There's no fundamental right in the U.S. Constitution to fly on a private airline or stay in a hotel, but it's called profiteering when a company uses public health emergencies to their financial advantage.  Major events, conferences and meetings the world over are being cancelled.  It took a huge outcry for the airlines to change their tune on cancellation fees.  Hotel chains like Hilton and Hyatt stubbornly refused to allow travelers to cancel their tickets.

The travel industry made a sneaky, disgusting PR move last week, claiming that new tickets purchased would have waived change/cancellation fees.  That was designed to encourage you to buy MORE airfare while offering nothing to those of us who are stuck with airline tickets to nowhere.  If you planned ahead and bought your tickets for cancelled events/meetings, you're just up a creek.

Meanwhile, our local, state and federal governments are pleading with people to stay out of densely-crowded gathering places.  A tennis event bringing 500,000 people to Palm Springs was cancelled yesterday, and the NBA is considering holding games in arenas without fans.  The responsible thing to do is to cancel events, and most event organizers are doing the right thing.

Airlines and hotel chains refuse to do the right thing.  We must hold them accountable.  

Demand Hilton, Hyatt and other chains NOW offer immediate refund for any travel scheduled within the next 30 days.