This post is mainly about hotel booking
hazards, but I also want to inform my readers it is a good to apply for membership in the hotel groups
for your pocketbook category—if you live in a country where a hotel group
contracts with a special booking service authorized to directly represent them,
do call the Hotel Group's main office & ask for confirmation from the Customer
Relations Department.
Remember, if you use Expedia & others,
then you are subject to Expedia's cancellation policies + booking rules only.
Hotel group membership also provides discounts
+ the process for complaints are handled in a businesslike fashion. In
the event of cancellation, I know that e-mails are sent with reference
numbers noting the cancellation. I've also discovered that booking
directly with a well-known hotel group whether in the states or based overseas,
a non-cancellation booking gives me a great price for a reservation within 2
months of arrival. At the last minute the price can be even better for a
"non-cancellation" booking.
When reserving directly for this kind of
reservation, before doing so it's always best to check what amenities are available.
If I book a hotel group that I use often, I may get a member's discount in
addition to the lower price.
And yet I became victim of booking a 1
property hotel in New York City late last October—I forgot to enter the
hotel name prefaced by "official site" in my search engine slot &
thinking I was speaking directly to the hotel, I determined this property had
no advance booking rate, but I needed to be in this location & had already
checked other properties nearby to know this was a great rate. The date was
April 14-16. After an unexpected calendar conflict, I cancelled on November
3 with the number listed on the e-mail reservation confirmation.
When the reservations CSR told me that she
wasn’t sure I could cancel, I asked if the CSR call center was located in the
US. The answer was no. Rather than wait for a call back from her supervisor,
I knew there was no reason not to honor my request because the date was 5 + months
in advance & I had already determined there was no advance booking rate.
Once again I used my search engine for the hotel & added
"official site." I
asked for the manager of the reservations department & she told me my
reservation would be cancelled. I asked for a cancellation e-mail. The e-mail received was dated November 3rd. I printed a
copy to put in my special file for hotel cancellations.
Yet 5 months later, 4-days before April 14, I
received a welcome e-mail from that same hotel service. I knew I cancelled directly with the
hotel. I found the letter of cancellation and called the number listed on the
welcome-mail I received. The CSR told me that she had no record of my
cancellation—I was pro-active when I asked for a supervisor, threatening to call my state AG Internet fraud department to start an
investigation.
My pro-active attitude resulted in action & I
asked for the supervisor's name. I also gave the cancellation # on the cancellation
e-mail. He noted the same number used in
the welcome e-mail was labeled "itinerary #." After
checking his system the supervisor agreed with me. I asked for an e-mail
detailing what he told me—however, I also asked for his company ID, which he gave
me. I wanted to have him stay on the line until I received it.
Within a few seconds I did & I thanked him.
Nevertheless, I called the hotel property directly to inform them a bogus reservations service was representing the property with the property name listed on the confirmation e-mail. The reservations manager checked her records & found the e-mail sent to me—to my surprise the cancellation request dated Nov. 3 was sent directly to the booking service & my cancellation e-mail was also sent from the booking service. She claimed that the hotel’s clientele had no complaints about that booking service.
And yet on the 14th of April I received another welcome
e-mail from the same booking service, but I didn't bother to look at the entire
e-mail. Instead, I called the hotel in New York
City to report their deceptive practice to my state's AG fraud bureau. She claimed the booking service had a policy of no
cancellation because I received a special price. I knew this wasn't true
because I had checked before paying with my credit card back in late
October. I argued with her but she hung
up on me.
My sad tale has a better ending—I went back to
the e-mail to print it out to send to my state's AG & that's when I discovered
I was sent a bookkeeping invoice zeroed
out, but don't you get fooled & lose money, follow my travels posts for more wise comfort travel tips for less $.
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