Terms and disclosures

Effective October 20, 2026. These apply to the SideDoor Guide, SideDoor Concierge, and everything SideDoor publishes.

The short version

SideDoor is a research and education service. We find hotel pricing opportunities and show you how to find them yourself. We do not buy points, book rooms, or hold inventory for you, and we cannot control what hotels or loyalty programs do.

Before you buy points based on anything we publish or send you, understand:

Award rooms can sell out between when we check and when you book.
Purchased points can take hours or days to post, and are usually nonrefundable.
Programs change prices and rules without notice.
Every purchase and booking is your decision and your responsibility.
Sometimes the answer is "just pay the cash rate." We will tell you that too, with the numbers.

Every Concierge report has the same three parts: your hotel checked, alternatives across the programs you can use, and a straight recommendation that names a backup in case the first choice is gone when you book. The backup and the Guide's checklist exist to reduce the risk. Neither one is a guarantee.

1. What SideDoor is

SideDoor provides research, education, and opinion. SideDoor is not a travel agent, booking agent, financial advisor, or agent of any hotel or loyalty program. SideDoor does not purchase points, make reservations, or hold inventory on any customer's behalf. "Concierge" describes a research service; SideDoor does not perform bookings, changes, or any transaction with a hotel or program on your behalf.

SideDoor exclusively researches opportunities involving purchased hotel loyalty points. Recommendations depend on award availability, current points-purchase terms, and your eligibility. SideDoor provides research and booking instructions, not automated purchase or reservation services.

2. No guarantees

SideDoor does not guarantee, warrant, or represent:

That any award room will be available at any time, including any primary, alternative, or backup property named in a Concierge report.
That a lower-cost booking option exists for any destination, dates, or hotel.
That any alternative or backup property is equivalent to your first choice in location, quality, amenities, or terms; those are your judgment.
That you are eligible to purchase or redeem points in any program; eligibility, account age, and purchase caps are set by the program and verified by you.
That purchased points will post to your account within any timeframe.
That any cash rate, points price, promotion, or purchase cap will remain as stated.
That any savings figure shown will be achieved.
That any hotel comparison reflects current conditions, fees, taxes, or policies.

All figures are observations as of their stated verification date and source, and are perishable.

3. No remedy for availability or outcomes

SideDoor offers no refund, credit, replacement research, or other remedy if an award room, rate, or promotion is unavailable when you attempt to use it, if a Concierge report concludes that no lower-cost option exists, or if a purchase or booking does not produce the expected result. A Concierge report that recommends paying the cash rate is a complete deliverable. Any assistance SideDoor chooses to provide after delivery is at SideDoor's sole discretion, may be declined for any reason, and creates no obligation to provide it again.

4. Your responsibilities

You are solely responsible for:

The accuracy of the information you give us, including which loyalty accounts you hold and their status.
Verifying availability, pricing, and program rules before purchasing points or booking.
Reading and complying with each loyalty program's own terms, including purchase caps, refund policies, and account eligibility.
All purchase, booking, cancellation, and change decisions and their consequences.
Any taxes, fees, resort charges, or incidental costs.

5. Fees and refunds

The SideDoor Guide is $19. SideDoor Concierge is $99 for one destination, $129 for two, or $159 for three, chosen and shown before payment. Each destination beyond the first is checked against the same trip and receives one answer (the best option we find there and whether it beats your first choice), not a full report.

Guide: if it isn't useful to you, email us within 7 days of purchase for a full refund.

Concierge: the fee is for research time. It is refundable in full if you cancel before we begin, and not refundable once research has started. A report that concludes "pay the cash rate" is complete research and is not grounds for a refund. Help after delivery, if any, is at SideDoor's discretion and is not promised.

6. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, SideDoor's total liability for any claim arising from any product, report, or content is limited to the amount you paid SideDoor for that specific product. SideDoor is not liable for the cost of purchased points, lost savings, trip costs, or any indirect, incidental, or consequential loss.

7. Privacy

We collect what you give us on the eligibility screen and the trip form, your email, and payment records held by our payment processor. We use them to produce your report and to contact you about it. We do not sell them. Payment card details are handled by Stripe and never reach SideDoor.

8. Changes

We may update these terms. The version in force is the one on this page on the date you purchase.