Guaranteed reservation is a contractual agreement made by a customer with a business to reserve something such as a hotel room or vehicle. A guaranteed reservation requires the customer to pay for the reservation in advance and requires the business to hold the reservation for the customer. If the business cannot provide the reservation when due, the business must provide another similar to that in the reservation and pay for incidental damages due to the breach of contract. If the reservation is unique, the customer may potentially be entitled to monetary damages from the business. For example, if a customer booked the only hotel room on the edge of the Grand Canyon, the business may not be able to pay for a replacement and must refund the reservation along with other damages. If a business frequently breaks guaranteed reservations or uses misleading practices, the consumer may have remedies under federal or state consumer protection laws.
[Last updated in February of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]