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Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay
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| Other Resources | My Cup of Joe » Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay | Rss Feed  |
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 2009-12-10 9:21 AM |
 Alpharetta, Georgia Bronze member |  Subject: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stayOH, WOW. Sorry this is kinda long. So I made a hotel reservation in September. Last night I receive both an email and phone call from hotels.com stating that there was a problem with my reservation and I need to call back immediately. So I call back and am told that the hotel is "overbooked" and they will need to move me to another hotel. I'm like WTF? I have a confirmed reservation! She kept telling me over and over that I did not have a room and they would have to re-book me. I kept telling her that was not my problem because I made my reservation 3 months ago - they would need to fix the problem on their end. She refused, but told me they could book me in a room 4.3 miles away. I said NO, I booked my stay at this specific hotel because I need to be wihin a mile of the American Airlines center (to walk to/from the race). I said if you can find me a hotel within a mile, we're good. She could not. So I asked to speak to her manager/supervisor. Of course she would not just transfer me so asked for my number and said they would call me back. I immediately called the hotel directly to inquire about the situation and was told that hotels.com screwed up and overbooked the hotel. They were overbooked by 18 rooms that night. They said if I were to show up on Saturday, they would have to physcially walk me to another hotel. And of course, if I had booked directly through the hotel there would be no issue, but since it was through hotels.com I was screwed. An hour and a half later I had not heard anything, so we called hotels.com back. They told us we had a confirmed reservation. We said WTF you just told us an hour ago we did not! They said no, it is taken care of. So we immediately call the hotel to confirm and the hotel laughed and said no, nothing has changed. Hotels.com is telling people they have a room when they do NOT. They are still overbooked by 18 rooms and will definitely be walking people to different hotels Saturday night. But she did say that one hotels.com customer had just been re-booked at another hotel JUST NEXT DOOR (not 4.3 miles away) so we should check into that with hotels.com Call hotels.com back and ask about this. Person on the phone is still trying to book us 4 miles away. Then they tell us that our original hotel room was damaged. Then they tell us it was damaged and/or (they literally said "and-or") overbooked. Tom literally said "You have no clue, do you? You're just reading off a computer screen whatever it tells you to say. I need you to fix my problem not read off a damn computer screen!" So then we ask to talk to management. They tell us management is only available within the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. so we'll have to call back tomorrow. Tom said NO, you need to connect me to them NOW. So they did. Apparently profinity is effective in situations like this. On the phone with management FOREVER, and after being cut off TWICE and calling back TWICE, Tom finally gets them to agree to book us at a hotel that is about a half mile away from the original hotel. We get an email that states the room price has more than doubled. So we call back (yes we have called hotels.com about 15 times already!) and say that we are not going to pay double the price for THEIR mistake. They recluctantly agree and say we will only have to pay the original hotel rate. I got mad and said, no they should pay for EVERYTHING - this is ridiculous. So Tom is trying to get them to cover the whole thing, saying that he has basically had to do someone's job because they screwed up, not happy about this, etc. They finally say they will take $25 off. He literally laughs and says that 3 hours of his time (literally - it had been 3 hours on the phone) is worth way more than $25. Then they say they can give us a $100 voucher for a future stay. He says NO I want $100 off THIS stay. I'm not too confident I'lll ever be booking through hotels.com again! They say they cannot do that so we ask to speak to someone who CAN do that. Another level of management in, they give us the same story. $25 off this stay, and $100 off a future stay. Fine. UUUUGH! I found out today that the $100 voucher will arrive in the MAIL within 4-6 weeks. After I make another hotels.com reservaion I have to fill out paperwork, mail it back, and within 6-8 weeks from then my Visa will be credited. What a pain. |
| 2009-12-10 9:24 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Champion  5171   Racine, WI | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay |
| 2009-12-10 9:27 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Champion 4942  Richmond, VA | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay sorry to hear about that. good for you for taking the action on this and thanks for sharing - maybe I'll bypass Hotels.com in the future...
eta: Good Luck in Dallas. (I just checked your race log for that nugget of info) Edited by condorman 2009-12-10 9:28 AM |
| 2009-12-10 9:41 AM in reply to: #2552199 |
Champion 4835 Eat Cheese or Die | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay It sucks that you are getting jerked around, but there is this saying, you get what you pay for. I've found that to be the case pretty much any time I book with any of the online travel booking sites. You may be getting a deal but if there is a problem, the first people to get screwed by the hotel/airline/rental car company are those people that did not book directly through them and booked through a third party to save a few bucks. Best bet is to use orbitz/hotels.com/whatever to find the cheapest going rate then book directly through that company. You may pay a few bucks more, but you are less likely to get screwed. |
| 2009-12-10 9:42 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Arch-Bishop of BT 10278 Pittsburgh | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Oh my... that sucks. Sorry to hear Lisa... I will keep this in mind before dealing with hotels.com in the future... |
| 2009-12-10 9:43 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Elite 3371 | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Be glad that they gave you some head up. |
| 2009-12-10 9:45 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Champion 34263 Chicago | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Lisa! That sucks azz!!! I can say I've never had problems with priceline or hotwire, but after this story I'll never use hotels.com!!! |
| 2009-12-10 9:46 AM in reply to: #2552234 |
Resident Curmudgeon 25290 The Road Back Gold member | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay graceful_dave - 2009-12-10 9:41 AM Best bet is to use orbitz/hotels.com/whatever to find the cheapest going rate then book directly through that company. You may pay a few bucks more, but you are less likely to get screwed. This. I generally shop through expedia to compare htels and pricing, then book directly through the chain's website. Usually the price is the same, or even a few dollars cheaper, the cancellation policy is more liberal, and you can avoid third-party screwups like this. |
| 2009-12-10 9:47 AM in reply to: #2552234 |
Member 1699 | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay graceful_dave - 2009-12-10 9:41 AM Best bet is to use orbitz/hotels.com/whatever to find the cheapest going rate then book directly through that company. You may pay a few bucks more, but you are less likely to get screwed. Yep. That's what I have started to do, especially if there is a chance I have to change or cancel my reservation. I think you save around 5% through the web travel sites. If you have to pay for one hotel room because you missed a flight or got sick or whatever, you blow your savings pretty quick. |
| 2009-12-10 9:50 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Champion 7821 Brooklyn, NY | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Thansk for the headsup. I almost always book hotels directly, rather than going through Orbitz/Expedia/Hotels.com, etc. There isn't usually much, if any, savings. You have to do your own legwork in terms of finding the hotels, but it's worth it to avoid stuff like this. One idea-- I register for the "frequent guest" program of almost every major hotel chain. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, and even if you don't use the same hotel chain enough to earn extra nights, just being on the list makes you a preferred customer and you're probably less likely to get bumped if it's between you and another person who isn't in their program. Sorry you had such a hassle. I think it's also worth pointing out that, as frustrating and aggravating as it is to deal with customer service reps in a situation like this, it's important to remember that the person on the phone didn't cause the problem and is probably very limited in their capacity to fix the problem, so getting upset, shouting and cursing at them, etc, doesn’t necessarily get the problem solved any faster. |
| 2009-12-10 9:55 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Science Nerd 28760 Redwood City, California | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay That really sucks! I don't use hotels.com or expedia to book hotel reservations. I'm always afraid of this happening. |
| 2009-12-10 9:56 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
| Master 1963 | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay There's no excuse for this. My understanding was hotels.com buys blocks of rooms and has a finite number of rooms. There should be no chance of overbooking. It sounds like they are just trying to pay the odds at your expense. I would dispute the charges with my credit card company for sure. I only used hotel.com once, but after reading your story I will definitely stay away. |
| 2009-12-10 9:57 AM in reply to: #2552261 |
Champion 4835 Eat Cheese or Die | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay jmk-brooklyn - 2009-12-10 9:50 AM Thansk for the headsup. I almost always book hotels directly, rather than going through Orbitz/Expedia/Hotels.com, etc. There isn't usually much, if any, savings. You have to do your own legwork in terms of finding the hotels, but it's worth it to avoid stuff like this. One idea-- I register for the "frequent guest" program of almost every major hotel chain. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, and even if you don't use the same hotel chain enough to earn extra nights, just being on the list makes you a preferred customer and you're probably less likely to get bumped if it's between you and another person who isn't in their program. Sorry you had such a hassle. I think it's also worth pointing out that, as frustrating and aggravating as it is to deal with customer service reps in a situation like this, it's important to remember that the person on the phone didn't cause the problem and is probably very limited in their capacity to fix the problem, so getting upset, shouting and cursing at them, etc, doesn’t necessarily get the problem solved any faster. Oh yeah, you also don't earn points with the hotel if you book through a third party. I travel enough that the free nights I get more then make up for any savings from the third party bookers. In fact my parents are staying in a $400 room in NYC this weekend that I paid for entirely in points. I wouldn't have saved nearly that much booking through the discount sites. I have to say, it's far easier to redeem hotel points for free nights then frequent flier points for free flights. |
| 2009-12-10 10:03 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
| Alpharetta, Georgia Bronze member | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Yes I definitely learned some lessons! Funny thing is I have booked dozens of hotel rooms through hotels.com and NEVER had a problem. I've never even heard of anyone having a problem! So this was a real surprise to me. Something else ironic is that yesterday morning at 10:24 a.m. hotels.com sent me a confirmation email for the original hotel. Then within 8 hoursI received the "OOPS" call. I will say I am glad I booked my IM Wisconsin room directly through the hotel! And yes I will be signing up for every rewards/frequent guest program I can from now on - and booking directly through hotels. The hotel told us that their "members" get automatic reserved rooms and will never be bumped. For the record, the guest services at said hotel (Hyatt brand) were super courteous and helpful even when they realized we would not be guests. Plus one for them. I guess the silver lining is that after all this hassle, the new hotel is actually really posh from the sounds of it! It better be for the rates they are asking...! |
| 2009-12-10 10:07 AM in reply to: #2552282 |
Champion 7821 Brooklyn, NY | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay graceful_dave - 2009-12-10 9:57 AM jmk-brooklyn - 2009-12-10 9:50 AM Thansk for the headsup. I almost always book hotels directly, rather than going through Orbitz/Expedia/Hotels.com, etc. There isn't usually much, if any, savings. You have to do your own legwork in terms of finding the hotels, but it's worth it to avoid stuff like this. One idea-- I register for the "frequent guest" program of almost every major hotel chain. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, and even if you don't use the same hotel chain enough to earn extra nights, just being on the list makes you a preferred customer and you're probably less likely to get bumped if it's between you and another person who isn't in their program. Sorry you had such a hassle. I think it's also worth pointing out that, as frustrating and aggravating as it is to deal with customer service reps in a situation like this, it's important to remember that the person on the phone didn't cause the problem and is probably very limited in their capacity to fix the problem, so getting upset, shouting and cursing at them, etc, doesn’t necessarily get the problem solved any faster. Oh yeah, you also don't earn points with the hotel if you book through a third party. I travel enough that the free nights I get more then make up for any savings from the third party bookers. In fact my parents are staying in a $400 room in NYC this weekend that I paid for entirely in points. I wouldn't have saved nearly that much booking through the discount sites. I have to say, it's far easier to redeem hotel points for free nights then frequent flier points for free flights. True. Also forgot to say that even if you don't stay within the same chain enough to earn free nights, just three or four nights a year in the same chain can get you upgraded to preferred status and earn you perks like free use of the gym or other services that the hotel usually chages for, better rooms, priority check-in, etc. |
| 2009-12-10 10:14 AM in reply to: #2552307 |
Champion 4942 Richmond, VA | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay jmk-brooklyn - 2009-12-10 11:07 AM graceful_dave - 2009-12-10 9:57 AM True. Also forgot to say that even if you don't stay within the same chain enough to earn free nights, just three or four nights a year in the same chain can get you upgraded to preferred status and earn you perks like free use of the gym or other services that the hotel usually chages for, better rooms, priority check-in, etc. jmk-brooklyn - 2009-12-10 9:50 AM Thansk for the headsup. I almost always book hotels directly, rather than going through Orbitz/Expedia/Hotels.com, etc. There isn't usually much, if any, savings. You have to do your own legwork in terms of finding the hotels, but it's worth it to avoid stuff like this. One idea-- I register for the "frequent guest" program of almost every major hotel chain. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, and even if you don't use the same hotel chain enough to earn extra nights, just being on the list makes you a preferred customer and you're probably less likely to get bumped if it's between you and another person who isn't in their program. Sorry you had such a hassle. I think it's also worth pointing out that, as frustrating and aggravating as it is to deal with customer service reps in a situation like this, it's important to remember that the person on the phone didn't cause the problem and is probably very limited in their capacity to fix the problem, so getting upset, shouting and cursing at them, etc, doesn’t necessarily get the problem solved any faster. Oh yeah, you also don't earn points with the hotel if you book through a third party. I travel enough that the free nights I get more then make up for any savings from the third party bookers. In fact my parents are staying in a $400 room in NYC this weekend that I paid for entirely in points. I wouldn't have saved nearly that much booking through the discount sites. I have to say, it's far easier to redeem hotel points for free nights then frequent flier points for free flights.second (or third) this point. i have a "memo" field on my iPhone with all my hotel program numbers. I never earn any free nights, but love the gift baskets I get when I check in, or at least usually a free bottle of water. Plus, when I ask the same question every time I check in, "are there any free upgrades available," I ask this right after they confirm I'm getting reward points through the hotel's own reward program - about 25% of the time I get free upgrades. I do use the travel cites for pricing, but book directly with the hotels. The travel cites are a good data aggregator. Case in point, stayed at a hotel last night here in NYC with the wife, found the deal through expedia.com, but then went to the hotel's actual website and found not only that rate, but a much lower rate being offered directly through the company. |
| 2009-12-10 10:56 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
Extreme Veteran 516 Olathe, KS | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay That sucks to go through. Unfortunately I've been on the other end of that phone call before working at the front desk of a hotel for three years in college. I've also had the pleasure of telling people this news in person on the day of their reservation that there is no room for them (despite the confirmation number they hold in their hand) and that I have to walk them to another hotel, sometimes in the middle of the night after they drove all day. It definitely sounds like the situation could've been handled better. I would imagine that the poor handling stems more from the reluctance to deal with an angry customer (or the thought of giving bad news and making them angry). At least that's what I've seen in my experience. ("Walk" by the way is a hotel term for turning away someone with a reservation and sending them to another hotel, not physically walking them to another hotel.) Hotels, not necessarily Hotels.com, always overbook the number of rooms. The hotel I worked at would sometimes be overbooked by 100+ six months out. This works out in the end most of the time because there ends up being enough cancellations and no shows to make up the difference. I think the biggest misconception about a hotel reservations is when you made it. This makes no difference to the hotel. It matters more if you're part of a group who has a contract with hotel (e.g. a reservation associated with a convention and you're receiving a group rate). If by chance there is some sort of group staying at the hotel, and you were not part of it, you became a candidate to be bumped. It definitely sounds like the situation could've been handled better. |
| 2009-12-10 11:02 AM in reply to: #2552322 |
Expert 1070 North Carolina | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay condorman - 2009-12-10 11:14 AM jmk-brooklyn - 2009-12-10 11:07 AM graceful_dave - 2009-12-10 9:57 AM True. Also forgot to say that even if you don't stay within the same chain enough to earn free nights, just three or four nights a year in the same chain can get you upgraded to preferred status and earn you perks like free use of the gym or other services that the hotel usually chages for, better rooms, priority check-in, etc. jmk-brooklyn - 2009-12-10 9:50 AM Thansk for the headsup. I almost always book hotels directly, rather than going through Orbitz/Expedia/Hotels.com, etc. There isn't usually much, if any, savings. You have to do your own legwork in terms of finding the hotels, but it's worth it to avoid stuff like this. One idea-- I register for the "frequent guest" program of almost every major hotel chain. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, and even if you don't use the same hotel chain enough to earn extra nights, just being on the list makes you a preferred customer and you're probably less likely to get bumped if it's between you and another person who isn't in their program. Sorry you had such a hassle. I think it's also worth pointing out that, as frustrating and aggravating as it is to deal with customer service reps in a situation like this, it's important to remember that the person on the phone didn't cause the problem and is probably very limited in their capacity to fix the problem, so getting upset, shouting and cursing at them, etc, doesn’t necessarily get the problem solved any faster. Oh yeah, you also don't earn points with the hotel if you book through a third party. I travel enough that the free nights I get more then make up for any savings from the third party bookers. In fact my parents are staying in a $400 room in NYC this weekend that I paid for entirely in points. I wouldn't have saved nearly that much booking through the discount sites. I have to say, it's far easier to redeem hotel points for free nights then frequent flier points for free flights.second (or third) this point. i have a "memo" field on my iPhone with all my hotel program numbers. I never earn any free nights, but love the gift baskets I get when I check in, or at least usually a free bottle of water. Plus, when I ask the same question every time I check in, "are there any free upgrades available," I ask this right after they confirm I'm getting reward points through the hotel's own reward program - about 25% of the time I get free upgrades. I do use the travel cites for pricing, but book directly with the hotels. The travel cites are a good data aggregator. Case in point, stayed at a hotel last night here in NYC with the wife, found the deal through expedia.com, but then went to the hotel's actual website and found not only that rate, but a much lower rate being offered directly through the company. Also if you are a platnum member with most hotel chains, you are guaranteed a room even if it is already fully booked. This means that some one has to be kicked out if the hotel is full. I am sure this is what happened in Lisa's case. |
| 2009-12-10 11:57 AM in reply to: #2552470 |
Champion 10018 , Minnesota Bronze member | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Gee, sounds just like issues with airlines. This is a good lesson for me, because I often use discount sites. Although I realize now I do it less and less because I'm going to hotel sights more often. Didn't really think about that until now. I can imagine how frustrating those calls were! My blood would be boiling. |
| 2009-12-10 12:02 PM in reply to: #2552245 |
Champion 16151 Checkin' out the podium girls | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay mr2tony - 2009-12-10 10:45 AM Lisa! That sucks azz!!! I can say I've never had problems with priceline or hotwire, but after this story I'll never use hotels.com!!! Sorry to hear this and thanks for the heads up. For US domestic hotels, I've got nothing but compliments for hotwire.com. You don't have a reservation, you have a PAID ROOM! I doubt they'll want to refund you to try and get future money from another potential customer. The rates are good and, despite the no cancellation policy, did get a refund on an accidental booking (booked the wrong date) when they saw I was a repeat customer. True you don't get loyalty points nor can you specify a brand you prefer. But I'll gladly trade that for rooms at ~50% of what you find elsewhere and reliable service. Don't get me started on rental cars though: You're asking for a rant! |
| 2009-12-10 12:49 PM in reply to: #2552165 |
Veteran 840 | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Man, that stinks. But I agree with the advice from above. If it's a really important event, you need to book directly. Use the Pricelines/hotels.com for lower risk events. |
| 2009-12-10 4:08 PM in reply to: #2552165 |
| Modesto, California | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Same thing happened to me through expedia, I think as long as they make a reasonable attempt to make arrangements it gets them off the hook! Unfortunately you loose no matter what acomodations they make because you are at thier mercy, seems they always stop short of making you happy! The worst part is having to communicate over the phone, never again for me, always direct from now on for me, ease of mind is worth the few bucks saved. |
| 2009-12-10 7:31 PM in reply to: #2552643 |
Master 1662 Flagstaff and Phoenix, AZ | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay pitt83 - 2009-12-10 10:02 AM mr2tony - 2009-12-10 10:45 AM Lisa! That sucks azz!!! I can say I've never had problems with priceline or hotwire, but after this story I'll never use hotels.com!!! Sorry to hear this and thanks for the heads up. For US domestic hotels, I've got nothing but compliments for hotwire.com. You don't have a reservation, you have a PAID ROOM! I doubt they'll want to refund you to try and get future money from another potential customer. The rates are good and, despite the no cancellation policy, did get a refund on an accidental booking (booked the wrong date) when they saw I was a repeat customer. True you don't get loyalty points nor can you specify a brand you prefer. But I'll gladly trade that for rooms at ~50% of what you find elsewhere and reliable service. Don't get me started on rental cars though: You're asking for a rant!x2 Love Hotwire.com Have used them for many years. I like the surprise factor too. The hotels I've booked through them were always better than the ones right next door where colleagues were staying for a conference. And I paid 1/2 of their "group rate!" |
| 2009-12-10 9:49 PM in reply to: #2552165 |
Expert 1456 Central New Jersey | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay I booked a BLOCK of 8 rooms this past August for my team to stay at the hotel across the street from the LiveStrong ride. We have stayed there for the past 4 years, and the sponsor company does a lot of business with them. The hotel called me a month before to let me know that they had "oversold" the rooms and we didn't have any. But I have a reservation, numbers, you took my credit card, etc. We'll credit back the deposit "sorry" we have a conference here and they want to extend their time, can't kick them out. Yes you can, no we can't. Eventually got rooms at a better suite but further away. We will NOT be staying there again. |
| 2009-12-11 2:30 AM in reply to: #2552165 |
| Veteran 139 Surrey, BC | Subject: RE: Hotels.com bumped me from my hotel room 3 nights before my stay Sorry to hear that. That totally sucks. If you're ever not concerned about the distance between a hotel and a venue, I suggest giving priceline.com a try. You get to pick your star rating, the hotel area (such as downtown, business district, etc), and then you plug in a price you want to pay, and they either accept your price or decline it. If they accept it, then you must stay at the hotel they have picked for you, but it is in the star rating and hotel area you choose. My girlfriend and I did a US road trip this past summer and used the website to get a hotel in the San Francisco downtown area. Priceline.com bumped us up a star rating and we ended up staying at The Hilton for only $85 per night, saving us $105 per night... We also used it for a hotel in Oregon and saved us a couple bucks there as well.. |
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