I was booked here for a one night stay on a Friday last summer. Two days prior, having caught a cold and somewhat weary from our travels I decided to skip Heidelberg and extend my stay at the hotel I was in currently. I called Hotel Pension Schmitt and apologetically attempted to cancel, explaining my circumstances. The owner (I assume it was the owner) laughed haughtily at me and announced that I would have to pay full price for such a cancellation. There wasn't anything remotely friendly or understanding about his tone.

I asked if it wasn't likely that he'd get a replacement booking on a Friday night, given that it was World Cup time and his Hotel is in the old town center of one of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany. He laughed mockingly, explaining that the World Cup wasn't in Heidelberg. (Well, tell that to one of his competitors who had tried to charge me double price to stay in Heidelberg that night because it was during the World Cup. And tell that to all the American soccer fans that stayed in Heidelberg or other non-host cities for games elsewhere in the region.) Ultimately, I told him he was rude and that I wouldn't want to stay with him even if it meant incurring cancellation fees. Which is true. Why would I want to stay with this man?

I would have let the matter drop, but here it is 4 months later and he's finally gotten around to charging me the full rate for that night. In all fairness, he probably has every right to do this. Maybe 2 days isn't adequate cancellation for a small hotel in Germany? (Nowhere on his website does it state a cancellation policy, nor did it in the email he sent to confirm booking. ) But my issue isn't with his policy, it's his manner. If he had explained this to me politely, he wouldn't get a bad review.