background, reflecting an infuriating cancelled reservations scenario.

So I got scammed and went through the fraud team at my bank to cancel / reverse transactions. Police involved.One was for a foreign car company rental who I called and cancelled a booking after explaining.The cheek of sending me an email in broken English and trying to guilt me about their father!The hee hee to say was more than mildly infuriating.

Email about cancelled reservations with subject “Why cancel car?” and requests to reactivate payment.

It’s common to hear that customers are usually the ones canceling their bookings, not the other way around. That’s why many businesses have cancellation policies that protect them from losing money. Some can be refundable if a person is calling off their plans before a certain date, while others are non-refundable.

Tweet expressing frustration about cancelled reservations for a hotel that rebooked at a higher price.

Conversation showing infuriating cancelled reservations issue between guest and host over booking conflict.

Tweet expressing frustration over infuriating cancelled reservations due to hotel price gouging before a concert in Dublin.

For this, we reached out to Kari LeMay, traveler and founder ofAchieve Your Bucket List, and Tony Jefferson, traveler and founder ofTravelingSession.com, who had their fair share of bookings and agreed to give us the best tips on what to do when they get cancelled.“As world travelers, we have been very lucky to never have an accommodation cancel on us, but we’ve had more than our fair share of flights canceled with little warning,” said Kari to Bored Panda.“They always offer to rebook us, but sometimes it’s for 2-3 days later. When that doesn’t fit our itinerary, I’ve learned to be “pleasantly persistent” to get them to book us sooner. But if our itinerary has flexibility, then we ask them to put us up someplace nice to pass the time,” she tells us, sharing her trick to canceled flights.

“As world travelers, we have been very lucky to never have an accommodation cancel on us, but we’ve had more than our fair share of flights canceled with little warning,” said Kari to Bored Panda.

“They always offer to rebook us, but sometimes it’s for 2-3 days later. When that doesn’t fit our itinerary, I’ve learned to be “pleasantly persistent” to get them to book us sooner. But if our itinerary has flexibility, then we ask them to put us up someplace nice to pass the time,” she tells us, sharing her trick to canceled flights.

Airbnb support message about cancelled reservations and refund credits.

Message about long waits and high volumes, with 928-minute wait time leading to infuriating cancelled reservations.

Night view of a deserted parking lot under heavy rain, reflecting the mood of cancelled reservations.

Delta meal voucher issued due to a delay, related to cancelled reservations.

Airbnb support message addressing infuriating cancelled reservations, explaining policy on responsibility and updates.

Screenshot of a chat discussing a cancelled reservation with unexpected room readiness issues.

“When seeking refunds or compensation, I always try to work directly with the airline orhotel.However, if you booked through a third-party website or agent, you may need to contact them to request a refund. For airline tickets, purchasing refundable fares can simplify the refund process,” he advised.

Tweet about infuriating cancelled reservations, detailing lack of communication from Southwest Airlines during a meltdown.

Tweet expressing frustration over infuriating cancelled reservations at a hotel, alleging technical error for reselling.

We had a 4 bedroom lake front cottage booked for 10 people including 2 infants and a toddler for our annual family trip. We are flying in for this trip. Here’s the replacement they found us. No you’re not crazy, there is no house.

Outdoor campsite with picnic table, fire pit, and parked utility vehicle in a grassy area, illustrating cancelled reservations.

One of the most frequent reservations people make is booking accommodations. In fact, 235 hotel bookings are generated every minute, with it totaling 125 million a year. Their cancellation rate, including both hosts and customers, ranges from 18% to 42%.

Screenshot of a tweet describing an infuriating cancelled reservation experience on Airbnb.

Hilton Honors bag held by a hand, possibly related to cancelled reservations, with snacks inside.

Borgo Egnazia email informing customer of infuriating cancelled reservations for May 17th, offering support and solutions.

There are a variety of reasons why hotels cancel confirmed bookings, but it usually boils down to these three:

Expedia app showing notifications of cancelled reservations with details to view the itinerary.

As the title says, we are 6 weeks out and options for our trip are slim and all nearly 2x what we had booked this for over 2 months ago. If you are even thinking of selling your rental why have it up for bookings?!

Text screenshot about cancelled reservations due to property being sold, with apologies for the inconvenience.

Airbnb account removal dispute over infuriating cancelled reservations.

While Tony says that there’s no foolproof way to prevent reservation cancellations, to minimize the impact, he suggests that “booking early flights can increase your chances of getting rebooked on the same day if a cancellation occurs. Having extra funds available can also be beneficial in case you need to book with a different airline and handle the refund later. If you’re not in a rush, allowing the airline to manage the rebooking process can be the simplest option.”

Made a reservation on 7/29/24. The second after making the reservation I get an email from the hotel and booking.com that “the pool, the fitness center, and breakfast is closed until further notice.” I call booking.com they say to call the hotel the hotel agrees to refund me free of charge. Booking.com says after I got verbal confirmation that they need written confirmation. I put them on a 3 way call. Booking.com sends the email to the wrong email address. Holiday inn never gets it. I put them on a 3 way call as they’re processing the refund over the phone booking.com hangs up. It’s the day before the reservation … holiday inn processed the refund and booking.com is now sending me automated messages to “call the hotel and ask for a refund” when they already processed it and it’s booking.com who is charging me.

Email from Booking.com about reservation request amid infuriating cancelled reservations policy issues.