Orbitz Waives Hotel Change and Cancellation Fees

Add

Orbitz

to the list of online travel agencies (OTAs) that no longer charge change and cancellation fees for most hotel bookings. After a brief lag, Orbitz has caught up to Expedia and Priceline, both of which had already waived their hotel change and cancellation fees.

Though these OTAs are no longer charging fees to cancel or change a hotel booking, individual hotels still can (and often do so). For the best chance at avoiding those fees, familiarize yourself with your property's policy before booking. Additionally, it's a good rule of thumb to change or cancel hotel bookings as far in advance as possible.

While the airline industry seems to come up with new fees every other minute, this year has seen a reduction of fees from the OTAs. A few months ago, Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity

removed

most of their airline booking fees, a move that prompted SmarterTravel's Sarah Pascarella to declare a

victory for consumers

.