Free cancellation is an upcharge (often a significant one), which she paid for, and made use of.
It would have been easily possible for booking.com and the hotel to offer rooms at two price points and make the conditions clear ahead of time:
- High price (guaranteed room)
- Low price (based on availability, if F1 is that week you'll get the choice between paying an upcharge, cancellation, or moving the booking to another date)
Free cancellation is an upcharge (often a significant one), which she paid for, and made use of.
It would have been easily possible for booking.com and the hotel to offer rooms at two price points and make the conditions clear ahead of time:
- High price (guaranteed room)
- Low price (based on availability, if F1 is that week you'll get the choice between paying an upcharge, cancellation, or moving the booking to another date)