Fairmont Mayakoba won’t refund

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:-Talk to your credit card company
-See if you can push your reservation out X weeks/months, once the situation has settled you may be inclined to go or they might also let you cancel later
-Post on SM tagging them, I bet fairmont corp would be interested to know they are doing this
-Charge back using the travel advisory

Why try to blast them for following their rules? Op's risky vacation planning is on her.

[Anonymous]

To those saying use travel insurance or the credit card insurance - there is usually carve outs for terrorism, acts of war, etc, so I wouldn’t count on anything here being covered.

[Anonymous]

That's life OP. I had booked a hotel to visit my kid in one of the cities that now shutdown by the blizzard. I cancelled the reservation but having prepaid I'm not entitled to a refund. I wish I could get the money back, but sometimes you lose. I'd rather lose some money than get caught up in a cartel war.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To those saying use travel insurance or the credit card insurance - there is usually carve outs for terrorism, acts of war, etc, so I wouldn’t count on anything here being covered.

That's precisely why I would want to get insurance (for terrorism, war, and other events that are unforseeable) so for the insurance company to carve out these instances is insanity. What am I paying for?

And aren't there some other insurance policies that cover "change your mind" situations but charge you more for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depending on what credit card you used to book it, it may be insured.

This. Or move your dates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's life OP. I had booked a hotel to visit my kid in one of the cities that now shutdown by the blizzard. I cancelled the reservation but having prepaid I'm not entitled to a refund. I wish I could get the money back, but sometimes you lose. I'd rather lose some money than get caught up in a cartel war.

A consumer-friendly hotel would make it right. Our flight to HI was delayed by a day and the hotel agreed not to charge us the first night. We had insurance that would have covered the charge, but it was easier and nicer for the hotel to just be considerate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't go. No fear of sunk costs is going to cause me to put my family at risk.

This. We have never gone there and likely never Will. Risks have been too high for our tolerance for many years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are supposed to stay at Fairmont Mayakoba later this week. The hotel says nothing is wrong at the hotel, so they won’t refund.

Any thoughts on how to deal with this? We are not inclined to bring our two kids to Mexico at this point.

It wasn’t a good idea when you booked either. Oh well, now you know.

I agree. My family refuses to travel anywhere in Mexico for any reason bc of cartels. Our friends think we are insane and frequently travel to all the tourist hotspots all over Mexico. They rave about the gorgeous resorts etc. Not worth it to me.

You were insane. Prior to yesterday, the cartels did not mess with you if you did not mess with them. It was perfectly safe for the average tourist. However, things have changed now. Tourists might become collateral targets.

There have been travel advisories for Mexico for years. This is the advisory issued in August of last year (before yesterday):
Level: 4 - Do not travel to states of Colima; Guerrero; Michoacan; Sinaloa; Tamaulipas; Zacatecas
Level: 3 - Reconsider travel: Baja California; Chiapas; Chihuahua; Guanajuato; Jalisco; Morelos; Sonora

There are only two states where "exercise normal caution" is the advisory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To those saying use travel insurance or the credit card insurance - there is usually carve outs for terrorism, acts of war, etc, so I wouldn’t count on anything here being covered.

You can get cancel for any reason. It costs more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's life OP. I had booked a hotel to visit my kid in one of the cities that now shutdown by the blizzard. I cancelled the reservation but having prepaid I'm not entitled to a refund. I wish I could get the money back, but sometimes you lose. I'd rather lose some money than get caught up in a cartel war.

A consumer-friendly hotel would make it right. Our flight to HI was delayed by a day and the hotel agreed not to charge us the first night. We had insurance that would have covered the charge, but it was easier and nicer for the hotel to just be considerate.

That's different, it wasn't their fault. OP is just now deciding not to go on a vacation because she doesn't want to. There was no terrorism in Cancun, she's just too scared. Guess what I was too scared years ago and wouldn't have booked. This is exactly why they have a policy like this because a luxury hotel can't sell a room a week before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a pretty good travel card (Chase sapphire) and I don’t think they would cover this. It doesn’t meet the criteria.

That's what I was thinking too- seems like they would have needed the type of travel insurance where you can trulu cancel for any reason but that tends to be pretty expensive and not what most people get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:News flash: Mexico is dangerous! Cartels vie for power with a generally inept, corrupt, and ineffective government. Who knew?

So it’s like DC and Chicago?

I think the difference is if you know those cities well you know which areas to avoid. Tourists blindly going to a resort in a country they don't know well are assuming a lot of risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are supposed to stay at Fairmont Mayakoba later this week. The hotel says nothing is wrong at the hotel, so they won’t refund.

Any thoughts on how to deal with this? We are not inclined to bring our two kids to Mexico at this point.

It wasn’t a good idea when you booked either. Oh well, now you know.

I agree. My family refuses to travel anywhere in Mexico for any reason bc of cartels. Our friends think we are insane and frequently travel to all the tourist hotspots all over Mexico. They rave about the gorgeous resorts etc. Not worth it to me.

+1
My dh’s company actually doesn’t allow travel to Mexico, and they are pretty risk tolerant ( he’s travelled to Ukraine a few times in the last couple of years)

[Anonymous]

I'm a Accor Live member with the hotel group that includes the Fairmont hotels. I'm currently at the gold level. Are you a member? They have a dedicated phone line. But if you reserved the prepaid less expensive rate I don't think you can cancel and get your money back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a pretty good travel card (Chase sapphire) and I don’t think they would cover this. It doesn’t meet the criteria.

That's what I was thinking too- seems like they would have needed the type of travel insurance where you can trulu cancel for any reason but that tends to be pretty expensive and not what most people get.

After covid everyone should get that.