Question:-
A client books a hotel for a holiday (not umrah) and then cancels it. He asks for a full refund and the hotel gives us, the agents, a full refund. Are we, as agents, allowed to keep the full commission, or do we have to return the full amount which the hotel refunded, back to the client? What is the correct Fatwa?
Answer:-
When a client books and confirms his accommodation (and even makes payment), then the hotel room is reserved and made available to the client on the stipulated dates. The transaction is considered as finalized and concluded. Now, if the client requests the hotel to reverse the transaction and return the funds (for no valid reason), then the hotel is under no obligation to refund the transaction. Yes, there is great virtue recorded in the Hadith for reversing a transaction which one regrets concluding, but it is totally the prerogative of the hotel administration to cede to the request of the client or not.
Now, if an agent is contracted to a hotel, in the sense that he receives a stipulated remuneration or commission for every client that secures a booking with the hotel via him, then the agent will be entitled to the stipulated commission the moment the client confirms and finalizes his booking.
If the hotel thereafter, willingly from their side, are prepared to accept the request of cancellation and refunds the client, then that is a separate matter between the hotel and client. The hotel in this instance, will be required to refund the client in full. However, the agent should be remunerated in full (by the hotel) for fulfilling his task in a complete and satisfactory manner (by securing a booking).
هي فسخ في حق المتعاقدين بيع في حق ثالث (تبيين الحقائق ص70 ج4)
(قوله هي فسخ في حق المتعاقدين بيع في حق ثالث) ، وهذا عند أبي حنيفة إلا إن تعذر جعلها فسخا بأن ولدت
المبيعة بعد القبض أو هلك المبيع فإنها تبطل (البحر الرائق ص111 ج6)
وإذا حصل الإيجاب والقبول لزم البيع وإن لم يقبض ,ولا خيار لواحد منهما, لأن في الفسخ إبطال حق الآخر, فلا يجوز (اللباب في شرح الكتاب – كتاب البيوع)
قال – رحمه الله – (وتصح بمثل الثمن الأول وشرط الأكثر أو الأقل بلا تعيب وجنس آخر لغو ولزمه الثمن الأول) وهذا عند أبي حنيفة؛ لأنه لما كانت الإقالة عنده فسخا والفسخ يرد على غير ما يرد عليه العقد كان اشتراط خلاف الثمن الأول باطلا )تبيين الحقائق ص71 ج4)
Follow up question:-
What will happen, in the same scenario, if the travel agent is not contracted to the hotel. He merely offers his service of making bookings. Thus, he does not inform the client of his fee, which is over and above the actual charge of the hotel.
He makes the booking, and adds his fee (profit) and gives the client one fixed fee. The customer doesn’t know how much the accommodation costs, nor does he know how much was the agent’s profit. The agent just gave him one fixed price.
What will happen when the hotel refunds the full amount? Will the agent have to return the full amount that the customer paid, or only the amount which the hotel refunded.
Answer to follow-up question:-
If a person hires accommodation directly from a hotel group and further sublets it to a client (at the same rate that he hired the accommodation for) but charges an admin fee for arranging the paperwork etc. then such an arrangement is in order. It is also not necessary that he provides a breakdown of the charges (to the client), but quoting a flat rate for the complete accommodation will suffice.
If a refund is granted in this instance from the hotel (on the request of the client), then the client will be entitled to the full refund. However, he will lose the amount paid for admin charges, since the admin work for which a fee was charged had already been completed.
It will, however, be better to provide a complete breakdown of all charges when confirming the booking (for the client), and the client should also be informed that in the event of a cancellation the admin charge will not be refunded. By doing so, all possible disputes will be avoided.
ALLAH TA’ALA KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai
Date: 04 Shabaan 1443 / 07 March 2022
