I don’t go on Twitter much anymore (NOT calling it X), but this morning I stumbled across a post from a follower, stating Club1 Hotels has shut down. I’ve been using the site for almost eight years and it has offered some spectacular deals. Now the site is no longer operating and members are advised to contact their travel providers directly to confirm reservations.
What made Club1 Hotels so great
Over the years, I booked some fantastic hotel deals through Club1 Hotels. Most notably, I once saved $1,300 on a three-night stay in a Master Suite at Nizuc Cancun.
I recently booked a stay at the Hilton Tulum for around $350 a night – the same room was going for over $700 a night on the Hilton website. I saved another 25% on that stay by using Club1 gift cards purchased during a sale.
Using Club1 Hotels has saved me thousands of dollars over the years, so it’s really unfortunate the site has shut down without any notice.
What happens to existing Club1 bookings?
According to the still-functional Club1 homepage, members with existing reservations should contact the travel provider directly. So if you have a booking with a Hilton hotel or a Hertz rental car location, you should call them as soon as possible to ensure your booking is valid.
Since most Club1 reservations are prepaid, that should be the case (unless they’ve run off with the money), but you should still confirm.
What about Club1 gift cards?
As I mentioned, Club1 Hotels was running a gift card sale until pretty recently. I used mine on the aforementioned Hilton stay, but I know some people have not. I sent Club1 an email to inquire about existing gift cards. Since the site is no longer operating, those gift cards are essentially worthless. But I hoped they would at least offer refunds.
Those emails bounced back.
So what should you do if you have an unused Club1 gift card? Call your credit card company immediately and file a claim. Since the gift card you purchased is no longer usable, you should be eligible for a refund.
Regardless of whether your credit card offers return protection or not, you may be covered if your purchase is classified as a fraudulent charge.
Bottom line
I’m really disappointed in Club1 Hotels shutting down without notice. They knew this was coming and instead of warning people ahead of time, they simply kept taking reservations and (more egregiously) selling gift cards to unwitting customers.
Luckily, credit cards can protect consumers in situations like these by recouping the funds. But what about people who have made bookings months in advance that may not be honored? I hope that’s not the case because it would put out a lot of people who now have to rebook their travel at higher costs. But hopefully that’s not the case and existing reservations are in fact honored.
If you have an existing Club1 reservation or purchased their gift cards, I’d love to hear from you: Is your reservation being honored? Is your bank refunding the gift card purchase?
I booked
I once book
