Hilton Worldwide, which late last
year tested a $50 cancellation fee at some of its hotels, will consider a tiered
pricing structure in which guests who want cancellation flexibility would be
charged more, according to Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta.
While guests “hated” the fee,
Nassetta said, he cited the airline industry's success with charging more for a flexible ticket.
“What we want to do is make sure
that on behalf of ourselves and our owners that we're not tying up inventory
unnecessarily without customers having to take any risk or have any cost, but
we have to migrate a behavior from where it is to where we want it to be,”
Nassetta said during the company’s earnings call with
analysts last Friday. “And I think there's some really intelligent things that I think
you'll see us start to do later this year to start to move customers down that
journey of recognizing, yeah, if you want total flexibility, there is a price
for that.”
Hilton ran its cancellation fee
trial at two dozen hotels last November and December.
Both Hilton and Marriott
International addressed this issue in early 2015 by enacting a policy in
which guests who cancel reservations the same day as the scheduled stay are
charged for one night. Additionally, both hotel companies have looked to reduce
cancellations by offering discounts on prepaid, nonrefundable rooms at some hotels.