Your flight is cancelled and suddenly more than one hundred of your fellow passengers are standing in a long line to see if the airline will provide a hotel room.

But here’s a caution: Most airlines only have a limited block of hotel rooms at any one time, and the vouchers they give passengers often have a dollar amount limit for that room. Or there’s no guarantee the location of that hotel room is anywhere near the airport. It’s often better to confirm and pay for your own hotel room before all the hotels fill up.

Just save every receipt, take screenshots of your reservation, and document that the flight cancellation was due to reasons under the airline’s control and not because of weather. And then submit that bill, including your transportation to and from the hotel, for reimbursement.