Like many travelers, when I book hotel reservations, I sometimes use loyalty points to pay the bill.
When I use my points, I expect to have a positive experience. After all, I’ve already shown that I stay at the hotel frequently. I hope to be treated well as a regular customer.
Unfortunately, when one hotel guest booked a hotel with points recently, he arrived at the hotel to discover that his reservation had been canceled for an absolutely shocking reason. In fact, the guest who unexpectedly had his hotel reservations canceled described the experience as “chilling.”
The guest’s experience was not a one-off incident and could affect other travelers, especially since most people aren’t aware of this hotel policy.
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Hotel guest’s reservation canceled for a surprising reason
One Mile at a Time reported on the hotel cancellation incident involving guest Brian Goldstone, who wrote about his experience on Bluesky.
Goldstone said he arrived at the Hampton Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, and was told that his reservation had been canceled because of an old address on his Hilton Honors account, which was located within 50 miles of the hotel.
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Although Goldstone has since moved and no longer lives locally, he was confused about why his local address would result in his room being canceled.
The answer: The hotel bans locals within 50 miles. The hotel explained that “most hotels here have similar policies,” and One Mile at a Time confirmed that this is indeed the case, with many hotels not allowing locals to stay.
Why are locals banned from nearby hotels?
Banning local residents seems like an odd business move, and Goldstone asked the Hampton Inn why this was the case. He was very upset by the answer.
According to his Bluesky post, the hotel told him that local guests were banned “because of our homeless population.”
A sign in the lobby also confirmed the policy, stating, “This hotel reserves the right to refuse occupancy to those who reside within 50 miles. Exceptions are as follows: natural disaster, inclement weather, or power outage that creates hazardous conditions. Any exceptions must receive management evaluation for approval.”
Goldstone was upset about the exchange and the ”sheer casualness” of the way in which the hotel made clear that unhoused people were “obviously people to be kept out.”
He pointed out that someone who was evicted, fleeing domestic violence, or trying to escape the streets for the night would be kept out by the policy, which he referred to as “unabashed discrimination.”
Is the hotel policy reasonable?
One Mile at a Time reported that this is not the first instance of such a cancellation occurring, with the article stating, “On the surface, it seems super unethical and illogical to have a policy like this, if you ask me. There are all kinds of reasonable situations where someone would need somewhere to stay.”
In fact, some loyalty rewards members do check into local hotels in order to get elite nights, and they would be prevented from doing so by this policy. Many readers who commented on the article pointed to times they, too, had stayed at local hotels, including:
- Needing an extra night to get hotel status
- Booking a hotel to be closer to the airport
Regardless of its reasonableness, the policy is apparently quite common, and many people may not know about it. Anyone who is booking a hotel close to their home should check the hotel’s policy to make sure their room is not unexpectedly canceled.
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