The Destination wedding was canceled so where is the refund?

All the reasons why you can’t get a refund for your destination wedding

All Melanie Brown wanted was a refund for a destination wedding in Belize last summer. All she got was excuse after excuse after excuse.

It’s something else to keep in mind one year after the COVID-19 pandemic sank large segments of the travel industry. Salvaging your refund may mean navigating an excuse factory that hotels and other companies have hastily built to keep your money.

Brown’s experience is also instructive because it’s a map that shows you how to bypass these bogus reasons for pocketing your deposits — whether it’s a refund for a destination wedding or just a hard-earned vacation.

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Did this Sedona vacation home owner decide to charge extra cleaning fees because of a few dust bunnies -- in the desert?

How to avoid vacation rental cleaning fees? Do this before you check in

If you’re planning a vacation rental stay, you need to do one thing before you kick off your shoes and unpack — if you don’t want to end up with surprise cleaning fees. Grab your phone and start taking pictures.

Lots of pictures.

I speak from personal experience. I just checked out of a vacation rental and got broadsided with one of the most outrageous cleaning fee claims in my career. More on that in a minute.

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So how long does a refund really take during the pandemic?

How long does it take to get a refund during the pandemic?

Patty Eggen is upset — and she wants to know if she’s being too patient. She booked an Alaska cruise and canceled it many months ago. Her cruise fare refund from Norwegian arrived in early July. But her airfare refund from Alaska Airlines is still missing in action. And she’s wondering: How long does it take to get a refund during the pandemic?

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Here's how you can get a refund for your canceled vacation rental.

How can I get a refund for a canceled vacation rental?

When Marilyn Harrett called off her Hawaii vacation last spring, she thought she could get a refund for a canceled vacation rental. After all, her state was locked down and so was the Aloha State. There was no way she’d be able to make it to her rental in Maui.

Oh, and one more thing: She had an email from the vacation rental company promising her a refund. Slam dunk, right?

Wrong.

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He wants to cancel his Sandals trip. His wife just died!

Sandals will not let me cancel my trip. Can I give it away?

Last fall, Kent Schroeder and his wife were looking forward to spending their anniversary at a Sandals resort in Jamaica. Then tragedy struck and his wife unexpectedly died. But when he tried to cancel the Sandals trip, he encountered an unbending company policy that wouldn’t allow for a refund — even under the terrible circumstances.
 
But why wouldn’t Sandals allow the grieving widower to give the trip away to his daughter? That’s what Schroeder wants the Elliott Advocacy team to find out.