Having your reservation cancelled.

[Bestman200600]

The people that work at the front desks of hotels usually know what is going on, especially if she is a repeat customer. Some care, some don't. Good luck with your hunt.

[EZ.]

I use a local Marriott for rendezvous. I have tried third party sites but get a better rate through Marriott's own website.

[pyramider]

Originally Posted by theboss21422

I know how u feel hun but just be calm 3 business days will be up on Monday, if it's not there after 5 pm that's the time to call'em 32 times

Its usually three business days, not calendar.

[kaitanic]

Originally Posted by syeira pink

This has happened to me twice, I book with hotels.com and when I arrive to the hotel I am informed there is no booking.

Confused to say the least, I call hotels.com and they inform me that my reservation had indeed been cancelled. I ask why and I am told that it could not be processed and that I will be issued a refund.

After speaking to a couple of people and finally reaching a manager I was told the refund would be within 3 business days...... IF MY CC COULD NOT BE PROCESSED THEN HOW IS THERE MONEY TO REFUND ME WITH? Then I state it was there mistake on cancelling my reservation so why am I having to wait 3 days for my money back?

Needless to say I will never ever use them again and what about people that travel a bit to get to the hotel to find out there is no booking.

Booked it Thursday at 3:30 pm. Still no refund. I have spoken to them and Am/Ex 32 times.

Am I the only one this has happened to?


Thanks for letting me vent.

Sorry to hear this happened to you. It's very frustrating and annoying. I've used hotels.com on numerous occassions with no issues, even international. However, I do feel many hotels frown upon 3rd party sites for whatever reason. What I found is most hotels will actually match rates from 3rd party sites if you call and talk to them. Of course, some won't.

Concerning your CC. I think what happened was you booked the room, the actual hotel sold that room for a better price, and then basically told hotel.com there is no room. Therefore, it can't be processed. However, because you made that reservation, there is a hold on your card, which usually takes a few days to clear. When you log into your CC account, the reservation is showing in "pending" right?

Lastly, hotelstonight app mentioned above is a decent app when you're in a pinch. It's really for last minute stays that night although you can book up to 5 days I believe. But sometimes I do see rates on there that are higher than what you can get elsewhere. Weird, I know.

[melannie_star]

.. Sometime 3rd party sites over book when the hotel is actually unavailable. If they make reservation.. the hotel is obligated to accommodate or the booked hotel will call the 3 rd party site to transfer your reservation to another place of same value. Glad it all worked out.. you are beautiful by the way!!!

And you are correct .. it is a pain in the behind to get refund.. it is 3-7 business days, which do not include the weekend.

I do think hundreds if not thousands of people book through 3rd party sites everyday, I do not think it would be a conspiracy thing.. It is understandable with all the reservations they may have a day, that they make mistakes and may have just dropped the ball.

[Guest061814]

Lots of good comments here. One note, most hotel have a Low Price Guarantee stating they will match any advertised price. That means, if you see the hotel rate on Hotels.com or another third party site, then it should be the same on their website. If not, most will match if you make a quick call.

What Kaitanic said above basically sums up the most likely scenario. There is either a hold taking a few days to clear or Hotels.com processed, but then couldn't get the room and it takes a few days to refund.

The main way to get a longer rate is to use a site that doesn't name the hotel until after you book, like Hotwire, Priceline, other Express Deal site. These don't count as an advertised price.

[ck1942]

Just a possible guess....

Best to make sure that whichever booking site you use doesn't include your hobbying phone number or email address which can easily be googled by any property's management and used to deny a room.

[Eva Damita]

Originally Posted by fobolous

Try Hotels Tonight, awesome app and some great deals for booking the day of.

I second this, it has proven handy for me twice.

[phildo]

After the third time hotels.com lured me into a hotel by showing me pictures of the "newly renovated" location and arriving while the shit hole was in full reno, I quit using them. The bit about walk-ins or last minute corp bookings that pay a higher rate bumping you, that sounds about right. Plus hotels do that overbooking thing the same as airlines, counting on a given percentage of no shows.

I hate that shit, so here's my pile on condolences.

[Luv4Fun]

What's strange to me is that AMEX is usually so unbelievably good about just doing what is known as a chargeback - refunding your money and billing it back to the vendor (Hotels.com.) I run a small business and have been on the receiving end of this treatment. I'd be very surprised if amex didn't come through for you.

I work with hotels in my RW company. I was told Friday that those online booking sites buy rooms from the hotel cheaper than even employee discounts. Specifically, a major downtown convention hotel in Dallas sells rooms at ~$40/night to priceline-types compared to $59 for the employee discount vs $143/night online lowest quoted rate. Thus the hotel has every economic incentive to put anyone else in that room. And unfortunately, basically no incentive to help you when you book via 3rd party sites. Just my $.02 - I'm a sucker for a good deal but seldom find much incentive to book rooms via the 3rd party sites any more.

[dallasfan]

I booked a 3.5 star hotel through them for 5 bucks once and I was sure it would not go through. Sure enough...they called and cancelled it the day of. It was a price mistake on their end. I guess I could have argued and gotten some credit but I knew it was a price mistake so I just let it go.

[gladius82]

I book with the hotel directly....I have used priceline.com once and will never use them again. They charged me immediately for the reservation, to pay the hotel later.....when I got to the hotel I could have gotten a better rate and bigger room, but couldn't change it unless I paid again and get a refund from priceline.
If I don't use a hotel...Motel 6, Super 8, etc have worked well.

[rcinokc]

Originally Posted by Luv4Fun

What's strange to me is that AMEX is usually so unbelievably good about just doing what is known as a chargeback - refunding your money and billing it back to the vendor (Hotels.com.) I run a small business and have been on the receiving end of this treatment. I'd be very surprised if amex didn't come through for you.

As both a merchant and a cardholder I can second what he said.