Our flight to the South Island of NZ was cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle. Flights and ferries from the North Island where we live were all cancelled due to this catastrophic weather event. There was no way for us to get there. It was unclear when service would resume. We attempted to cancel 2 days prior to our reservation though hotels.com and were refused any refund and we ended up paying the entire amount. When we called to speak to them personally, we were rudely told it was our own fault for using hotels.com. We were able to reschedule our trip one week later when the weather cleared and flights reopened, but obviously did not stay at the Bella Vista Motel.