Have you ever cancelled a trip and forfeited your deposits?

I forfeited three deposits equal to one night's stay each this past year. Two were at state parks, one was at a commercial RV park.

Each time was just because I decided I wanted to go somewhere else that day. (Total for 2014 - $17 - $13 - $37.50)

A necessary evil.

So far for 2015 -

I've paid a $50 cancellation fee because a granddaughter decided to get married in Fort Lauderdale, FL when we had planned to be at the Escapee's Escapade in Tucson, AZ.

I finally found a one week site in the Fort Lauderdale area for $650 per week. I've since cancelled that reservation and paid a $40 cancellation fee because I got into one of the Broward County parks for $313.60 for a week - making the total cost for that week - $403.60 - still almost $250 cheaper than the commercial CG).

Cancellations are a necessary part of traveling. Various things from breakdowns to simply changing your mind.

I normally only reserve and pay in advance for federal and state park campgrounds. Private campgrounds I reserve very seldom.

I vastly prefer to call the day I'm on the road and check on availability.

However, holidays are different.

For New Years (Dec 26-Sunday after 1/1), Spring Break, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving - my experience tells me that I need to reserve several weeks in advance, sometimes months in advance, if I'm going to be at a popular destination.

I prefer to map out a schedule for every stop / travel day - such as I have done for the 3+ months between leaving our current hosting position at Davis Mountains State Park in Fort Davis, Texas on Wednesday - and our next volunteer position in Connecticut starting April 15 - via Fort Lauderdale and Key West.

But I only made reservations for a couple key stops. The rest can vary. We may or may not go to the places on the schedule. Depending upon our mood, weather and 'what the heck'.

Yep. It happens.

Yes and though I wasn't happy about it, I didn't fight it.
I knew the no-refund policy was there when I made the reservation.

Is it possible that they took my money AND made money on my site from someone else? Yes. The other possibility is that it was empty, or a combination of both.

There's many companies that offer 3rd party trip cancellation insurance. Might be something to look into if medical emergencies (or even bad weather) are a possibility.

I gladly pay my cancellation fees and think they should be higher at Florida state parks. You have to reserve in some cases 11 months out to get a site and then when you get there you find many sites sitting empty that some family could be enjoying. I think many people make reservations in case they they decide to go or as some on here have said make several for same time because not sure where they want to stay. If you have a true emergency in your life then reservation fees are the last thing on your mind.

It happens. Plans change, health changes, whatever; and sometimes it just seems prudent to forfeit the deposit. That said, most of the time, when the change was unforeseen or tragic my deposit was returned. Regarding the handling fee, many hotels use outside booking services for their reservations and that outside agency wants payment for their services.

bobojay5 wrote:

NCWriter wrote:
Yes. We often stay at state parks in general (and for at least half of our snowbird winters), and the canx policies are straightforward in writing. Private parks usually spell out their policies on their website or with a deposit confirmation.

I don't object in the least to paying if I have to cancel regardless of the reason. Canx fees help keep people from booking up limited space in multiple campgrounds while they make up their minds for sx months where they'd like to stay.

Ditto to what NCWriter says above...

x3 Forfeit fees are a necessary evil. Otherwise people abuse the reservation system

NCWriter wrote:
Yes. We often stay at state parks in general (and for at least half of our snowbird winters), and the canx policies are straightforward in writing. Private parks usually spell out their policies on their website or with a deposit confirmation.

I don't object in the least to paying if I have to cancel regardless of the reason. Canx fees help keep people from booking up limited space in multiple campgrounds while they make up their minds for sx months where they'd like to stay.

Ditto to what NCWriter says above...

The answer to your question is "YES" I've had to forfeit my reservation monies. I still make reservations at destinations where a special event is occurring, and take my chances. When traveling cross country I do not make reservations until I decide where to stop for the night.

Yes. We often stay at state parks in general (and for at least half of our snowbird winters), and the canx policies are straightforward in writing. Private parks usually spell out their policies on their website or with a deposit confirmation.

I don't object in the least to paying if I have to cancel regardless of the reason. Canx fees help keep people from booking up limited space in multiple campgrounds while they make up their minds for sx months where they'd like to stay.