Starwood Preferred Guest - Reservation and Cancellation Policy !?!

Hi,

I received a strange e-mail from the Western Cape Hotel this morning asking for a prepayment of my room and all kind of personal financial details.

First I post my reservation confirmation that I received by e-mail from Starwood when I booked the room a few months ago:

Dear xxx,

Thank you for choosing The Luxury Collection. The following confirms your reservation with us.


Arrival Date 27-DEC-2003
Departure Date 30-DEC-2003
Number of Rooms 1
Number of Guests 2



Room 1 of 1
Room Description 2 SINGLE BEDS
DELUXE NON-SMOKING RM MOUNTAIN VIEW ROBES AND SLIPPERS BALCONY DESK AND DATA PORT, UNIQUE AND LUXURIOUS ROOMS DECORATED IN COASTAL SOUTH AFRICA N THEME
Number of Guests Per Room 2
Guest Name xxx
Rate for 27-Dec-03 to 30-Dec-03
Rate Plan: LUXURY ROMANCE
2,200.00 in SOUTH AFRICAN RAND per night

Taxes, Service & Other Charges
VAT 14.00 Percent Per room per night IS IN The rate
TOURISM LEVY 1.00 Percent Per room per night IS IN The rate


[B]Guarantee Rules and Cancellation Policy
Cancel by 6pm Hotel time -arrival day to avoid a 1 night penalty
Your room is guaranteed with a(n) AMEX / OPTIMA card.[\B]

Special Services for All Rooms:
December 27, 2003 - December 30, 2003
Rate Plan: LUXURY ROMANCE
BUFFET BREAKFAST Per Person/per Night
BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE Per Room/per Stay
FULL BREAKFAST Per Room/per Night
FLOWERS Per Room/per Night


They have my SPG number and my credit card number with expiry date.


[This message has been edited by flamboyant 1 (edited Nov 14, 2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by flamboyant 1:
Guarantee Rules and Cancellation Policy
Cancel by 6pm Hotel time -arrival day to avoid a 1 night penalty
Your room is guaranteed with a(n) AMEX / OPTIMA card.
</font>

Now below you will find the content of the e-mail and the attachment:

Kindly complete & sign page 2 on the confirmation and return to fax +27 28 284 0011.

Page 2:

Kindly complete and sign this page and return by fax to 028 284 0011:

CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations received less than 30 days to arrival will result in 10% of the accommodation value being levied. Cancellations received less than 21 days to arrival will result in the full accommodation value being levied.

PRO-FORMA INVOICE

Kindly pre-pay the amounts as stipulated directly into our bank account:
Bank: First National Bank
Account No: 620 269 268 42
Branch: Hermanus
Branch No: 200412
Use Ref No: 29xxx / 29xxx

OR:

Kindly complete the following for pre-payment:

I, _____________________________ hereby authorise The Western Cape Hotel and Spa to debit my credit card
for the amount of R6666.00 (Deduct 27 November 2003) for reservation numbers 29xxx / 29xxx. Please note that we require clear photocopies of the front and back of the credit card.

NAME OF CARDHOLDER: _________________________________________

ID / PASSPORT NUMBER: __________________________________________

CREDIT CARD TYPE: __________________________________________

BANK: __________________________________________

CREDIT CARD NUMBER: __________________________________________

EXPIRY DATE: __________________________________________

SECURITY CODE: __________________________________________

SIGNATURE OF CARDHOLDER: __________________________________________

I hereby acknowledge receipt of my accommodation confirmation, and agree that all details are correct. I have read and understand the terms & conditions as well as the cancellation policy as set out in this confirmation.
I agree to pre-pay my accommodation on the dates stipulated.

FORM OF PAYMENT: ______________________________________

GUEST NAME:

GUEST SIGNATURE: ______________________________________

I know that I had to send the South Africa TA who booked my RWStar tickets my cc details and a photocopy but this is new for me at any major hotel chain.

I hold a reservation confirmed with my Amex Centurion Card at a normal, not bogus, rate. So this is no problem. Now:
Why do I have to prepay ? Why is the hotel allowed to change the policies stated in my reservation confirmation contract ?

Why do they not reply to my e-mails ? The information about golf courses in the area that I asked for about 10 days ago has not yet been received.

They should improve their communication skills.

William, how do you see this issue ?

Situation resolved. Had a great SPG agent on the phone and she sorted it out with the hotel. The terms listed on reservation from Starwood will be valid. Thanks. Great, fast, efficient customer service!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Nevertheless I still think the e-mail of the Western Cape hotel should have never been send out!