This New York City Hotel Will Reimburse Guests Over Bad Weather

While travelers will never be able to control the weather on their vacations, some will soon be able to guarantee that they’ll only be paying for dry conditions at one New York City hotel.

The Renwick Hotel in Manhattan, which is located at 41^st Street and Lexington Avenue, not far from Grand Central Station, this week unveiled a new “weather guarantee” that will allow guests to purchase protection that would allow them to get back the cost of their room should it rain during their stay.

The deal is that, if it rains for more than two hours between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on a certain day, guests will get a text message explaining that the daily hotel rate is being reimbursed.

According to an interview with T+L, the guarantee is based on day-of forecasts from NASA, the National Weather Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is based purely on projections on the day of, which means that even if the projections are wrong, guests can still get their money back. It also means that guests can’t cancel ahead of time in anticipation of bad weather—in order to be reimbursed, they will have to be physically staying at the hotel.

The Renwick is working with Sensible Weather, a California-based technology company that provides this kind of weather insurance for its users, to bring the guarantee to its guests. The guarantee is also available on some other properties, including AutoCamp luxury camping sites. The Renwick is Sensible Weather’s first New York City hotel it has partnered with.

“We recognize how much planning and investment goes into taking a vacation, and we want to empower people to enjoy stress-free travel and protect their trip. Partnering with The Renwick gives us the opportunity to offer peace of mind to travelers visiting popular destinations such as Manhattan this spring season and beyond,” says Nick Cavanaugh, Ph.D., Sensible Weather CEO & Founder.

The Renwick made its New York City debut in October 2015. The hotel offers 173 rooms, including 33 custom suites, along with a signature restaurant from John DeLucie. It is housed in a building that traces its roots back to 1928 with a list of former residents that includes F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Mann, and John Steinbeck.