InterContinental Hotels: Priority Club & Inter-Continental Ambassador - No reservation?

On June 11th I made a reservation through the friends and family rate for 1 night at the Holiday Inn Express NYC/Wall Street. According the info on website at time of booking, it was to be opened as of Sept 15th. Now the website is stating reservations after Dec 6th. I have had no notification that the hotel will not be open by my reservation date. I called reservations who had no clue, they gave me the # to the as yet unopened hotel and hung up on me. Of course it was an inoperable #. I then called Priority Club customer service. She told me, I should probably make a reservation elsewhere, and without as much as saying goodbye, transferred me to the 800 reservationist.
The other hotels in NYC which had various sales going on at the time are now not available or have increased greatly in price.

I have a reservation at the Crowne Plaza Times Square for the following 2 nights at the Friends and Family rate, but it is now not available.
Any thoughts on how I should approach this problem.

Had I not checked the hotel website to see if they had updated to include photos, I would never have known about the (I am assuming) delayed opening. I guess we would have arrived to find an unfinished hotel and been scrambling for accommodations elsewhere?

Online Reservation Guarantee

By securing your online reservation with a credit card, you are eligible for our Reservations Guarantee. If your reservation cannot be honored, the host hotel will provide a room at, and transportation to, another convenient and comparable hotel, and pay for telephone calls to notify family of the lodging change. The host hotel will also pay the full cost of the first night's lodging rate, plus tax. Any advance deposit will be refunded.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/1/en/c/3/content/dec/cn/0/en/rd/res.html....Although not sure who you complain to if the hotel is not open...I'm sure they have a procedure in these cases..

I assume your reservation is after Sept 15 then?
I would not worry too much right now; if a hotel fails to meet its initial opening date and hence also needs to "cancel" all reservations, it will contact you and offer you several possiblities at probably better properties/ rooms (for the same price/ greatly discounted/ or even free)

Maybe there's a pre-opening office, and they might help. But let me say again, I am quite sure the hotel will contact you within the next month.

Edit: This happened twice to me so far, Indigo London, and some HI in China, and it was handled very well by the not-yet-open hotel

Edit 2: You have something like a legal contract with the hotel (now, already), and the hotel would be liable for not honoring your reservation or finding alternative accomodation.

You could try calling IHG Guest Relations at 1-800-621-0555 (Salt Lake City) and explain what has happened. They should be able to assist you and calm your nerves a little.

mxm135 :)

You could try calling IHG Guest Relations at 1-800-621-0555 (Salt Lake City) and explain what has happened. They should be able to assist you and calm your nerves a little.

mxm135 :)

Thanks for your replies. I did in fact call Guest Relations. After quite a while on hold, she told me that the opening date for the hotel was now set at 10/15/09. I told her our reservation date was 10/08/09 to which she replied that I should look for a new hotel and without a word she switched me over to reservations. So much for help from guest relations.

Holiday Inn Express NYC/Wall Street.


It's a pity that the former Holiday Inn Wall Street district, which is now the very nice Gild Hall Hotel Wall Street (http://www.wallstreetdistrict.com/index.php?page=gild)) does not belong anymore to the IHG group.

whenever i make a reservation, i always print out the reservation, the confirmation email, and the online credit card statement. I think the Barclay is having a promotion. you should check out other post in this forum.

Thanks for your replies. I did in fact call Guest Relations. After quite a while on hold, she told me that the opening date for the hotel was now set at 10/15/09. I told her our reservation date was 10/08/09 to which she replied that I should look for a new hotel and without a word she switched me over to reservations. So much for help from guest relations.

:rolleyes:

You need to have at least a bit more persistence than that. "So much for help from guest relations" means you are just giving up. The FlyerTalk credo is, if you don't like the answer you get, then call again and talk to someone else. You might actually get a different answer, one that is more to your liking! Also, use the knowledge gained from others on this thread to your advantage.

:rolleyes:

You need to have at least a bit more persistence than that. "So much for help from guest relations" means you are just giving up. The FlyerTalk credo is, if you don't like the answer you get, then call again and talk to someone else. You might actually get a different answer, one that is more to your liking! Also, use the knowledge gained from others on this thread to your advantage.

I didn't give up. In fact as soon as I got the resevations person, I hung up and called guest relations again. She essentially told me the same thing as the first person and suggested that I call Crowne Plaza and ask them to offer me the room for the 8th, and maybe they would still have the friends and Family rate for us. I told her I thought it was up to her to do that for me since it was their mistake in booking a hotel that would not be open. She grudingly asked me to hold and after a few minutes said the original rate that I had booked at the Crowne Plaza was no longer available but that the general manager would give me a call today and discuss it. Of course I still have not gotten a call from them.

I am not sure why the Crowne Plaza would be likely to extend an offer to us, since they really don't have a dog in this fight.

Tomorrow is another day, and I will again call guest services and ask once again for a better solution.

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

You need to escalate to a manager in Guest Relations and perhaps also a manager in Reservations and Priority Club. I've had a similar situation and IHG found an acceptable property nearby, adjusted the rate, gave me the first night free, and threw in 5K goodwill PCR points (their guarantee says they will do all of that except for the points).

The frontline reps can't do much, but there are those who can help.

EDIT: This hotel is managed by Packard Hospitality. I'd contact them as well.
http://www.packard-1.com/by-state
http://www.packard-1.com/executive-team

They have one open hotel in NYC: http://www.hotelreservenyc.com/
That would be one way to reach resolution.

You need to escalate to a manager in Guest Relations and perhaps also a manager in Reservations and Priority Club. I've had a similar situation and IHG found an acceptable property nearby, adjusted the rate, gave me the first night free, and threw in 5K goodwill PCR points (their guarantee says they will do all of that except for the points).

The frontline reps can't do much, but there are those who can help.

EDIT: This hotel is managed by Packard Hospitality. I'd contact them as well.
http://www.packard-1.com/by-state
http://www.packard-1.com/executive-team

They have one open hotel in NYC: http://www.hotelreservenyc.com/
That would be one way to reach resolution.

I will be away from the phone for much of the day today, but will pursue this as soon as I return.

Thanks again to all you Flyertalkers. I appreciate all the valuable information you dispense on a daily basis, and for your pointing me in the right direction for this matter.

What i would do in that situation:
Ask to escalate first to a manager/supervisor.
Explain your case. If you don't get a sufficient answer ask politely for the name of the person you are talking to, the postal address of the company and the name of the person in charge of the operation (like the general manager of the US). Then explain that you will try to find another hotel in the same area, but that this likely will significantly more expensive. Explain that since they are not willing to help you you will ask them to reimburse the difference in cost and also a reasonable amount for the extra time spent to look for a new hotel, change your appointments and the difference in cost. And also tell them that if their response is similar unsatisfying then the past responses you have no problem of taking this to a small claims court.
That usually makes them very helpful.

I agree with soitgoes.

The "Confirmed Reservation Guarantee" should take care of this. Since the OP has a confirmed reservation, IHG should be making the arrangements for an alternate location for the same price or less.

mxm135 :)

I just got off the phone with customer relations once again. He said they had no record of my speaking to anyone there yesterday and that since I booked through the Friends & Family rate online I would have to make another reservation online for Friends & Family rate and see what was available. He also said he could not confirm/deny if my reservation at the original hotel would be available because they are not answering the phone.

I then asked to speak to a supervisor. He gave me a case # and says a supervisor should be contacting me in the next 24-48hrs.

I will update when I hear from a supervisor.:(

Did you call Packard Hospitality?

If you have a confirmed written confirmation number of your online reservation, you should not worry about this issue.

Just send a email at the Priority Club centre, asking for a new reservation in a similar hotel with the first night at the cost of IHG, as promised by the Online Reservation Guarantee.

There is no reason not to have a positive answer.

I then asked to speak to a supervisor. He gave me a case # and says a supervisor should be contacting me in the next 24-48hrs.

I wouldn't have hung up until a supervisor/manager was found.

If you have a confirmed written confirmation number of your online reservation, you should not worry about this issue.

Just send a email at the Priority Club centre, asking for a new reservation in a similar hotel with the first night at the cost of IHG, as promised by the Online Reservation Guarantee.

There is no reason not to have a positive answer.
Are you referring to the link in the customer care service section of the Priority Club site? If so, that was the very first place I sent a notice asking about the opening date for the hotel. I got a notice after submitting the form saying they would respond with 7 business days.

I can't get anyone to tell me they definitely WON'T be open by our reservation date. They are just saying the "proposed" opening is for 10/15/09, and they may actually be open for our stay on 10/08/09.

I can't get anyone to tell me they definitely WON'T be open by our reservation date. They are just saying the "proposed" opening is for 10/15/09, and they may actually be open for our stay on 10/08/09.
Packard Hospitality should be able to help you with that...

Online Reservation Guarantee



http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/1/en/c/3/content/dec/cn/0/en/rd/res.html....Although not sure who you complain to if the hotel is not open...I'm sure they have a procedure in these cases..

Where can I find this online reservation guarantee? Looks like I may have to use it. The supervisor returned my call and said the hotel would not be open in time for my reservation. She said since we had a highly discounted Friends & Family rate that they would find us another hotel, but it may be higher than what we booked. She also said that since it was a hotel that was not yet open, they could not honor paying for our hotel night.

I told her we had a contract and I expected it to be upheld. She says she will look further into the matter and get back to me on Monday.

I have looked over our confirmation and am not finding the guarantee on there.

Direct link (which is already in the post you quoted): http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/c/3/content/dec/cn/0/en/rd/res.html

Link from:
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/advancedsearch

You really should contact the property management. They are likely the cause, and, given the fact that they have a NYC property that's already open, they might be the easiest resolution route. It's also they that have the obligation under the guarantee.

Thanks soitgoes,

I thought I would wait to see what the supervisor suggests and then go to the property management if it is not satisfactory.

Where can I find this online reservation guarantee? Looks like I may have to use it. The supervisor returned my call and said the hotel would not be open in time for my reservation. She said since we had a highly discounted Friends & Family rate that they would find us another hotel, but it may be higher than what we booked. She also said that since it was a hotel that was not yet open, they could not honor paying for our hotel night.

I told her we had a contract and I expected it to be upheld. She says she will look further into the matter and get back to me on Monday.

I have looked over our confirmation and am not finding the guarantee on there.
Wow, talk about appalling service. I actually had a similar thing occur recently where I booked at a Holiday Inn Express. The opening date was delayed until after my reservation date. Since it was a bit away I'd nearly forgotten about the reservation, yet someone from the hotel called me to inform me the hotel would not be open yet so they moved me to another hotel.

It's amazing how night and day the differences from one hotel to another can be, depending on who owns it. Good luck. :)

Update, Supervisor Samantha from customer relations returned my call at 4pm this afternoon. She offered us a room at the Crowne Plaza at the price we booked back in June. There is a difference of $158 for the HI Express and $219 for the Crown Plaza. They are not willing to pay the difference let alone pay for the entire night. I again quoted the guarantee and she said it did not apply since the hotel would not be open. I argued with her and asked for her superior. She said she would have someone call me. I tried telling her I would hold, but after arguing with her for about 5 minutes I finally agreed when she said I would get a return call within 24 hrs.

After hanging up with her, I called Packard Hospitality (thanks soitgoes for that information). She told me that they paid IHG for taking care of those problems and that the contract is with IHG not them.

She did agree to move us to the Hotel Reserve for the same price we were paying at HI Express. I took her up on her offer and will await a confirmation from her.

Thanks to all who replied to my concerns.

Well, so much for Holiday Inn's Online Reservation Guarantee. Guess they only honor that when it suits them.

I got a call back from guest relations telling me that they could do nothing to help me in the situation with the HI Express not opening in time for our reservation. She is giving me 20000 Priority Club points. She told me that I had plenty of time to make alternate hotel arrangements. I to this day have still not gotten anything from the HI Express Wall Street telling me they would not be open in time, and if I had not looked at the website to see if they had added photos, I would still be in the dark about the situation.

I wonder how many unsuspecting guests will show up to find an unopened hotel.

This fiasco has cost me the time of 7 different phone calls and all I got out of it was 20000 Priority Club points.

Thankfully, due to soitgoes, I was able to arrange a reservation at Hotel Reserve.

Well, so much for Holiday Inn's Online Reservation Guarantee. Guess they only honor that when it suits them.
...
This fiasco has cost me the time of 7 different phone calls and all I got out of it was 20000 Priority Club points.

Thankfully, due to soitgoes, I was able to arrange a reservation at Hotel Reserve.

It does sound as though Guest Relations certainly could have handled it better, but it is the hotel that has the obligation under the online reservation guarantee (though IHG should certainly back it up) [cf. "the host hotel will provide"; "the host hotel will pay"]. The hotel that you booked at is giving you a reservation at the same price at the Hotel Reserve. In my opinion they should also give you the first night free, but I suppose you could look at the 20K PCR points as giving you a free night. After all, you could use 15K PCR points for a night at the new HIX Times Square, Candlewood Times Square, or HI Long Island City.

it is the hotel that has the obligation under the online reservation guarantee (though IHG should certainly back it up) [cf. "the host hotel will provide"; "the host hotel will pay"].

According to person I spoke with at Packard, the host hotel company, they pay IHG on a monthly basis to take care of the reservation guarantee. She said it was a contract with IHG and not them.

Who am I to believe? It's a case of he said, she said.

All in all, I think the way they handled it stinks to high heaven. Had I not escalated from reservations, to guest relations (who transferred me back to reservations first time) to insisting on a manager, then to her supervisor, I would have gotten nothing on this, not even points.

Thanks again for all the assistance.

Signing off on this one.

According to person I spoke with at Packard, the host hotel company, they pay IHG on a monthly basis to take care of the reservation guarantee.
Well, that's at least partly wrong. Hotels manage their own inventory, and the classic case of the reservation guarantee's application is an overbooked hotel "walking" a guest. In those cases, it is definitely the hotel that bears the cost of rebooking. Now, in cases where there is a website error, IHG may indeed be responsible, but this case is much more like an overbooking (hotel isn't ready) than the first.

Also, although IHG provides customer service, hotels get fined based on Guest Relations complaints.

At any rate, I think it's clear that the situation was mishandled by the hotel and IHG. The runaround is never acceptable, and guests should have been proactively notified and rebooked when the hotel couldn't meet its open date. I hope you enjoy your stay in New York, and am glad that, in end effect, the substance of the reservation guarantee was fulfilled.