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Showerthought: I booked a hotel for a single night in Prague to get free airport pickup
Last month I was flying into Prague and needed a cheap way into the city from the airport. I saw that some hotels offer a free shuttle if you book a room, but I already had a hostel. So I booked the cheapest refundable room I could find at a hotel with a shuttle, which was about 45 euros. I checked in online, took their shuttle from the airport right to the hotel door, then immediately went to the front desk and canceled my stay. They gave me a full refund because it was within the cancellation window. I walked out and took a 5-minute tram to my actual hostel. I learned that hotel perks aren't just for guests if you play the cancellation rules right. Has anyone else pulled a move like this, or is it too risky?
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kai_knight6226d ago
Wait, so you basically rented a shuttle ride disguised as a hotel room? That's next level cheap, but @jordanhill has a point about getting blacklisted. I can just picture the front desk staff watching you roll your suitcase right back out the door and sharing your photo with every hotel in the city. You might have to skip Prague next time and try this trick in a whole new country.
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grace_allen18d ago
Honestly this just feels like the natural end point of all those loyalty programs and fine print loopholes we deal with now. Companies build these complex rule systems to lock us in, so people will always find a way to bend them back. It's like finding a secret door in a video game, except the game is just trying to get from the airport to your bed without paying twenty bucks for a taxi. Makes you wonder what other everyday services we're all overpaying for because we don't read the cancellation policy close enough.
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