The government commission agreed to introduce non-refundable rates in hotels

At the same time, the version of the bill initially proposed by the Ministry of Economy has undergone significant changes, becoming more framework-based, Vedomosti writes. The version agreed by the CBA only gives the government the right to establish “including the types and conditions of reservations in accommodation facilities.”

Vedomosti clarifies that corresponding changes will be made to the law “On the Fundamentals of Tourist Activities in Russia”, and the specific conditions for the introduction of non-refundable rates by hotels will be clarified in the statutes.

In spring 2024, the Ministry of Economy proposed legislating for the consumer the right to choose a non-refundable rate when booking a room, which would provide for the full cost of the service to be retained by the accommodation in the event of cancellation. The rules for the provision of hotel services from 2020 allow deduction of room payment from the guest in case of refusal to check-in, but only for the first day of the reservation; For the remaining days, the hotel is obliged to return the money.

The Ministry of Energy highlighted that such a policy entails losses for the hotel business, since accommodation establishments cannot always find residents for a room released at the last moment. The agency cited data from the online service Ostrovok.ru, according to which 3.6% of the total number of rooms booked in 2023 were canceled on the day of arrival or the day before, and another 9.6% of rooms were canceled within a week. For the sector, losses from cancellations of reservations amounted to 4% or 20 billion rubles per year.

Rospotrebnadzor criticized the possibility of introducing non-refundable rates in hotels, Vedomosti writes. According to the department, these tariffs contradict the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, according to which “when a consumer refuses a service on his own initiative, he must compensate the provider only for actually incurred expenses.”

Hospitality industry representatives support the bill. According to the general director of Azimut Hotels, Maxim Brodovsky, non-refundable reservations will allow travelers to save up to 30% on accommodation and the hotel will be insured against losses if the guest refuses to check-in.