jcroedel
Apr 6, 12, 1:56 pm
Hello everyone, this is my first post. I apologize if it is in the wrong place or otherwise inappropriate. I'm having a problem with kayak.com / hotels.com about a hotel I booked through their site, and am hoping some travelers savvier than I might be able to offer some advice.
First, though, a little introduction. I'm living in northern Saudi Arabia and teaching English here. I've used the opportunity to travel around the Middle East a bit, and have also traveled a fair amount in Asia. I like nice hotels (who doesn't?) and of course try to find online deals whenever possible.
I've always had pretty good luck with kayak.com for airfare, so I was hopeful when I used it to book a hotel for a trip to Riyadh this past January. The rate promised by kayak for a 4-star hotel was 60 SAR/night. Seemingly an exceptionally good deal, but I have gotten some amazing deals online before. Still, I wondered if either the hotel was not really as nice as advertised, or if some mistake had been made.
In fact, a mistake had been made. When I arrived at the hotel, I was told that if I wanted to stay at the hotel I would have to pay 550 SAR/night, instead, and that the hotel no longer even had a contract with kayak. I was mostly resigned to finding another hotel, but first I phoned kayak. On speakerphone at the front desk of the hotel, a kayak.com (hotels.com) agent told me to pay the 550 SAR/night the hotel was asking, and that kayak.com would reimburse me the difference.
I was of course quite happy with this arrangement, and for my week stay gladly paid the hotel the 3850 SAR (or $1027) they asked for. When I returned home, and contacted kayak.com / hotels.com again, they told me to send them the receipts and my bank statement and that everything would be taken care of. They told me I would be reimbursed for $945.80--the difference between the quoted rate and the rate I paid, plus the international transaction fees I paid.
That was more than three months ago. Every few weeks since then I call kayak to check in, and after re-telling this story a few more times to different agents, am told that the reimbursement has been approved by the "Refunds Department," and that I should be receiving it shortly. I have repeatedly asked to speak to someone in the "Refunds Department," and have been repeatedly told that I cannot do so.
I realize now that I should have gotten the promise for reimbursement in writing, but I doubt even that would have helped much. It seems that kayak is just stringing me along, hoping that eventually I will decide this effort is not worth anymore of my time. Given how many kayak.com / hotels.com staff I have interacted with so far, and how similar their behavior towards me has been, it seems that how I have been treated has more to do with company policy than with a few bad employees.
How I wish I had gone to another hotel!
So, that's my problem. Thanks for reading. I would be grateful for any advice, on how, or whether, to proceed. In any case, it's been therapeutic to tell my story! :cool:
Happy travels to you all.
John
First, though, a little introduction. I'm living in northern Saudi Arabia and teaching English here. I've used the opportunity to travel around the Middle East a bit, and have also traveled a fair amount in Asia. I like nice hotels (who doesn't?) and of course try to find online deals whenever possible.
I've always had pretty good luck with kayak.com for airfare, so I was hopeful when I used it to book a hotel for a trip to Riyadh this past January. The rate promised by kayak for a 4-star hotel was 60 SAR/night. Seemingly an exceptionally good deal, but I have gotten some amazing deals online before. Still, I wondered if either the hotel was not really as nice as advertised, or if some mistake had been made.
In fact, a mistake had been made. When I arrived at the hotel, I was told that if I wanted to stay at the hotel I would have to pay 550 SAR/night, instead, and that the hotel no longer even had a contract with kayak. I was mostly resigned to finding another hotel, but first I phoned kayak. On speakerphone at the front desk of the hotel, a kayak.com (hotels.com) agent told me to pay the 550 SAR/night the hotel was asking, and that kayak.com would reimburse me the difference.
I was of course quite happy with this arrangement, and for my week stay gladly paid the hotel the 3850 SAR (or $1027) they asked for. When I returned home, and contacted kayak.com / hotels.com again, they told me to send them the receipts and my bank statement and that everything would be taken care of. They told me I would be reimbursed for $945.80--the difference between the quoted rate and the rate I paid, plus the international transaction fees I paid.
That was more than three months ago. Every few weeks since then I call kayak to check in, and after re-telling this story a few more times to different agents, am told that the reimbursement has been approved by the "Refunds Department," and that I should be receiving it shortly. I have repeatedly asked to speak to someone in the "Refunds Department," and have been repeatedly told that I cannot do so.
I realize now that I should have gotten the promise for reimbursement in writing, but I doubt even that would have helped much. It seems that kayak is just stringing me along, hoping that eventually I will decide this effort is not worth anymore of my time. Given how many kayak.com / hotels.com staff I have interacted with so far, and how similar their behavior towards me has been, it seems that how I have been treated has more to do with company policy than with a few bad employees.
How I wish I had gone to another hotel!
So, that's my problem. Thanks for reading. I would be grateful for any advice, on how, or whether, to proceed. In any case, it's been therapeutic to tell my story! :cool:
Happy travels to you all.
John