No refund? But I just made the reservation!

Question: We were booked on Delta flights from San Francisco to Baltimore/Washington International Airport in February. A snowstorm on the East Coast forced us to change flight plans. We called Delta's help line and the agent said we could not fly until the following day. He then connected us with Delta's representative for Hotels.com to arrange for a room overnight. We booked the room at the Best Western Plus Grosvenor Airport Hotel near SFO for $199.

When we went to retrieve our luggage from Delta, the desk agent checked to see if we could be rerouted again to depart the same day. We were anxious to get home as we had an ill 94-year-old parent at home. The agent succeeded in finding earlier new flights home for us.

Around this time, we received the room confirmation e-mail that stated in fine print at the bottom that no cancellations were allowed. We immediately called Hotels.com—this was within an hour of making the reservation — and said that the no-cancellation policy was a surprise and unacceptable.

The Hotels.com representative told us that we had to talk to the hotel to cancel, which we did. The hotel canceled our reservation, but told us that we had to talk to Hotels.com about the no-cancellation policy and charge. After several back and forth phone calls we had to give up in order to catch our flight.

A letter to Hotels.com about the charge yielded no response. Can you help?

— Peter Oleson, Galesville, Md.

Answer: Facing an unexpected overnight stay in San Francisco, Oleson booked a room at the Best Western Plus Grosvenor Airport, facilitated by Delta. But while Delta connected Oleson to Hotels.com, the airline isn't involved in negotiating cancellation policies, even when flight changes render room reservations unnecessary.

"Through our partnership with Hotels.com, we do offer customers the option to be transferred to a Hotels.com specialist to assist with hotel reservations if the customer is interested," says Delta representative Brian Kruse. "As with any purchase, we would recommend that customers confirm the terms and conditions with the Hotels.com specialist."

Likewise, each Best Western location sets its own change and cancellation policy, and it's the responsibility of the booking source to inform guests of the policy, according to Best Western International representative Laura Cherry.

"Sometimes third party reservations may be more restrictive," says Cherry.

With Hotels.com, cancellation policies are up to the hotel, not the booking site, and "we pass that penalty along exactly as the hotel defines it," says Hotels.com representative Taylor Cole.

Oleson selected a room at the Best Western Plus Grosvenor Airport, which requires guests to cancel by 4:00 p.m. the day before arrival or they will be charged a one-night room (plus tax) penalty. For Oleson, that meant his entire $199 booking was forfeited, even though he'd booked only an hour earlier. His Hotels.com confirmation e-mail even specified that he would have had to cancel the day before he actually made the reservation to avoid being charged.

That's a risk for all last-minute bookings, and a scenario that comes up more frequently during weather-related events, according to Hotels.com.

"Most same-day bookings are already inside the hotel's cancellation window, meaning they are non-refundable," says Cole.

Hotels.com agents follow a call protocol, which includes disclosing any cancellation policies, according to Cole. Calls are recorded at random. Hotels.com delved into Oleson's complaint and found that he was, in fact, informed that his one-night booking could not be changed or refunded.

"There is a checklist that our agents follow, but we've listened to the call and verified that Mr. Oleson was informed that his booking was nonrefundable," says Cole.

Apparently this detail was lost on Oleson amid the chaos of flight changes and stress of getting home. He noticed the policy on his confirmation e-mail only after Delta found him new flights, and the sting of that non-refundable room charge was exacerbated by the irritation of being bounced between Hotels.com and the Best Western over the charge.

Travelers typically need to contact the booking source to cancel, not the hotel itself, explains Cole. The booking site can also call the hotel and ask for a waiver of the cancellation penalty. That didn't happen when Oleson canceled his room in February, but Hotels.com did step in after I sent it his complaint. The hotel agreed to waive the penalty and Oleson got his $199 back.

"Hotels.com contacted the hotel on behalf of Mr. Oleson and advocated a refund for the non-refundable booking on his behalf," says Cole. "We're glad we were able to assist Mr. Oleson in getting a refund during these unfortunate circumstances."

How can you avoid trouble?

• Whether your hotel reservation is last-minute or far in advance, ask about the cancellation policy. Expect bookings closer to your stay date—especially if they're same-day reservations—to be non-refundable.

• Cancel via the booking site, not the hotel directly.

• If you need help, get in touch with the booking site's customer service department. Large travel sites can have some clout with their suppliers, and may be able to advocate on your behalf.

Do you have a travel consumer issue you'd like Traveler's Aide to pursue? E-mail Linda Burbank at usattravelersaide@gmail.com. Your question may be used in a future column.