No US federal law makes them. But most large US airlines have promised, on the DOT's customer service dashboard, to provide a hotel when a cancellation they caused strands you overnight - and on flights departing the EU it is a legal duty. Rules last reviewed: August 2026.
No federal law in the United States requires an airline to pay for your hotel. What exists instead is a commitment system: most large US airlines have publicly committed, on the US DOT customer service dashboard, to a hotel when a cancellation or delay within the airline's control - mechanical, crew, the airline's own IT - strands you overnight, and to meals once a controllable delay passes 3 hours. Weather and air traffic control events generally get you rebooking or a refund, not a room. Flights departing the EU are different: under EU Regulation 261/2004 the airline owes you accommodation, transfers, food, and drinks as a legal duty, whatever the cause. Either way, nothing is volunteered - you have to ask, and you should keep every receipt.
There is no US statute or regulation that entitles you to a hotel, meals, or cash compensation because your flight was canceled or delayed. The legally required remedy under US DOT rules is the refund: if the flight is canceled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel on what the airline offers, you are owed a full cash refund of the unused ticket to your original payment method. A refund gets your money back; it does not pay for tonight's room.
Hotels and meals live one level down, in each airline's customer service plan. The US DOT publishes exactly what each airline has committed to on its customer service dashboard, and airlines are accountable for keeping those commitments. That distinction - law versus commitment - is why the cause of your cancellation matters so much.
Most large US airlines commit, on the DOT customer service dashboard, to a hotel when a cancellation or delay within the airline's control forces an overnight wait. Controllable means things like mechanical issues, crew scheduling, and airline IT failures. Ask the agent whether transportation to the hotel is included; commitments vary by airline.
The same dashboard commitments include a meal once a controllable delay passes 3 hours. Agents rarely offer it unprompted - ask for the meal voucher by name, at the desk or in the airline's app chat.
In a weather or air traffic control event, airlines owe you rebooking or a refund, but generally not meals or hotels - the dashboard commitments are scoped to controllable disruptions. The refund right applies regardless of cause. The airline's recorded cause for your flight decides which side you are on, so ask the agent to state it and note it down.
Under EU Regulation 261/2004, a disruption triggers a legal duty of care: meals and refreshments, hotel accommodation if you are rebooked to travel the next day, transport between the airport and the hotel, and two calls or emails. It applies on flights departing the EU on any airline, and it applies even when the cause is weather. The UK has a mirror regime for flights departing the UK. This is a right, not a favor - invoke the regulation by name.
1. Get the cause on the record. Ask the agent: "Is this recorded as a controllable cancellation?" Mechanical, crew, or IT means the hotel and meal commitments apply. Note the agent's answer, name, and the time.
2. Ask for the specific items. "Under your customer service plan, I am requesting a hotel voucher and meal vouchers for this controllable cancellation." Naming the plan signals you know it exists. Ask whether transport to the hotel is covered.
3. Work two channels at once. While you wait in line, open the airline's app chat or call reservations - agents there can often issue the same vouchers, and the line for them is shorter.
4. If they refuse or run out of rooms, book a modest room yourself and keep the itemized receipt. Ask the agent to note that no hotel was available. If the cause was controllable, submit the receipt for reimbursement with your confirmation number. Reimbursement is not guaranteed by law, which is why the recorded cause and the agent's acknowledgment matter.
5. Departing the EU or UK? Say so: "This flight departed the EU, so under EU Regulation 261/2004 I am requesting accommodation, transfers, and meals under the duty of care." Weather is not a defense to care.
Every reimbursement conversation is won or lost on paper. Keep itemized receipts for the room, ground transport, and food. Keep spending modest - reasonable is the standard airlines apply. Photograph everything, and submit with your confirmation number and the recorded cause. If the airline will not pay, check your credit card: many travel cards carry trip delay coverage that reimburses hotels and meals when a covered delay strands you. Card terms set their own thresholds and caps, so read them before you spend.
U.S. DOT Airline Customer Service Dashboard (hotel and meal commitments for controllable disruptions; meals after 3 hours; hotel for an overnight) · U.S. DOT, What Airline Passengers Need to Know About DOT's Automatic Refund Rule (cash refund when you decline to travel after a cancellation) · European Union, Air passenger rights (Regulation 261/2004) (duty of care: meals, refreshments, accommodation when rebooked to the next day, transfers, two calls or emails).
General guidance, not legal advice. Airline customer service plans differ; confirm your airline's commitments on the DOT dashboard. Facts reviewed August 2026. Found an error? Tell us and we will fix it.