We were to attend an event at the Oak Ridge Y-12 facility. On Sep 30, 2025, we booked a 2-night…read morestay at the Hampton Inn by Hilton in Oak Ridge, TN, located at 208 S. Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37830, for check-in on Oct 31, 2025 and checkout Nov 2, 2025 for a total cost of $488.92. My husband is a Veteran and disabled. That is a lot of money for us.
We learned on Oct 21, 2025 that the Oak Ridge event was cancelled due to the federal government shutdown. We immediately called Hampton Inn by Hilton in Oak Ridge, TN to cancel our reservation. The hotel manager told us that there was a 21-day cancellation policy and refused to cancel our reservation because they must comply with Hilton's Corporate Policy. We called Hilton Corporate customer service, who said it wasn't their policy and that they had no ability to cancel the reservation, that the ability to cancel and waive any fees lies SOLELY with the hotel property. The manager Rebecca Fuller continues to lie and say the hotel property cannot cancel and refund, they are in fact the only ones who CAN do it. They just won't. Zero flexibility or exceptions. Their cancellation policy is a scheme they've developed to prey upon guests who've already had some misfortune and need to cancel a reservation, by charging not just a cancellation fee, but keeping the ENTIRE cost of the reservation and then re-renting the room. What a racket. Beware.
Neither would the hotel modify the reservation date to a future event in December.
Hilton customer service called and spoke with the manager at the hotel, who again refused to cancel the reservation because they are "an NFL hotel," meaning they have an absolute no cancellation within the 21-day window due to NFL games. The closest NFL team is the Titans in Nashville, a 2 hr 42 min (162.3 mi) drive from Oak Ridge to Nissan Stadium. Now the manager claims it is because they are close to the University of Tennessee (the hotel is 25 miles away and not even in the same county) and says that as a Tennessee resident, we know when the Vols have a home game, an ignorant assumption because we do not follow any football and don't live anywhere near UT.
We've already been charged for the room. If we cancel the reservation, they keep the money AND can re-rent the room. Since we are paying either way, we are calling local Oak Ridge Veteran's groups to find a homeless veteran who can use the room for that time and get out of the cold. That room had better be available for a homeless veteran, Rebecca Fuller, since we paid for it already.
We will never stay at this hotel in the future and urge others, especially Veterans, to do the same. They have predatory policies. If you were in a coma and needed to cancel, they would still keep the ENTIRE cost of the stay and laugh all the way to the bank, not just a cancellation fee like other hotels.