My family and I recently had a stressful vacation due to a complete lack of quality control at a four star resort. We were offered a room that was not up to satisfactory standards and had to move to a smaller unit in order to be comfortable. The resort has offered to comp our stay, but in return, we must sign an NDA, preventing us from writing about the experience.
Though this may sound like a fair deal, I’m not entirely sure if I should push for them to comp our incidentals as part of the NDA. It’s important to note that different countries and regions have different buyer rights when it comes to purchases like this.
If you’re in a similar situation, I suggest saving any emails from the resort stating that they agree you deserve a refund but are unwilling to provide it without an NDA. Additionally, consider contacting your bank to see if they can provide buyer protection for you.
I’ve worked in luxury hotels for many years and have never heard of an NDA for lodging. Instead of accepting the first offer, consider writing up the review you would have posted and sharing it with them. If the review is bad enough, you may even be able to get your airfare covered too. The key is whether it will cause other guests to look elsewhere.