Hong Kong Consumer Council Urges Hotels to Clarify Refund Policies

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has urged hotels and online booking platforms to clearly outline their responsibilities in cases of reservation changes or refunds, after general complaints neared an annual average of 1,000 over the past three years.

The Consumer Council also said on Monday that it had received 3,346 complaints about lodgings in the city since 2023, with 2,670 coming from non-local travellers.

For the larger figure, about 58 per cent involved the termination and amendment of contracts, with some consumers citing personal reasons such as illness and rejected entry applications, followed by service quality issues, and pricing and charging disputes.

By year, 1,050 complaints were recorded in 2023, another 782 in 2024 and 1,048 last year. The remaining 466 were logged in the first five months of this year and represented a 32 per cent increase from the 352 recorded in the same period in 2025.

Among the overall number of contract-related cases, the highest amount in dispute was about HK$248,000 (US$31,650). The report involved a complainant who had signed a one-year contract with a hotel but was unable to take up the accommodation because of personal reasons.

The hotel initially refused to issue a refund, but ultimately did so after the council’s mediation.

“We urged the consumers to carefully read accommodation information and verify order details before making the payment,” Alaina Shum Jiu-fai, the watchdog’s chief executive, said.