Hotel price dropped after you booked

Most hotels won’t lower the price of a reservation you already have. But if your booking has free cancellation, you can still get the lower price: book the same room again at the new rate, wait for the confirmation, then cancel the old reservation.

It works the same whether you booked with the hotel or on a travel site. Do it where you booked: a Marriott booking on marriott.com, an Expedia booking on Expedia.

The steps

Book the lower rate, then cancel the old reservation.

1
Book the same room at the new priceOn the hotel’s site or app, same dates, same room, a rate with free cancellation, at the lower price. Sign in if you have an account. Skip prepaid rates; they can’t be refunded.
2
Wait for the new confirmation email
3
Cancel the old reservationUse the manage or cancel link in your original confirmation, or find it on the hotel’s site with your confirmation number.

Four rules that keep you safe

Book the new room first and see its confirmation before you cancel anything. If the lower price disappears while you switch, you still have your room.
Same hotel, same dates, same room type, beds and meals. A different room is a different price.
Never swap a booking with free cancellation for a prepaid, non-refundable one.
Leave yourself time. Switch well before the free-cancellation deadline, not the night before.

Why the price drops

Hotels change their prices with demand, often many times before your stay. The same room usually costs about the same on the hotel’s own site and the big travel sites, so the saving comes from the price of your room falling after you book, not from shopping around. Members signed in on the hotel’s own site often pay a few percent less.

Price guarantees don’t cover this

Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and IHG all promise to match a lower price you find on another site, if you claim within 24 hours of booking. A later drop in the hotel’s own price doesn’t qualify.

Your points

Book the new room the same way you booked the first. Booking direct and signed in earns hotel points and status; the big chains’ terms exclude most travel-site bookings from both.

Questions

Will the hotel just match the lower price on my booking?

Usually not. Most chains don’t change the rate on an existing reservation, and travelers report that editing a reservation at Hilton or Hyatt keeps the old rate. Booking the new rate and then cancelling the old one is the method that works.

What if my booking is non-refundable?

Then there is usually nothing to do. A prepaid, non-refundable rate can’t be cancelled for your money back, so keep the booking.

How do I know when the price drops?

Check the same room on the site you booked on from time to time, or let Tuur check it for you every day.

Sources

Read on October 22, 2026.

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