Hilton Worldwide said its trial of a $50 anytime cancelation fee at selected hotels will be scrapped.
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta admitted at a recent earnings call that ‘customers hated it.’
"We knew they would, but we did get some nuanced intelligence out of the experience," Nassetta said.
Hilton began imposing the $50 fee earlier this year for room cancelations anytime after a reservation is confirmed.
It was introduced in part to counter the activities of third party booking apps which offer to cancel and rebook a room if the price subsequently drops at a later time.
These apps help customers ‘game the system’ Hilton recently claimed.
Normal industry wide policy is to charge one night’s room rate plus tax if a customer cancels after midnight on the day prior to arrival.
Nassetta said the company is looking at a tiered approach to cancelations similar to those employed by airlines.
"I think there are 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 if you want total flexibility, there is a price for that."
