Just FYI, if you're lying to get out of paying for something, or to get reimbursed on false pretenses that is called fraud and is illegal. It's also wrong to do, it is an action taken in bad faith.
So is a hotel denying you a refund during an epidemic. There is an obvious power differential here between Joe Blow and some billion dollar hotel chain. You need the money for basic survival far more than they need it to pad their quarterly earnings.
If you really need the money for basic survival, fine, we can argue about the morality of it. But even with a possible recession looming, it's unlikely that the price of a hotel stay is going to be the difference between life and death for you.
It's unlikely you are in basic survival mode yet, unless you've already lost your job and are living paycheck to paycheck and there are no available government programs to help you right now and no friends or family to turn to.
This epidemic is more similar to the hotel burning down. I would expect my money back in that scenario and do whatever I could to retrieve it.
With that said, many hotel chains and airlines have suspended their typical non-refundable rules, so a simple phone call would likely suffice.
I’d also expect any terms in the actual ToS defining “non-refundble” to get void in front of a judge in this specific cases if this was really pushed that far.
When a non-refundable booking is made, both sides understand that the correct way to follow through is to not have a refund, should circumstances (not caused by the hotel) arise where the customer could not end up staying in the hotel. Hence there was no bad faith on the part of the hotel.
The same goes especially for multi-billion dollar corporations.
You cheat me out of something, I will first attempt to right that wrong through the proper channels. If I am unsuccessful, I will right that wrong through unofficial channels. Within reason, of course.
They just got unlucky and they should suck it up.
If the hotel has to refund everyone, it will either have to go under, or if it is too big to fail, be bailed out with my money.
I don't see why I should pay for someone's else gamble.
That's right, in this real actual adult world.
Mostly out of goodwill and fear of lawsuits, I think.
Smaller boutique hotels are probably less likely to allow coronavirus-related exceptions, because they're deprived of business as it is.
That's a question of morality. Canceling a hotel stay by giving them an acceptable reason doesn't feel wrong to me. They can use that reason to claim government to rebuild money after all of this.
Lying is a legal sense is very different to just lying or not telling the truth. Not sure many judges would side with the hotel. Not sure the hotel could prove bad faith. I'm very sure the cost of a suit would be higher than the cost of the refund.