Start with the booking confirmation and the reservation’s own change and cancellation terms. They show which company handles your request, what deadline applies, and whether cancelling or changing the booking may cost you. For a flight cancelled or significantly changed by the airline, check disruption-refund rights separately from the rules for a voluntary change.
What to check before you request a change or cancellation
- Find the confirmation and reservation. Open the confirmation email or sign in to the online travel agency (OTA) account used to book. Check that the booking is confirmed, identify the airline or property, and note the booking reference and the channel the confirmation gives for changes or cancellations.
- Read the booking-specific terms. Look for whether the fare or room rate is refundable or changeable, the cancellation deadline and any stated time zone, fees, no-show terms, and the process for making a change. A change can involve both a fee and a difference in fare or rate; check the total cost before accepting it.
- Check who took payment. The confirmation may say whether the OTA or supplier handles payment. For a U.S. airline refund, the merchant of record shown on your payment statement can help identify who must issue it.
- Decide what outcome you are asking for. A voluntary cancellation or date change follows the booking terms. A supplier-initiated cancellation or significant flight change may involve separate passenger-rights options.
How to submit the request
- Use the manage-booking or customer-service instructions in the confirmation or OTA account. Do not assume that contacting the airline or hotel directly will amend a reservation made through an OTA.
- Review the proposed result before confirming: the replacement itinerary or dates, any fee or price difference, and whether you are being offered a refund, credit, voucher, or alternative.
- Save the request, any case number, the response, and the final cancellation or change confirmation. If you are entitled to a refund, keep records of the amount and payment method as well.
What changes the answer?
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Are you changing plans, or did the supplier cancel or significantly change the service? | Voluntary requests usually depend on the fare or rate terms. A qualifying flight disruption may give you rights to a refund if you reject alternatives. |
| Is the fare or rate refundable or changeable? | The booking terms determine which options are available and may set fees, deadlines, or no-show consequences. |
| What deadline applies, and in which time zone? | A request made after the stated cutoff can have a different financial result. Follow any local-time wording in the booking terms. |
| Who took payment or is the merchant of record? | This can help establish which company handles payment or issues a refund, especially for an agent-booked U.S. flight. |
| What are you being offered? | Compare a refund, credit, voucher, and replacement itinerary before accepting one; they may not be equivalent. |
Flight bookings: voluntary changes versus airline disruptions
If you want to change or cancel voluntarily
Use the OTA’s process and the ticket’s fare rules. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) says airlines are not required to make changes to a ticket free of charge. Its 24-hour rule is also narrower than many travelers expect: for qualifying tickets purchased at least seven days before departure, an airline must offer either a full-refund cancellation within 24 hours or a 24-hour hold at the quoted price. The airline does not have to provide both options. DOT says this requirement does not apply to tickets bought through an OTA, travel agent, or other third-party agent, and it is not a general right to make a free change.
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If the airline cancelled or significantly changed the flight
For a flight to, from, or within the United States covered by DOT’s refund rules, a traveler who rejects rebooking, credits, vouchers, or other offered compensation may be entitled to a refund. DOT advises customers who booked through an OTA or another agent to contact that agent directly before contacting the airline. Check the merchant of record on your payment statement when identifying the refund issuer.
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DOT’s consumer guidance gives a timing of seven business days for covered airline refunds paid by credit card and 20 business days for those paid in cash. These periods concern covered airline refunds, not voluntary OTA cancellations or hotel refunds.
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For a covered cancelled flight in the European Union
The European Commission’s air-travel guidance describes two separate steps after a passenger chooses reimbursement: the airline refunds within seven days, then the OTA transfers the refund to the passenger within seven days of receiving it from the airline. The second period starts when the OTA receives the airline’s refund.
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The UK Department for Transport’s air passenger travel guide says booking terms should be available at the time of booking, clear and easy to find, and explain what to do about cancellations, date changes, and rebooking. This is a consumer-information point for UK air travel, not a universal rule for hotels or other jurisdictions.
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Hotel bookings: check the property’s policy and payment arrangement
Hotel cancellation and change options depend on the specific reservation. Booking.com’s customer-service guidance is one example: available changes can be initiated through the confirmation email or Booking.com, but which changes are permitted depends on the property’s policy. The property determines cancellation fees; a free-cancellation reservation does not incur a cancellation fee when cancelled within its permitted period, while a late or non-refundable cancellation may incur one.
Booking.com’s accommodation terms say that the reservation is made directly with the service provider and that a traveler may be able to change or cancel depending on the booking terms. Its confirmation explains whether the property or Booking.com handles payment. These are Booking.com-specific explanations, not a rule for every OTA or property.
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When the policy or refund is unclear
- Ask the OTA to identify the exact booking term it is applying, the deadline and time zone, the fee calculation, and whether the request is being treated as voluntary or as a supplier disruption.
- If an airline disruption is involved, state whether you accept or reject each proposed alternative, and ask what refund is available if you reject it.
- For a U.S. flight refund, DOT’s advice is to contact the OTA or ticket agent first when you booked through one. For an unresolved issue outside the U.S. or EU examples above, check the applicable local passenger-rights regulator and the reservation terms.
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