A hotel asks you to pay more after an online booking is confirmed, or the platform refuses to cancel a room marked “non-refundable.” The first useful move is to preserve the exact booking record, then identify which party took the reservation and which party sent the new demand. A screenshot of today’s listing alone may not show the terms you agreed to yesterday. Korea Consumer Agency’s 2026 accommodation alert describes recurring disputes over online non-refundable bookings; its separate extra-charge warning stresses keeping the posted price and confirmed reservation when a property later requests more money.
Reconstruct what was sold, charged and changed
Put one short timeline together before pressing another cancellation button:
- The offer: property, room, dates, guest count, included services, total price and the cancellation wording visible before payment.
- The accepted booking: platform or seller name, confirmation number, final terms, payment receipt and card charge.
- The change: dated message or call note showing who asked for a higher price, a cancellation, a substitute room or another condition.
- Your requested outcome: keep the confirmed room and price, correct a specific detail, cancel on the displayed terms, or receive a written explanation of the proposed charge.
Compare the three states. Was the added amount a disclosed tax or fee in the final confirmation, or did it appear only in a later property message? Did you ask to cancel, or did the property say it could not honor the booking? Those distinctions determine whom to contact and what to ask for; they do not by themselves decide whether a fee is lawful or a refund is due.
Ask the responsible booking party for one written decision
Start with the platform or seller named in the confirmation and payment record, and contact the property when its message or on-site demand is the source of the mismatch. Send the booking number, the relevant offer and confirmation images, and the exact sentence you want resolved: for example, “Please confirm whether my room for these dates remains valid at the total shown in this confirmation, or identify the contract term supporting the additional charge.” Keep each reply and timestamp. If a representative proposes that you cancel and rebook, ask what happens to the original payment, room availability and any fee before doing so.
Where the stay is imminent, check a feasible backup room without assuming its cost will be reimbursed. Keep the original and backup receipts separate. A card charge alone does not prove the reservation is still live, and a refund request alone does not show that the stay was cancelled. Verify the booking status in the issuing channel.
Escalate with the booking record
Korea’s Easy Law lodging Q&A says the property’s actual contract terms come first when the operator cancels; consumer dispute standards can guide settlement when terms do not settle the point, but they do not automatically bind an unwilling party. That example is not a universal rule for a guest’s own cancellation, a cross-border platform or every added fee. Do not apply an online “seven-day refund” slogan to your reservation without checking the exact contract and applicable route.
If the platform and property do not resolve the discrepancy, assemble the timeline, terms, payment evidence, messages and requested remedy for a consumer-help inquiry. The Korea Consumer Agency describes counseling and conciliation as routes for unresolved consumer problems, and its extra-charge notice points to 1372 consumer counseling and 1330 tourism information. Ask the service whether it handles your seller, booking channel and language. An inquiry is a way to get the case assessed, not a guarantee of jurisdiction, interpretation or payment.
If you cannot make a Korean voice call, the official 1330 helpline page provides an online chat entry labeled no download required, as well as the tourism complaint site. Use that entry to ask where the lodging case belongs. A chat inquiry and a formally submitted complaint are separate steps; keep the reference when the case is accepted.
For an Incheon airside room, first compare the booking with the transit hotel’s terminal and baggage-access conditions. Whether you can reach the room and how the seller handles cancellation are separate questions.
Official Korea Consumer Agency and Easy Law pages checked September 29, 2026 KST. The contract and current booking record control the next practical step; an individual remedy requires case-specific review.