Hotel Deals - [EXPIRED] Crowne Plaza Venice East Quarto D Altino 1€

I was over on the Intercontinental Forum and found this one. On the promo thread under Valid until 31August is the 2 for 1 promotion. I was able to book Crowne Plaza for .01Euro. When the confirmation printed I was charged a whole 1Euro for the two nights. I booked reservations for Jan 2010. I was able to successfully price 1Euro of many dates in 2009/2010. Now I hope they honor the mistake. My confirmation was received and printed

Great find OP. Here's the link. I priced it out every date I checked into summer of 2010. Max 2 nights per reservation. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/1/en/c/1/content/dec/teaser/6c/1/en/lp/emea/twofor1.html?rateCode=IDEX1&cm_mmc=partnership-_-exclusive-_-241-_-mva It is pre-paid and no cancel so I find that to be an advantage.

Great find OP. Here's the link. I priced it out every date I checked into summer of 2010. Max 2 nights per reservation. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/1/en/c/1/content/dec/teaser/6c/1/en/lp/emea/twofor1.html?rateCode=IDEX1&cm_mmc=partnership-_-exclusive-_-241-_-mva It is pre-paid and no cancel so I find that to be an advantage.


I tried dates in May 2010 and 'no go' :(

I trieds dates in May 2010 and 'no go' :(

o.k., I see, you have to book 2 at a time.

o.k., I see, you have to book 2 at a time.Correct. 2 nights. Not 1, not 3. Just 2 and no more nights per reservation. Pre-paid. No cancel.

Yep, great find. Now all I need is a cheap AMS-VCE ticket!

Thanks a lot!

booked 4 nights for next May. Thanks to the OP!

thank you catstvl; booked for october.

Got it too. Thanks OP and FT...!

To those who are wondering, this hotel is NOT in Venice but near it.
Before you book, map it to confirm that you are ok with the location...

I was over on the Intercontinental Forum and found this one. On the promo thread under Valid until 31August is the 2 for 1 promotion. I was able to book Crowne Plaza for .01Euro. When the confirmation printed I was charged a whole 1Euro for the two nights. I booked reservations for Jan 2010. I was able to successfully price 1Euro of many dates in 2009/2010. Now I hope they honor the mistake. My confirmation was received and printed


phu boy, what can we do there? it is far away from anything...

^^ I got 4th of July next year for 4 nights. Hope this works out. Have a hard enough time for Italian hotels not finding my award reservation or prepaid confirmation.

phu boy, what can we do there? it is far away from anything...It's on the train route - next to the hotel - to Venice. 25 minutes. Tripadvisor gives it great reviews. See the pics of the train from the hotel
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g227671-d488915-Reviews-Crowne_Plaza_Venice_East_Quarto_d_Altino-Quarto_D_Altino_Veneto.html

Wow! What a deal. I reserved two nights in April. Any experienced FT'ers want to weigh in on the odds that this rate will be honored?

Great deal! I stayed here a couple of years ago. I booked it as a Holiday Inn but was upgraded to a CP by the time I arrived. Nicely reno'd, and very close to a train to Venice (literally behind he hotel). Has free pickup and drop off to VCE--just let them know when your flight is. Mine was very late, and they arranged a car and driver for me (nice Mercedes sedan ride)

Brian

Wow! What a deal. I reserved two nights in April. Any experienced FT'ers want to weigh in on the odds that this rate will be honored?

My guess: Will not be honored for sure :D

Wow, this would be great to tack onto both ends of a Hilton AXON at Molino Stucky. ^

Got it too. Thanks OP and FT...!

To those who are wondering, this hotel is NOT in Venice but near it.
Before you book, map it to confirm that you are ok with the location...

Exactly, but the hotel is very close to the train station and in about 30 minutes you will be in Venice (and the train fare is below 3 EUR for a single journey). So for all of you who can benefit of this offer (I am also wondering to try to book for myself, even if I live very close to Venice....) I can assure it is a big deal, despite the distance from venice....

Very nice find! Booked for 4 next May.
Had a similar situation in Toronto a few months ago, booked it, got a phone call from the hotel the following day... this is Italy though, I bet no phone call;)

My guess: Will not be honored for sure :D

I said experienced FT'ers. From your number of posts you are even more of a rookie than me! :p

Unfortunately, though, you are probably right and I have wasted one whole euro. ;)

Just normal thinking, I guess. Can really not imagine the hotel wants to give us a room for one cent :cool:

Is there a clause on their website that pricing errors will not be honored?

Besides, I have to agree with dickinson - its Italy, its August, by the time these guys wake up from their summer siesta, and decide on how to respond, it will be another month :):)

I said experienced FT'ers. From your number of posts you are even more of a rookie than me! :p

Unfortunately, though, you are probably right and I have wasted one whole euro. ;)

I booked using one of my pre-paid credit card with only an half EUR left, and was charged for 0,01 EUR. Is higher the cost of the paper and ink to print the reservation;)

I am quite sure the reservation will not be honoured, but in this case they have to refund the credit card charge... ;)

Wow! What a deal. I reserved two nights in April. Any experienced FT'ers want to weigh in on the odds that this rate will be honored?

What part of "reservations are final" do you not understand? :D

What part of "reservations are final" do you not understand? :D

exactly, if I am not allowed to get my 1 cent back and cancel ... they can't either ;)
Corporate might have to help them ;)

Wow, this would be great to tack onto both ends of a Hilton AXON at Molino Stucky. ^

I had tacked on this hotel (for my last night in the Venice area) to my AXON at Molino Stucky with the IHG Friends & Family deal a couple weeks ago. I just booked a couple nights at this incredible rate for a weekend getaway next spring...

OP, thanks so much for posting!

I am booked up for a euro.

if it is canceled no skin off my back, I lose more than this in the laundry each month.

appears it's been pulled. Now offered at 90 euros for a standard room (who in their right mind would pay that for a CP in the middle of nowhere?)

Oh well, I have to make do with just 4 nights next May as opposed to the 6 I was hoping for.

Thanks ^^ -- looks like Memorial day 2010 is no longer working...book fast!

I am in for 4 nights next May as well. I hope the hotel will honor it.

appears it's been pulled.

still available for me ... for two nights.

And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to TWO, no more, no less. TWO shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be TWO. THREE shalt thou not count, neither count thou ONE, excepting that thou then proceed to TWO. FOUR is right out. Once the number TWO, being the second number, be reached, then book room. ;)

Thanks ^^ -- looks like Memorial day 2010 is no longer working...book fast!

yep looks like I got the last of the available in may 2010, checked several more dates with no luck.

still available for me ... for two nights.

And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to TWO, no more, no less. TWO shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be TWO. THREE shalt thou not count, neither count thou ONE, excepting that thou then proceed to TWO. FOUR is right out. Once the number TWO, being the second number, be reached, then book room. ;)


Yes, and if wanting to book back to back it fails, you have to skip a day, but even that trick as quit for me now, maybe 4 nights is the max(total) :(

Still available, I checked random dates in February 2009, just now, 6 pm EST.

dolce vita booked dec n may thanks you^

† As taxes and service charges may fluctuate from the time a reservation is made until the actual stay and during the actual stay, the Total Price is an estimate. Other hotel-specific service charges may also apply. Check with hotel for details. Additional taxes may apply for hotels booked in Tokyo, Japan that exceeds 10,000JPY/person per stay.

It might be a catch.

Regards

I'll cross me fingers this gets honored!

no working dates anymore for next year?

I check the availability from Jan to July 2010, and it is still availale. So booded 2 nights from July 1. ^

With all due respect, I doubt this is a promotion...!!! It would have been mentioned somewhere. Has to be an error.

Link to "Terms and Conditions" on the promo page is broken. It seems to be an error.

Regards

Just booked a bunch more rooms. Seems to work just fine...!

But will it be a qualifying stay? A Bonus Triggerer? :p

...Could qualify for Plat for €30 at this rate!

Link to "Terms and Conditions" on the promo page is broken.
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/1/en/c/3/content/dec/teaser/6c/1/en/lp/emea/twofor/tcs.html
as found on
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c/925/en/c/1/content/dec/teaser/6c/1/en/lp/emea/twofor.html?rateCode=IDEX1&cm_mmc=partnership-_-exclusive-_-2for1-_-exclusive

PS. ^ catstvl
Thank you!

Just booked a bunch more rooms. Seems to work just fine...!^ -- what dates are you seeing it for, Spring 2010 is coming back as "rate not available".

Am I an idiot or what? From 1 to 3 July the cheapest is 90 EUR as are the all other dates. anyone finding certain dates available RIGHT NOW ?

Yep. I still see it for June 4 - 8. Just a few random dates that I selected. Looks like several days in early July are sold out for this promo. Not sure if any at all are still available in July. (Though I have little interest in being there in July if May/June is an option.)

I booked about an hour ago for mid-May. All or some of my dates are no longer showing availability.

OMG. [sigh]

I have 4nts mid/late-April.

Hilton Molino Stucky won't even come up in award search results for ALL of April. :(

Oh it's 2-for-1 rate. Sorry didnt read the whole thread. seeing it now

^ -- what dates are you seeing it for, Spring 2010 is coming back as "rate not available".
I booked for early May.

just booked MLK and President's Day weekends.
Also 6 nights over Spring Break, March 27-April 2.
Got confirmation emails.
Did some idiot really call them? Yikes.
Thanks to OP!

Just booked a bunch more rooms. Seems to work just fine...!

PLEASE only book rooms you really want/need. Don't book for a year just because you want to stay for a few weekends. This kind of stuff can ruin it for everybody.

I'll cross me fingers this gets honored!

So you got on this one + MH? Me too! Hope they both get honored. Interesting weekend.

Yeah, actually, I owe the MH deal to a friend waking me out of a deep slumber. This Venice deal was the same story. Somehow, this weekend has brought lots of luck to FTers!

Did some idiot really call them? Yikes.

LOL.

For some reason this comes up evertime there a deal like this one. Someone decides to call randomly! Why would they want to do that? Insane!!!

...Could qualify for Plat for €30 at this rate!

Only if you live there and can go check in every other day. No way to book these rates for more than 2 days at a time, correct?

Found some dates in late April. Also found lots of availability in Mid July.

Thanks to SF, those of us who would like to take a RISK and see what happens, cannot do so.

General Buford once said, "Keep a CLEAR eye," so perhaps SF can tell us how he helped anyone with his CALL to the HOTEL? How does that HELP anyone, pray tell?

Dates are still available. If you want them, book them.

Booked four reservations, March 6 to 14. Hopefully they honor it...

thank you, catstvl! ^
honored or not, it's a fun way to spend a sunday evening.
thanks for posting!

It's still working!

Is the ICHG website down? I cant get it to load. It might also be heavy traffic or the ding-dong that called :td: I vote he/she be banned from FT.

ETA: NM it just loaded.

is there a limit to these?

Is the ICHG website down? I cant get it to load. It might also be heavy traffic or the ding-dong that called :td: I vote he/she be banned from FT.

ETA: NM it just loaded.It works just fine for me.

I do not intend to book this as I will be in Europe but do not plan to be anywhere near Venice; I am just having fun and contemplating...

I mean 1 free night per person?

I've only booked 2 blocks, hopefully this does not make it invalid

I mean 1 free night per person?

I've only booked 2 blocks, hopefully this does not make it invalid

you're not alone hoping this. ;)

I mean 1 free night per person?

I've only booked 2 blocks, hopefully this does not make it invalid

T&C's do not seem to prohibit it:


TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1) 2 for 1 offer is based on the Best Flex Rate and consists of two consecutive night stays for the price of one, based on two adults sharing a standard twin/double room (max.2 adults per room) at participating hotels only.
2) Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability - please check at time of booking.
3) Full payment must be made at time of booking; no cancellations or amendments permitted; no refunds given.
4) Up to 2 children under the age of 18 stay free when sharing a room with up to 2 adults, if suitable accommodation is available.
5) Single supplement will be charged at the full room per night price.
6) Offer applicable for bookings and stays made from 1st April- 31st August 2009.
7) Limited availability may be applicable over public holidays.
8) All rooms are subject to availability with a limited number of rooms available at these offer rates.
9) Rates may vary by date of booking.
10) Offer not available to groups and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers or special promotions.
11) A booking made pursuant to this offer is non transferable.
12) Offer only available at participating hotels in the UK & Europe

Booked 10 nights (8 nights free 2 @ 45 Euro) for my parents 25th wedding anniversary.

Hopefully its legit.

Also booked a stay in July under my name (i'm ambassador) if they remove the booking i may hopefully get a few points.

Thank you OP! Got 2 - 2 nights in April.

Seems the hotel found the error(?) and the rates were corrected.
Now, it said 90~275 Eur on next june(days I got 0.01 Eur).

Seems the hotel found the error(?) and the rates were corrected.
Now, it said 90~275 Eur on next june(days I got 0.01 Eur).

It's still available. I just managed to price it for Jan dates. 6:11 p.m. PDT.

It's still available. I just managed to price it for Jan dates. 6:11 p.m. PDT.

Is that right?
So maybe, my days I reserved have no more promotional rate(two for one rate) avaialble???

I already booked Cash & Point at venice Europe & regina for next June.
We will see what would happen to this new reservation.

Is there any direct train to the island of Venice or we have to change a train at Venice Mestre?

It's still available. I just managed to price it for Jan dates. 6:11 p.m. PDT.

Also saw that as of 917pm PDT

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this was the same mistake the Toronto Airport location had the last BOGO special. I tried to search for it - couldn't find it. Or my memory is off. A man from the hotel called the next day- he sounded completely frazzled, apologized profusely for the mistake, said he was away from the hotel unexpectedly and unable to fix the mistake because his wife just had a baby... I didn't even have the heart to razz him a bit over it and just congratulated him and "owell". So I'm not real hopeful but perhaps policy is different elsewhere.

I think the deal is dead. I tried the entire month of May 2010, all I get is this,

There are no rooms available for your requested travel criteria. Please consider either modifying your requirements or searching alternate hotels.

Funny. How many times will the deal be dead before actually they correct the rate...

still avail Apr 7-9

Within the last hour I managed to find Oct 12-16, Dec 12-18, and Feb 5-10.

Funny. How many times will the deal be dead before actually they correct the rate...

I think the IC site is setting a cookie making it seem dead, I tried another browser and got some results available, but I think 4 nights is enough after thinking it over.

Not dead.
Booked a room 1 min ago

also avail feb 28-mar 2.

lots of 'no rooms' messages for other dates, but try tweaking your dates.

Might be best to focus on weekend check-in dates. The T&C's seem to emphasize weekend availability for the promo:

2) Stays are available over Fri, Sat and Sun nights with many hotels offering midweek availability - please check at time of booking.

I phoned to the hotel, in order to be sure this is not a mistake, and the operator (no manager on duty at night time) told me that he is sure this is one of the several promotion the hotel has for the next months...

What a great idea. Call the hotel.

Feb 10-12 is avail, pre valentine days fun

You are right!

It is still available (could be very limited now) as of 7:44pm PST.

Just found the following available dates
as of 1052pm EST
Oct8-10
Dec6-8, 7-9, 8-10, 9-11, 13-15, 14-16 and 15-17
Mar1-3, 7-9, 8-10, 14-16, 15-17
Nothing in April or May

just booked oct 18-22nd of this year. 2 sep reservations

dead now? page goes blank when trying to book

dead now? page goes blank when trying to book


Just tried a test billing on Dec. 6, no problem. Try nuking you cookie and cache first.

Just tried a test billing on Dec. 6, no problem. Try nuking you cookie and cache first.

test Dec 15th

Just tried a test billing on Dec. 6, no problem. Try nuking you cookie and cache first.

im getting a blank as well, different computer, it lets me choose the room i want, but wont let me finish it. It may just be overloaded?

Just booked 2 nights starting 12/20/08. Thanks OP.

Tried making another booking for 12/23/08, the rate shows up on search, but when I go to book that rate does not show up.

A bit late in the day to be asking - but did anyone check other CP hotels to see if this delightful fate exists elsewhere in Italy of the EU?
I checked Geneva, Rome, Paris, London... multiple 2010 dates... no luck

After a 11pm call from my brother in Canada. Booked 2 rooms for 2 days in May. Checked flights BMI and they are around £80 rtn. Fingers crossed its still okay.^

I'm trying a bunch of dates in mid-Dec and am getting 'no availability at that rate'

I'm trying a bunch of dates in mid-Dec and am getting 'no availability at that rate'

Well, I'm sure that FT'ers and other have booked thousands of rooms by this point. I'd recommend trying to book for late July, and see if you find rooms then. If so, then I'd guess that all the rooms for December are gone.

Well, I'm sure that FT'ers and other have booked thousands of rooms by this point. I'd recommend trying to book for late July, and see if you find rooms then. If so, then I'd guess that all the rooms for December are gone.

Tried every weekend in June and July (I believe that the promo says weekend)...until eos... and nothing.

think renard is right and it's really gone now.

i checked all dates in march and december, plus many in feb, getting the same 'rooms not available at this rate' message.

It might have been the call to the property that alerted them...or they went and cleared all rates entered last couple of days....oh well, more luck for us that did not book next time....

Booked two getaways in October and March. Thanks alot for sharing, catstvl!
Now wait and see what's gonna happen..

Anybody had their credit card charged yet for thE "DEPOSIT"?

IIRC it can take a few days,
or sometimes the charge is only put through
some time closer to the stay.

Oh yes, I just noticed: The hotel offer free shuttle service to and from Venice Marco Polo airport for reservations made through this website. Please provide flight details in advance.

nice !

Darn. Too late. :(

I love Venice.

Anybody had their credit card charged yet for thE "DEPOSIT"?

IIRC it can take a few days,
or sometimes the charge is only put through
some time closer to the stay.

Oh yes, I justt noticed: The hotel offer free shuttle service to and from Venice Marco Polo airport for reservations made through this website. Please provide flight details in advance.

nice !

No charges as of yet for my 3 reservations.

Thanks again to the OP for finding this deal. I was able to book 3x two night stays for July 2010. Hopefully we'll get charged soon so this prepayment becomes official and the hotel loses their wiggle room to back out.

No charges on my reserved rooms.

Before I clicked "Book" or proceed/confirm or whatever, I read the T&C and it just said that the hotel would charge my card at any time between the time of reservation and the date of arrival.

The intresting part about IC hotels charging is that I have been charged on the day that I make the reservation, a month later or the day before the stay. There really does not seem to a fixed time when they charge you.

Hello!

Is there any date, where you can book it? I can´t find a date!

Best regards

Stefan

Hello!

Is there any date, where you can book it? I can´t find a date!

Best regards

Stefan

sorry, deal gone.

40 car pile up removed. Thread now reopened. Please keep it on topic.

MileageAddict
Moderator

I was about to UNsubscribe to this thread, when suddenly it's clean as a whistle! :cool:
So who has the first reservations? If the hotel doesn't contact anyone, they will be the guinea pig.... I have January 16-18, but probably won't use that one, since I'm more likely going in February and March.

Not until May 2010 and no charge on cc yet

Mine are in April/May.

I'm December 20, but assume that others will be able to test it out before me.

I'm December 20, but assume that others will be able to test it out before me.

I have the first res on nov 22 will report back

Nov 13

Okt 14 and Nov 8. Not sure about the Oktober booking yet. No cheap flights out of NL.

Oct 8 check in - if all goes well.

Oct 8 check in - if all goes well.
Please report if complementary airport shuttle is available at this €0.01 rate.

TY

Please report if complementary airport shuttle is available at this €0.01 rate.

TY
How about not making a big deal about the "rate" at all and just treat this like a normal stay. Don't raise flags or make waves where its not needed.

Please report if complementary airport shuttle is available at this €0.01 rate.

TY

The hotel's website has information on airport shuttle service. Tripadvisor, which is linked in the first few posts of this thread, also has the answer to your question.

=================================================

Once the dust has further settled on this deal, I'll start a Comm Buzz thread with our stays to see where we intersect. You can be precise or vague with your dates.

How about not making a big deal about the "rate" at all and just treat this like a normal stay. Don't raise flags or make waves where its not needed.
Seriously? This looks like a "normal" rate to you? If this is a "normal" rate, I would expect CP to provide complementary airport shuttle as stated in their website. But it is not a "normal" rate, so please let me find out.

Raise flags or make waves? I am not asking anybody to call to find out. I merely asking whoever going to stay there first to provide this information after their stay.

Please kindly report here if anyone receive any contacts(by phone or by e-mail) from the hotel or Crown Plaza management.
Usually, it takes a few days to a week to figure out how many nights are reserved with this rate and what kind of action the hotel will take.

I just spoke to an IHG reservation supervisor and was told the hotel has to honour the bookings made as they are confirmed bookings.
Just be sure to bring a copy of the booking.

I just spoke to an IHG reservation supervisor and was told the hotel has to honour the bookings made as they are confirmed bookings.

Just be sure to bring a copy of the booking.

I'd feel even more comfortable if IHG ran the credit cards though. I realize it's an absurbly low amount to process, but the action will to some extent "speak greater than words".

I'd feel even more comfortable if IHG ran the credit cards though. I realize it's an absurbly low amount to process, but the action will to some extent "speak greater than words".

Rate Description: 2 night minimum stay required. Special Savings! Reservations are final and require full prepayment for the entire stay. Credit card is charged between time of booking and day of arrival. No refunds if cancelled or changed.

So it can take a while until CC will be charged.

My CC will expire next March. I hope the hotel will not say in April that the CC could not be charged (after March) therefore no more reservation.

Stay at both the quarto D'latino and the Molino. Both locations are inconvenient to say the least. If you advise the hotel of the arrival times, the car will be waiting. Otherwise a call from the airport means about a half hour wait. Hotel is not close to Venice at all. Train takes you to Main station where you can hop on a bus or boat to Venice. I find that if you have only a few days to spend, that is a lot of time wasted. We checked into the Molino after CP thinking that we are going to be spoilt but again, we had to struggle with luggage onto the boat, then walked from the dock to the hotel. Not far if you don't have luggage. If breakfast is not included in your rate, be prepared to spend lots of euros. Service in Molino is non-existent. For the same money, you can get better location on Venice itself.

For the same money, you can get better location on Venice itself.

I'd love to hear of two nights for .01 Euros in Venice. Please advise.

Rate Description: 2 night minimum stay required. Special Savings! Reservations are final and require full prepayment for the entire stay. Credit card is charged between time of booking and day of arrival. No refunds if cancelled or changed.

So it can take a while until CC will be charged.

My CC will expire next March. I hope the hotel will not say in April that the CC could not be charged (after March) therefore no more reservation.


Wow, I never thought about the whole CC thing. The card I used I will not have come next year either. I would hate to show up only to find out they tried to run the charge though the day before, saw it was a closed account, and canceled the reservation. Just something that never crossed my mind.

I thought since it was an advance purchase the charge would happen, like now? But I guess that's not the case.

As someone mentioned before, I checked the tripadvisor.
I found so many good reviews about this hotel.
Not many people complained about the distance to Venice.
It takes only 25 minutes and the train station is located just behind the hotel.
We can purchase the train ticket at the hotel which is convenient for tourist.
As long as we do not go back and forth between the venice and the hotel during a day, this is not a bad location at all, especially if it is almost free night.

I had reserved Europe & Regina, and I know it is a good hotel to stay looking down the grand canal.
But in order to see the canal from our room, we usually have to pay 600-700 Eur a day.

50 minutes ride (round trip) vs 600 euro .
Winner is ?????;) (if the hotel honors the rate!)

I did not know this hotel before although I have been to Venice 6 times.
Even if this hotel rate is 80~100Euro, this hotel may not be bad choice, especially if we have a car.
Usually, I parked at the parking of Piazza Rome and brought our luggage to the hotel ourselves.

These are some interesting links relating to the today issue of local newspapers, both of them are nationally unimportant, but widely read locally.
Hope somedoby can understand italian:

http://www.ilgazzettino.it/articolo_app.php?id=20862&sez=NORDEST&npl=&desc_sez=


http://ricerca.quotidianiespresso.it/nuovavenezia?query=Crowne+Plaza+Venice+East&view=locali.la+Nuova+di+Venezia

For those of you not familiar with the language a short summary.

IHG press office yesterday spread the news that this 0.01 offer in not a mistake of somedoby of their staff, but an act of an hacker who in the night between sunday and monday (late afternoon in US) entered a fake promotion.
Appears that the hotel had more than 5000 bookings (many of them for groups of several rooms!) in two hours.
In my opinion this is totally false and IHG is trying to protect itself against proper claims for prepaid and confirmed rooms, and for this reason issued a press release regarding hacker attak.

These are some interesting links relating to the today issue of local newsparers, both of them are nationally unimportant, but widely read locally.
Hope somedoby can undertand italian:

http://www.ilgazzettino.it/articolo_app.php?id=20862&sez=NORDEST&npl=&desc_sez=


http://ricerca.quotidianiespresso.it/nuovavenezia?query=Crowne+Plaza+Venice+East&view=locali.la+Nuova+di+Venezia

For those of you not familiar with the language a short summary.

IHG press office yesterday spread the news that this 0.01 offer in not a mistake of somedoby of their staff, but an act of an hacker who in the night between sunday and monday (late afternoon in US) entered a fake promotion.
Appears that the hotel had more than 5000 bookings (many of them for groups of several rooms!) in two hours.
In my opinion this is totally false and IHG is trying to protect itself against proper claims for prepaid and confirmed rooms, and for this reason issued a press release regarding hacker attak.

Nice find and good post, SF. My Italian is a bit rusty but they do seem to be stating their system was hacked into - go figure!

It would be better for IHG simply to comunicate to anyone who made the booking that they won't be honored.

It was obvious to anyone that the rate of 0.01 EUR was a price mistake.

For sure, they did not confirm that the price of 0.01 EUR will be honored. They may have confirmed that those pre-paid bookings would be honored, not knowing that the price was 0.01 EUR @:-)

Well, now we know that the rate includes breakfast! I think they're going to use the "hacker" excuse to cancel everything. Google translate says this:Lorenzo Baldoni
VENICE (August 12) - Who does not like to spend two nights in Venice in a luxury hotel in the modest sum of ten cents, breakfast included?
At a time of crisis like the current one where many are forced to tighten their belts would be a really nice gift. Unfortunately, this is a joke, a "fish" ferragosto, given the period. Because an attacker on the night of Sunday, August 9 was able to enter the central computer system that is located in Atlanta, the most famous hotel chain in the world, namely the IHG (International Hotels Group), which includes Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Express and Intercontinental, and has opened a promotion PIZAZZ on-line. So much so that at the Crowne Plaza Venice East Quarto d'Altino arrived within two hours of sun 5000 bookings.

Everything is done in real time. From the direction of which is located in Viale della Resistenza do know that the technicians are still working to take away from sites promoting bluff. We immediately closed the reservation systems bluff, but now is open the problem to warn more than 5,000 customers that their dream of sleeping in Venice at 10 cents has vanished like a summer storm."

The news has traveled the world, so just go to google and type "Crowne Plaza Hotel Venice East - mistake (error)" and no mention of other overseas especially in the United States. The news is then issued to blog blog, from community to community, resulting in bookings from the U.S., Norway, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Estonia.

The attacker is obviously a connoisseur of the big hotels and their quality. Why the Crowne Plaza Venice East is one of the most luxurious Venetian inland, quoted in trade journals for its services.

IHG's claim of a hacker doesn't pass the smell test, IMO.

Their spinmeister's are hard at work.....

Well, now we know that the rate includes breakfast! I think they're going to use the "hacker" excuse to cancel everything. Google translate says this:

Translation from the italian of Google is worse then my english!!!!!!!!

And also the journalist is quite unskilled, consider that the Gazzettino is a newspaper venetians use only to see obituaries :( and listing of movies in local cinemas....;) Other news are quite unreliable.
I suppose is for this reason that IHG is using these low quality newspapers trying to sell the hacker attack to the public.....

Wow, a "Hacker Defense", very interesting, and innovative.

We rarely get a clear understanding of the mechanics
of mistake rates, but I usually assume some internal
problem, i.e. fat-finger error, etc.

Has anyone seen this "Hacker" issue invoked before?
I don't remember any such case.

Now, if someone hacked into my Schwab account
and fiddles things around, Schwab has a clear
policy that I will be protected.

What that is worth is a different question, but at least
they have a public policy to take responsibility in such cases.

Anyway, this newspaper article is hardly a
defiinitive response from IHG,

.....but, I am not bookiing any air
to Marco Polo airport just yet !:eek:

Does it not seem a bit unlikely that a hacker with the capability to hack into ICHG system would choose to make this price for some obscure hotel on the outskirts of Venice? And not several hotels, perhaps of higher cost?

I think this might be the manager or someone trying to cover their own buttocks.

Does it not seem a bit unlikely that a hacker with the capability to hack into ICHG system would choose to make this price for some obscure hotel on the outskirts of Venice? And not several hotels, perhaps of higher cost?

I think this might be the manager or someone trying to cover their own buttocks.


Your question was answered in the last line of the article.

:D :D :D

The attacker is obviously a connoisseur of the big hotels and their quality. Why the Crowne Plaza Venice East is one of the most luxurious Venetian inland, quoted in trade journals for its services.

Dear Hacker,

Please do it again to prove you really exist...

*rubbing hands in glee* Now the fun begins.

I wonder whether IHG will even have the courtesy to inform guests who made the bookings...

Does it not seem a bit unlikely that a hacker with the capability to hack into ICHG system would choose to make this price for some obscure hotel on the outskirts of Venice? And not several hotels, perhaps of higher cost?
Indeed.

It doesn't seem like a typical hack.

No, perhaps there was some sort of disgruntled former employee who had access to the hotel's reservation system who did something, but, outside of that, this looks like a hotel error.

Does it not seem a bit unlikely that a hacker with the capability to hack into ICHG system would choose to make this price for some obscure hotel on the outskirts of Venice? And not several hotels, perhaps of higher cost?

I think this might be the manager or someone trying to cover their own buttocks.

Fully agree.... and in my opinion this is the reason the management of the Crowne Plaza Venice East, with the support of IHG HQ, is using two local newspaper (the only within their reach) to circulate the news about the hacker attack.
I can bet they offered money or free stays to both the journalists in order to popularize this thesis...

Fully agree.... and in my opinion this is the reason the management of the Crowne Plaza Venice East, with the support of IHG HQ, is using two local newspaper (the only within their reach) to circulate the news about the hacker attack.
I can bet they offered money or free stays to both the journalists in order to popularize this thesis...

I agree. It seems really beyond reason that the "master hacker" would only choose the Crowne Plaza in Quarto d'Altino.... as opposed to- oh, I don't know- New York, London, or Hong Kong?

I suppose if a hacker really exists then IHG will be starting a lawsuit. Afterall I'm sure they are insured against hackers. Of course it would look bad for them to start a lawsuit and have Police come in and find out that it was in fact a fat finger of a disgruntled employee.

I sense that this could get very interesting.

So far we have October as the first reported stay.

I am assuming that most if not all the rooms were booked courtesy the FT posting - so would the August / September folks make themselves known???

:)

Hacker, schmacker. Just a lame excuse for a fat fingered data entry operator. If I was picking a hotel to get a super rate with, I would pick something quite a bit better. Maybe the IC in HKG, SIN, or somewhere interesting in Europe.

This will at least, provide entertainment for quite some time.

If we were to take this "hacker" theory seriously, then we would of course have to be worried about all our credit card information. Seems like IHG would have to provide credit card monitoring free for a few years to each member who had their credit card info online. Sounds like 100 million dollars to me.

I suppose if a hacker really exists then IHG will be starting a lawsuit. Afterall I'm sure they are insured against hackers. Of course it would look bad for them to start a lawsuit and have Police come in and find out that it was in fact a fat finger of a disgruntled employee.


My employers have placed a lot of cyber-liability insurance over the last decade. IHG would be the type of firm that generally would buy this kind of coverage.

A disguntled ex-employee would likely be covered by the carrier. Of course IHG would actually have to file a claim and assist in its investigation. :rolleyes:

What isn't going to be clear is what the actual damages are. An insurance carrier might argue contractually that the true incremental cost of the almost free rooms are a fraction of the rack rate.

I suppose if a hacker really exists then IHG will be starting a lawsuit. Afterall I'm sure they are insured against hackers. Of course it would look bad for them to start a lawsuit and have Police come in and find out that it was in fact a fat finger of a disgruntled employee.

I sense that this could get very interesting.

Let's have a look at the police report.

I suppose if a hacker really exists then IHG will be starting a lawsuit. Afterall I'm sure they are insured against hackers. Of course it would look bad for them to start a lawsuit and have Police come in and find out that it was in fact a fat finger of a disgruntled employee.

I sense that this could get very interesting.


I think we're getting fixated on the word "hacker." I think that the paper used that word for sensationalist purposes.

I bet the manager said someone went in and changed it (meaning revenue management in Atlanta or something). The paper interpreted it as a break-in, which it wasn't.

Remember papers are often inaccurate.

http://www.ilgazzettino.it/articolo_app.php?id=20862&sez=NORDEST&npl=&desc_sez=


http://ricerca.quotidianiespresso.it/nuovavenezia?query=Crowne+Plaza+Venice+East&view=locali.la+Nuova+di+Venezia

IHG press office yesterday spread the news that this 0.01 offer in not a mistake of somedoby of their staff, but an act of an hacker who in the night between sunday and monday (late afternoon in US) entered a fake promotion.
Appears that the hotel had more than 5000 bookings (many of them for groups of several rooms!) in two hours.
In my opinion this is totally false and IHG is trying to protect itself against proper claims for prepaid and confirmed rooms, and for this reason issued a press release regarding hacker attak.

Yeah, okay. I believe this if you believe that hacker also broke into my hotel room last night. Logged onto internet, ordered up room service and pay per view while I was out. Not my fault, really.

Hate how the hotel shamelessly gives themselves a plug of being one of the most luxurious inland hotels at the same time in the article. Never heard of them before, but their response seems well, immature at best.

that's a new one ... what a joke !

:td::td::td:

My res still shows and after 5 days I really expect them to honor it !

Today the news about the hacker attack appears on the most important italian newspapers... unfortunately at the moment nobody from IHG or local hotel management is able to demonstrate is really an hacker attack.

According to the initial newspaper(not a reliable one), the hacker attacked the central reservation system based in Atlanta, GA, right?
Do we have any news in USA?

It should be a big news if central hotel/airline reservations in US based mainframe are attacked by hackers.

Today the news about the hacker attack appears on the most important italian newspapers... ..and which newspaper might that be?
Anybody find a lnk to an online version of this story?

..and which newspaper might that be?
Anybody find a lnk to an online version of this story?

Corriere della Sera, and its online version www.corriere.it

..and which newspaper might that be?
Anybody find a lnk to an online version of this story?

http://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_agosto_14/mottola_hacker_cambia_i_prezzi_hotel_0166bed0-88af-11de-a986-00144f02aabc.shtml

I was in touch one hour ago with one of the journalists working on this news, and following the latests info available at this time, he told me that the hacker attack is a totally false news.
He called IHG PR department asking info about the hacker attack and they rejected this version. They admited it was an internal error in USA (pricing dept.?) the cause of everything. In this case the hotel is also a victim, because this is a franchisee property.
:mad:Now a bad news: IHG won't honors these rates due to the high number of reservations, and is trying to find a suitable way to satisfy everyone who made a reservation. This is official and everyone who booked will be contacted in the next weeks. Any other news will follow as soon as they are available.

The suspense is killing me....
would somebody PLEASE post that "they are gonna sue". :)

Thanks in advance.

They may be starting the phone calls. My sister had reservations for October and this morning EST they called her to tell her they will not honor the rate. (My sister had no idea about the supposed hacker). She said we will give you a special rate of 55 euro a night and my sister basically said you will honor the rate - it was advertised at a cent and she has reservations. The lady just said we are not honoring it and hung up!

How good of a deal is 110 Euro for two nights? Did the offer include breakfast?

How good of a deal is 110 Euro for two nights? Did the offer include breakfast?Well, let’s put it this way...

...I went to www.priorityclub.com just now and entered the dates about which I was thinking and originally saw the .01 Euro room rate at this property.

Currently, the lowest room rate is — you guessed it — 55 Euro per night for a standard room, including 10% tax. Breakfast was not included.

Advance purchase is required to secure this rate.

Well, let’s put it this way...

...I went to www.priorityclub.com just now and entered the dates about which I was thinking and originally saw the .01 Euro room rate at this property.

Currently, the lowest room rate is — you guessed it — 55 Euro per night for a standard room, including 10% tax. Breakfast was not included.

Advance purchase is required to secure this rate.

You would think they could offer a price better than the standard room rate! :td: My confirmation is for an Executive King - I wonder if their offer is to downgrade to a standard room, or if they are offering an upgraded room for this rate. If I am understanding this correctly, it is not a good way to create good will with a customer.

The lady who rang never mentioned breakfast with the 55 euro rate.

Just got a Tweet from @MSNBC_Travel.

Italian hotel mistakenly offers 1-cent weekend
Four-star facility in Venice stands to lose $129,000 from gaffe

... Danesin said the reservations are "formally valid" and Intercontinental will have to decide how to deal with the customers. Intercontinental spokesmen did not immediately return calls for comment Friday.

Here's a link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32422089/ns/travel-deals/?ocid=twitter).

Just got a Tweet from @MSNBC_Travel.

Italian hotel mistakenly offers 1-cent weekend
Four-star facility in Venice stands to lose $129,000 from gaffe

... Danesin said the reservations are "formally valid" and Intercontinental will have to decide how to deal with the customers. Intercontinental spokesmen did not immediately return calls for comment Friday.

Here's a link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32422089/ns/travel-deals/?ocid=twitter).

super, boxo, thanks for sharing!

Ah, it looks like they're finally fessing up. They'll probably try to get most of the people to cancel by saying it's a mistake. I'd guess that only 20-30% of all bookings would show up anyway. If it's a PC issue, they'll probably eat a lot of the cost. If they're smart, they can turn it into a positive PR experience, instead of blaming in on so called hackers.

Ah, it looks like they're finally fessing up. They'll probably try to get most of the people to cancel by saying it's a mistake. I'd guess that only 20-30% of all bookings would show up anyway. If it's a PC issue, they'll probably eat a lot of the cost. If they're smart, they can turn it into a positive PR experience, instead of blaming in on so called hackers.


Probably. But they are certainly calling according to this (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/hacker-hotel/) article.


ICHG spokeswoman Monica Smith confirmed their suspicions and says the rate change was the result of “human error.”

“We’re in the process of contacting all the guests who booked on this rate to offer them a heavily discounted rate of 55 EUR as well as some Priority Club Rewards points as a gesture of goodwill,” she said in a statement.”


Link to Wired News (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/hacker-hotel/)

I would love for the ICHG people to call and offer me a "heavily discounted rate of 55 Euro per night" so I can refer them to their own website which shows that type of rate isn't so heavily discounted at all.

Priority Club points would satisfy me just fine. How many PC points would it take to satisfy you? (per booking)

Priority Club points would satisfy me just fine. How many PC points would it take to satisfy you? (per booking)

In my case this is not an acceptable solution. I do not have any interest in collecting PC points.

I wonder if we were one of the first recipients of the phone calls as not once did they offer PC points. It was a case of take the 55 euro a night rate or nothing!

So I had a busy few days at work.. no time to see where this deal is at till now

Gettin up to speed.. rates now gone...hackers... phone calls..no one has posted they are gonna sue yet :eek:

checked my CC expiry- I am fine there
have I missed anything?

April in Venice is gonna be nice :)

How many PC points would it take to satisfy you? (per booking)

Crowne Plaza redemptions are 25K per night. So 50K would do it. ;)

They better honor the rate or I'm gonna sue!
(Mr. Halliday courtesy post; please disregard.)

according to this, sounds like they are honoring the rate.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/08/14/international/i125755D83.DTL&tsp=1

The MSNBC article above ends with this:"Although a pricing error, IHG is committed to honoring the 1-cent rate for guests who have a valid confirmation," Smith said. She added that rooms booked at the low rate "are nontransferable."

I'd also say they are off on their 6 hours of availability. Just from the posting on this thread, I'd say it was 8 at least, and possibly quite a bit more. Hopefully they don't pull this 55 Euro off stuff on me.

The executive rooms I booked are generally in the 120 Euro range. If they come with a reasonable offer, whether it be points, or something else, I'd be willing to listen. As long as they also agree to honor the booked rates for those who do wish to go.

They also need to rebook or make other arrangements with the people the forced to cancel already.

When a fat fingered mistake like this is handled right, it's only a PR bonanza for the hotel chain.

IThe executive rooms I booked are generally in the 120 Euro range. If they come with a reasonable offer, whether it be points, or something else, I'd be willing to listen. As long as they also agree to honor the booked rates for those who do wish to go.

It sounds like IHG will indeed be honoring the rates.

Did you read the MSNBC article? It might be better than just complaining about hypotheticals...

Did you read the MSNBC article? It might be better than just complaining about hypotheticals...

Yep, sure did, at least when it came out. It's not actually a MSNBC article, but an AP news item, that they picked up.

There have been references today of both honoring the rate, and of letting the room go for 55 Euros. These things are quite liquid at this point, and often the final deal can take many days or weeks to even get to that point.

This is certainly not my first rodeo, eh?

This is certainly not my first rodeo, eh?
Yes, but an IHG spokesperson saying they will honor it is pretty good.

I hope IHG does absolutely nothing for those who choose not to go. That's what causes mistakes to get out of hand...people booking just hoping for the compensation. (The one exception would be those who had short-term bookings who were contacted by the property and cancelled.)

Yes, but an IHG spokesperson saying they will honor it is pretty good.

I hope IHG does absolutely nothing for those who choose not to go. That's what causes mistakes to get out of hand...people booking just hoping for the compensation. (The one exception would be those who had short-term bookings who were contacted by the property and cancelled.)

If IHG just honors them, that will be fine. However, they already tried to use the hacker defense, ala BS defense, which raises my hackles a bit. I have 30 nights at PC properties already completed this year, with another dozen already booked for later this year. Having a reasonable reaction to these types of situations reinforces my loyalty to PC.

I've had some pretty bad outcomes with Hilton bookings in the last 18 months, and all they've made me do is move all my bookings elsewhere. This year, I've had 2 stays at Hilton, compared to at least a dozen for PC.

If IHG just honors them, that will be fine. However, they already tried to use the hacker defense, ala BS defense, which raises my hackles a bit. I have 30 nights at PC properties already completed this year, with another dozen already booked for later this year. Having a reasonable reaction to these types of situations reinforces my loyalty to PC.

Yes, the hacker thing was ridiculous. That was the property itself that spun that yarn.
IHG never did.

[You're right, though, the hacker story just makes me skeptical of the property's good faith.]

If it were just up to the property, I do think they would try to do nothing. It looks like IHG is truly going to live up to the Online Reservations Guarantee.

BBC has posted this story on its home page

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8202842.stm

I wouldn't always believe the first comments, even from IHG. One of the first stories was from Wired (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/hacker-hotel/), which quoted the $55 Euro plus some PC points.

ICHG spokeswoman Monica Smith confirmed their suspicions and says the rate change was the result of “human error.”

“We’re in the process of contacting all the guests who booked on this rate to offer them a heavily discounted rate of 55 EUR as well as some Priority Club Rewards points as a gesture of goodwill,” she said in a statement.

BBC has posted this story on its home page

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8202842.stm

The hotel has gotten a lot of free publicity. MSN has this still on its home page:

The 1-cent rate was up only Sunday night, but that was long enough for travelers to book dates running from October through 2010, Danesin said. The hotel stands to lose euro90,000 ($129,000), he said.

Monica Smith, media relations manager for the hotel group in the U.S., said Friday that some 228 guests made reservations for the equivalent of 1,400 room nights while the error was on the Web site and that the reservations would be honored.

"Although a pricing error, IHG is committed to honoring the 1-cent rate for guests who have a valid confirmation," Smith said. She added that rooms booked at the low rate "are nontransferable."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32422089/ns/travel-deals/?gt1=43001gt1=43001

I wouldn't always believe the first comments, even from IHG. One of the first stories was from Wired (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/hacker-hotel/), which quoted the $55 Euro plus some PC points.

ICHG spokeswoman Monica Smith confirmed their suspicions and says the rate change was the result of “human error.”

“We’re in the process of contacting all the guests who booked on this rate to offer them a heavily discounted rate of 55 EUR as well as some Priority Club Rewards points as a gesture of goodwill,” she said in a statement.

So is IHG "committed" to its own earlier public announcement or just to its later announcement? Maybe it's just customers are committed to whatever agreement the customers stand by or reach with IHG.

So is IHG "committed" to its own earlier public announcement or just to its later announcement? Maybe it's just customers are committed to whatever agreement the customers stand by or reach with IHG.

I guess we'll find out next week. It seems IHG uses the standard firstname.lastname@ihg.com for employees email addresses. Ms Smith has press releases that list her email address, and work phone number, so I guess we could always ask her. :)

The story is getting even more coverage in the newspapers across the globe:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/14/crown-hotel-venice-promotion-error

Since I was able to reserve 4 nights, I am really happy that IHG has decided to honor the books. It is certainly to their advantage with the press they are now receiving, plus I plan on booking additional nights around my 4 nights at normal prices. Venice was not a destination I planned to go to until this hotel error, however now I am. In past hotel error deals I was able to get in on, I made sure to eat at the hotel restaurants, and use the hotel spas, to show help offset the low room rate.

I hope IHG does absolutely nothing for those who choose not to go. That's what causes mistakes to get out of hand...people booking just hoping for the compensation. (The one exception would be those who had short-term bookings who were contacted by the property and cancelled.)

^

The story is getting even more coverage in the newspapers across the globe:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/14/crown-hotel-venice-promotion-errorIt also made the BBC Radio 4 midday bulletin.

after all this media coverage that IHG will honor them ... they have no other choice IMO ... nobody contacted me so far.

I remember the Sheraton error in PWM ... the hotel contacted me as well and I told them 'fat chance that I will pay more' ... got the original rate, which I think was $29.

Yes, but an IHG spokesperson saying they will honor it is pretty good.

I hope IHG does absolutely nothing for those who choose not to go. That's what causes mistakes to get out of hand...people booking just hoping for the compensation. (The one exception would be those who had short-term bookings who were contacted by the property and cancelled.)

Completely agree. If I decide to go... great. If I decide not to go, then I am subject to the cancellation policy (which of course is not an economic issue).

As I noted earlier, I have no interest in in PC points. It's not that I have any problems with their properties, but with status at Hilton and Starwood, there is little incremental business that I could offer them.

Regardless, if I go I'll try to spend a respectable amount of money at the hotel, even while booked in an Executive room, and be generous with gratuities. My hope is other FT'ers will also follow this mantra.

Regardless, if I go I'll try to spend a respectable amount of money at the hotel, even while booked in an Executive room, and be generous with gratuities. My hope is other FT'ers will also follow this mantra.Surely if the error was made by Atlanta HQ, then the hotel will still be receiving their normal rebate/commission? I would have thought that the hotel won't miss out much at all - in fact perhaps they'll earn more revenue because of the increase in room occupancies, regardless of other hotel spend.

Wouldn't it be Atlanta HQ / the booking engine department that would miss-out?

< I'm not expert so I'm posing that as a question. >

Surely if the error was made by Atlanta HQ, then the hotel will still be receiving their normal rebate/commission? I would have thought that the hotel won't miss out much at all - in fact perhaps they'll earn more revenue because of the increase in room occupancies, regardless of other hotel spend.

Wouldn't it be Atlanta HQ / the booking engine department that would miss-out?

< I'm not expert so I'm posing that as a question. >

I think so, if this happened due to IC group's mistake, they will surely be paying the franchise location for the mistake, as it wasn't their own fault. If it was someone at the hotel side that made the mistake.....all bets are off.

Regardless, if I go I'll try to spend a respectable amount of money at the hotel, even while booked in an Executive room, and be generous with gratuities. My hope is other FT'ers will also follow this mantra.


Interesting plan, though I'm not sure how effective it will be.

It's very clear the hotel did not make the mistake, IHG did, so seeing as the hotel is likley independently owned, IHG may have to reimburse the hotel the intended amount of money per room night. All in all, the figures being tossed around are some like EUR 90,000 (about US $129,000).

So it's not clear that deliberately spending money at the property will make up for anything. In fact, if the hotel is getting reimbursed from IHG, the hotel could be making even more out of this because they sold far more rooms than they intended in this down economy. After all, how many of us were planning to go to Venice anyway and stay at the Crowne Plaza?

As for gratuities, tipping is not really customary in Italy. They add a couple Euro to your bill at restaurants for service, and that's what they get.

But if you want to tip someone to feel better about yourself, you should tip the folks at IHG in Atlanta. Seems they're the ones taking the hit, not the hotel.

Surely if the error was made by Atlanta HQ, then the hotel will still be receiving their normal rebate/commission? I would have thought that the hotel won't miss out much at all - in fact perhaps they'll earn more revenue because of the increase in room occupancies, regardless of other hotel spend.

Wouldn't it be Atlanta HQ / the booking engine department that would miss-out?

< I'm not expert so I'm posing that as a question. >Even if they do, I suspect that they would pay them at a reduced rate (rather like the award reimbursement rate) rather than the commercial rate guests would have paid. If so, it could represent a serious loss of revenue for the hotel itself.

Even if they do, I suspect that they would pay them at a reduced rate (rather like the award reimbursement rate) rather than the commercial rate guests would have paid. If so, it could represent a serious loss of revenue for the hotel itself.

I doubt IHG can just self-impose some rate on them. Since this is a somewhat unique situation, the hotel would have to negotiate with IHG to come up with an acceptable compromise.

Taking into account the potential for lost revenue because of this, and also the fact that on many days the hotel would not have been full anyway (so those days cost nothing), plus the fact that at this price there will be a high no-show rate, it will probably be somewhere between the award night rate and the lowest market rate.

Wirelessly posted (goingaway's phone: BlackBerry8900/4.6.1.231 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

It is a misnomer to say an empty vs full room costs the hotel nothing - they need to service the room which increases their costs, as well as provide general hotel staffing at potentially increased levels due to occupancy with little return from the 1 euro rate

I doubt IHG can just self-impose some rate on them. Since this is a somewhat unique situation, the hotel would have to negotiate with IHG to come up with an acceptable compromise.

Taking into account the potential for lost revenue because of this, and also the fact that on many days the hotel would not have been full anyway (so those days cost nothing), plus the fact that at this price there will be a high no-show rate, it will probably be somewhere between the award night rate and the lowest market rate.

I agree with this analysis. With the number of room nights that were blocked (1,400) scattered over 16 months, this will have little effect on occupancy at a 150 room hotel. Worst case scenario might be fifteen rooms, for three or four specific dates over that long period.

While there are certainly dates that the hotel is full over an annual period (due to a congress, tour groups, etc.), my suspicion is most of the time their occupancy is no better than 55%. A modest reimbursement rate of even 30 Euros is not going to hurt the hotel, due to the incremental revenue opportunities.

_________________

P.S. as to the comment about the low rates of Italian extra gratuities, you're right, I had forgotten about that practice. To make up for it, I'll just buy some high margin booze at their public bar!

It is a misnomer to say an empty vs full room costs the hotel nothing - they need to service the room which increases their costs, as well as provide general hotel staffing at potentially increased levels due to occupancy with little return from the 1 euro rate

"Nothing" is a bit of a figure of speech. Yes, servicing has a cost, but realistically, how many people booked at this rate at a given day -- you're probably looking at a handful of rooms a day at best.

So probably $5-$10 per room per night is an approximate cost to the hotel, provided they would not have sold those rooms.

I wouldn't always believe the first comments, even from IHG. One of the first stories was from Wired (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/hacker-hotel/), which quoted the $55 Euro plus some PC points.
It seems, though, that that quote came before the honoring quotation.
So it looks like maybe they reversed themselves in a positive direction.

It seems, though, that that quote came before the honoring quotation.
So it looks like maybe they reversed themselves in a positive direction.


Good point, and if you look at the timeline:

- Initial reaction: charge EUR 55
- Italian papers cover the story, manager quoted saying ressies are "technically valid"
- Start making calls and getting pushback
- AP calls, now local/national/world papers will cover the story, AP waiting for response
- "Oh ****, do we want to go on record cancelling 1,400 reservations?"
- Go back and rethink strategy
- Honor the rate

Good point, and if you look at the timeline:

- Initial reaction: charge EUR 55
- Italian papers cover the story, manager quoted saying ressies are "technically valid"
- Start making calls and getting pushback
- AP calls, now local/national/world papers will cover the story, AP waiting for response
- "Oh ****, do we want to go on record cancelling 1,400 reservations?"
- Go back and rethink strategy
- Honor the rate
+1

So IHG is stating the error's cost could be up to €90,000. Are they then telling the property that each room night redeemed will be reimbursed approx. €64.29?

If so, the management of the property shouldn't be too upset. That amount is roughly equal to €55 special "deal" plus VAT!

I agree with this analysis. With the number of room nights that were blocked (1,400) scattered over 16 months, this will have little effect on occupancy at a 150 room hotel.

How are the rooms spread over 16 months? If you found out how to book 16 months in advance, I'd love to know about it.

It seems, though, that that quote came before the honoring quotation.
So it looks like maybe they reversed themselves in a positive direction.

Yes, of course, that was my whole point. Don't always believe what comes out first. It takes time for the final decision to come out.

Again, thanks to the OP. I am very lucky that I was reading FlyerTalk at the right time and was able to get in on this amazing deal. The news that the rate is being honored is fantastic. FlyerTalk is a great resource.

How are the rooms spread over 16 months? If you found out how to book 16 months in advance, I'd love to know about it.


I never tried to book into 2010. However this was based upon a press report:

The 1-cent rate was up only Sunday night, but that was long enough for travelers to book dates running from October through 2010, Danesin said. The hotel stands to lose euro90,000 ($129,000), he said. [Emphasis added]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32422089/ns/travel-deals/?ocid=twitter

Danesin is the hotel's sales manager, per the article.

I never tried to book into 2010. However this was based upon a press report:

The 1-cent rate was up only Sunday night, but that was long enough for travelers to book dates running from October through 2010, Danesin said. The hotel stands to lose euro90,000 ($129,000), he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32422089/ns/travel-deals/?ocid=twitter

Danesin is the hotel's sales manager, per the article.

I don't believe article says through the END of 2010. If it was bookable in January, then it's bookable through 2010.

I don't know any hotel that allows online booking more than 12 months in advance.

I don't believe article says through the END of 2010. If it was bookable in January, then it's bookable through 2010.

I don't know any hotel that allows online booking more than 12 months in advance.

IHG (at least online and through the normal phone reservations channel) only allows bookings 50 weeks in advance.

I doubt IHG can just self-impose some rate on them. Since this is a somewhat unique situation, the hotel would have to negotiate with IHG to come up with an acceptable compromise.In principle yes, but who do you think has the strongest bargaining power here? CP Quarto d'Altino is not exactly in a prime position in Venice and it would not be the end of the world for IHG to lose that property. OTOH, the hotel probably gets a substantial number of guests it would not get without the CP brand. I reckon that IHG is in a position to pretty much determine quasi-unilaterally how much it will indemnify the hotel.

I've not been contacted, but if they tell me anything about not honouring the rate, I'm definitely suing!

On BBC website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8202842.stm

it made the BBC headlines, they can't rightly refuse it now :D

Feels odd however, only 230 people? Was FT the only place people acted on the posting?

By the way, has anyone here been to Treviso? Or have any other suggestions in the general area? I'm there four days and I've been to VCE before and I don't really like it, so would be keen to find out about the alternatives!

I had dinner in Treviso years ago (1980s), so only rode through there at night. I definitely plan to spend a couple days there. Maybe Padua & Verona too.

Oh my godness. I am in PBI on a family emergency with my mom and just now the local news is doing a story on the 1 cent room.They said the hotel is honoring their mistake. Right from the mouth of the ABC WPBF news anchor....yeah....

I don't believe article says through the END of 2010. If it was bookable in January, then it's bookable through 2010.

I don't know any hotel that allows online booking more than 12 months in advance.It was bookable through July 31, 2010. I know. I'm the second post in this thread and went through most every date there was from last Sunday until then before I posted the link to book it from the OP's somewhat vague description of the deal.

There will be no way of them getting out of this deal based on their actions already. Stand pat with your reservations. I did the same in 2002 with the W Hotel Times Square $25 misloaded rate and even after Starwood tried to get us to accept a higher rate, we got our $25 rooms. In my case, I had 14 rooms - for my friends and I - booked over Memorial Day weekend 2002 for 4 nights each and all were honored.

IHG isn't Marriott who would squirm out of this deal, as they did with the Residence Inn NYC $25 rate in 2006.

I apologize for the vauge info but I was trying to post it fast since I was running out. My mom suffered a cardiac arrest and I have been busy flying out here and trying to let everyone know about this special. Again I apologize

OMG. No apologies necessary. I think of us as a team here... and CalItalian as the star quarterback. Invaluable.

Best health wishes to your mother, catstvl.

Thanks for the wishes. We had to make the decision today to take her off life support. Never had a family emergency of this size. Please everyone make your wishes known. Mom didnt so we had to do it for her.Tomorrow we go to hospice care. On a lighter note I can not believe this made the Palm Beach local news and all the other news papers around the world.I will enjoy my stays. Time to book my flights.

By the way, has anyone here been to Treviso? Or have any other suggestions in the general area? I'm there four days and I've been to VCE before and I don't really like it, so would be keen to find out about the alternatives!


West side of Croatia or south side of Slovenia are not far away from the hotel. In slovenia, they have nice caves and one the them is the world heritage site.

Those areas could be one of the options to travel if you have never been there.

By the way, has anyone here been to Treviso? Or have any other suggestions in the general area? I'm there four days and I've been to VCE before and I don't really like it, so would be keen to find out about the alternatives!

It's an easy drive north to the Dolomites, which are spectacularly beautiful. Also, there are wonderful Palladian mansions to the west. It's a great base for day trips by car.

Well, this deal seems to have come good surprisingly quickly.
An amazing amount of press ! :D

I went ahead and booked a busiiness class award.
DL with their mid-tier madness wanted 150K,
so I went with UA at 105K.

Regarding side-trips, I would also endorse
that trip to the cave in Slovenia.
I did it out of Trieste as a day trip,
might be a bit far from our budget CP.

Thanks to OP and all other contributors. ^

it made the BBC headlines, they can't rightly refuse it now :D

Feels odd however, only 230 people? Was FT the only place people acted on the posting?

According to a media in Japan, they received bookings of 1,400 nights at this mistaken rate. The report also says the hotel's loss would be approximately 90,000 euros. It's amazing how a small mistake ends up with such a huge loss.

According to a media in Japan, they received bookings of 1,400 nights at this mistaken rate. The report also says the hotel's loss would be approximately 90,000 euros. It's amazing how a small mistake ends up with such a huge loss.

It won't really cost them that

(1) many of the nights won't be consumed [they ought to say they'll honor but with a $200 cancel fee if you don't cancel within the next week and then no-show]

(2) the hotel won't be sold out on most nights these rooms are consumed. which means they won't trade off with paid bookings that would have been made, no lost revenue

(3) so the only 'cost' to the hotel is incremental service, let's say it's $20 per room night actually consumed. And let's guess that fewer than half the room nights are actually consumed... (I bet it is no more than 20% tops). Ultimate true COST here will be less than $10k I bet, even if 30% of the room nights are ultimately used.

... even after Starwood tried to get us to accept a higher rate, we got our $25 rooms. ...

Starwood are horrible. There was recently an "error" rate for the Sheraton Grand Lagune in Phuket. I guess it was 49 $ instead of 149 $ per night. The did not honor the rate. Simply cancelled all the reservations.

ICH ^
Starwood :td:

ICH, I will bring you some additional hotel bookings because you are going to honor the Venice rates. Starwood, no more bookings for you for the rest of the year (besides my free nights).

According to a media in Japan, they received bookings of 1,400 nights at this mistaken rate. The report also says the hotel's loss would be approximately 90,000 euros. It's amazing how a small mistake ends up with such a huge loss.

Sounds like they got a hold of the AP story.

It won't really cost them that

(1) many of the nights won't be consumed

Like most of these hotel deals booked on impulse much more than 50% won't be taken up especially by customers based out with Europe.
No matter how cheap the accommodation is once you start adding on all the extras like air fares/transfers/food costs/spending money. Suddenly, that bargain holiday isn't such a bargain after all.

I reckon the ICHG won't need to worry about losing out.

egardless, if I go I'll try to spend a respectable amount of money at the hotel, even while booked in an Executive room, and be generous with gratuities. My hope is other FT'ers will also follow this mantra.^ ^ We will be booking 2 extra nites ,best rate seems to be 86euro with BF .just joined Priorty club and feel positive about IHG thanks to their choice to honour these bookings

Starwood are horrible. There was recently an "error" rate for the Sheraton Grand Lagune in Phuket. I guess it was 49 $ instead of 149 $ per night. The did not honor the rate. Simply cancelled all the reservations.

ICH ^
Starwood :td:

There isn't really a clear rule here, even by chain.

VERY few people got the IC Tokyo Bay 172 yen rate (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/508092-ich-tokyo-bay-172jpy-orbitz-rate-gone-discussion-only.html) honored. (I did, but only because I could show Orbitz airline tickets. And they reached out to ME because I had been a high volume customer.)

And Starwood honored the Le Meridien Khao Lak deal (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/631551-rate-gone-le-meridien-khao-lak-100-ugandan-shillings.html) (I enjoyed my 2-bedroom oceanfront villa w/ private pool @ $33/night all-in incl. breakfast).

And they honored the W Times Square $25 rate, the Sheraton South Portland $19 rate (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/485524-fare-gone-sheraton-south-portland-19-night-merged-thread.html) and I'm looking forward to the 52 euro rate at the Prince de Galles over Thanksgiving (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/889676-expired-hotel-prince-de-galles-paris-52eur-night.html).

But Le Parker Meridien NYC played quite a few games with their $71 rate (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/722320-rate-gone-le-parker-meridien-ny-71-10-night-dec-incl-nye.html).

And the St Regis London was crazy -- SPG honored a few nights without the extras, those who booked on Orbitz got the extras including Mercedes LHR transfers.

Then again, definitely ^ on this one. And ICHG had another of the all-time greats, the THB0.01 rate at the HI Phuket (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/525886-rate-gone-phuket-holiday-inn-resort-0-01thb-little-convert-may.html)!

Ok, lots of other examples (Westin DFW Presidential Suite), some go one way, some the other. And I don't think there's an obvious chain-by-chain rule. Marriott is tough on these, but then I got a junior suite at the Renaissance SEA for $25 as did some other folks.

Not a clear Starwood bad, ICHG good. It's a mixed bag on hotel rates, we take what we can get, and in the end I'm surprised there really haven't been very many ICHG mistakes -- other than making all room types available on awards from time to time ;)

Does anyone know if the 1-cent-reservation is with breakfast?

ICH, I will bring you some additional hotel bookings because you are going to honor the Venice rates. Starwood, no more bookings for you for the rest of the year (besides my free nights).

I had several good experience at SPG hotels, especially Bora Bora Nui(no longer SPG) and the Lanesborough.
Bora Bora was the negotiated rate, but it was still a good rate.
The Lanesborough just accepted the error rate.
Both are luxury hotels and their service was so good.

However, I do not decide where I am staying based on the handling of error rates.
The error rate is so unique and each case is so different from each other.

Anyway, this crown plaza did catch my eye, and I found excellent reviews.
I am sure many people paid attention to this hotel due the the error rate news, and I think that the hotel is having very good advertising through media, especially if the hotel honors the rate.
I guess a lot of nights will be cancelled anyway because many people made multiple reservations.

Does anyone know how many % of nights had been cancelled eventually on the previous error rates by SPG, Conrad so on???

Does anyone know if the 1-cent-reservation is with breakfast?

Doesn't appear to be the case, even with Executive rooms. The hotel offers packages that include breakfast for two at an extra €16/day.

Not sure if high status in Priority Club gives you free breakfast though.

There isn't really a clear rule here, even by chain.

VERY few people got the IC Tokyo Bay 172 yen rate (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/508092-ich-tokyo-bay-172jpy-orbitz-rate-gone-discussion-only.html) honored. (I did, but only because I could show Orbitz airline tickets. And they reached out to ME because I had been a high volume customer.)

And Starwood honored the Le Meridien Khao Lak deal (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/631551-rate-gone-le-meridien-khao-lak-100-ugandan-shillings.html) (I enjoyed my 2-bedroom oceanfront villa w/ private pool @ $33/night all-in incl. breakfast).

And they honored the W Times Square $25 rate, the Sheraton South Portland $19 rate (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/485524-fare-gone-sheraton-south-portland-19-night-merged-thread.html) and I'm looking forward to the 52 euro rate at the Prince de Galles over Thanksgiving (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/889676-expired-hotel-prince-de-galles-paris-52eur-night.html).

But Le Parker Meridien NYC played quite a few games with their $71 rate (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/722320-rate-gone-le-parker-meridien-ny-71-10-night-dec-incl-nye.html).

And the St Regis London was crazy -- SPG honored a few nights without the extras, those who booked on Orbitz got the extras including Mercedes LHR transfers.

Then again, definitely ^ on this one. And ICHG had another of the all-time greats, the THB0.01 rate at the HI Phuket (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals/525886-rate-gone-phuket-holiday-inn-resort-0-01thb-little-convert-may.html)!

Ok, lots of other examples (Westin DFW Presidential Suite), some go one way, some the other. And I don't think there's an obvious chain-by-chain rule. Marriott is tough on these, but then I got a junior suite at the Renaissance SEA for $25 as did some other folks.

Not a clear Starwood bad, ICHG good. It's a mixed bag on hotel rates, we take what we can get, and in the end I'm surprised there really haven't been very many ICHG mistakes -- other than making all room types available on awards from time to time ;)

Thanks, gleff. I enjoyed this recap post. ^

The International Herald Tribune was hanging
on my room door this morning here at Vienna IC.

I started reading it about noon at a city-center outdoor cafe.
On the back page was an article about this 1-cent rate !

Strange, with all this press...Flyertalk is never mentioned.
Probably just as well. :D

Strange, with all this press...Flyertalk is never mentioned.


Shhhhhh. :cool:

Shhhhhh. :cool:

It was linked in the Wired article, but not actually mentioned. I think that's for the best. :)

OMG,
I was just channel-flipping around the news channels
here at IC Vienna, and the 1-cent deal was there
as a 30-second video story on Bloomberg. :p

edit: when I checked out of IC Vienna at 5 AM this morning,
I asked the desk guy if he heard about the Venice "promotion",
and he immediately said, "Oh, that one-cent deal".
Word travels quickly !

Hats off to ICH for honoring the deal. As it appears FTers got most of the rooms, we should be sure to reward their actions by cancelling any rooms we're not going to use. It would be easy to just ignore a reservation we're not going to use because it's so little money but if they have the cancellation, they can rebook the room. The right thing to do. Personally, I'm using all my nights!!!!

As it appears FTers got most of the rooms, we should be sure to reward their actions by cancelling any rooms we're not going to use.

I thought we were supposed to put them up for sale on eBay? ;)

I thought we were supposed to put them up for sale on eBay? ;)

Aren't the bookings "nontransferable"???

Aren't the bookings "nontransferable"???
:rolleyes: He was kidding!!

Watch the emoticons and welcome to FT ...

+1
^

Weird - my sister received a call on the Friday afternoon saying they would not honor the rate (this was when the supposed story of a hacker was taking shape). My sister said you will honor the rate I booked it at, at which the lady replied we are not and hung up. This lady MAY be named Angela but she cannot tell if it is the same lady that she is dealing with now. My sister logged onto IHG and it is showing her reservation as cancelled (date and time is same as the phone call time period). My sister called customer care and has been speaking to an Angela, and she said they are still not sure how IHG are going to be handling this and my sister should expect a call within the next 24 hours. I never received any call and my reservation is still showing on IHG. My sister is due to check in Oct 8th.

Wow, thanks for the update. I'm sure your sis' rez will be re-instated with all the publicity. What a hassle!

Have anyone received any formal contact by the hotel or Crowne Plaza:confused:?

My sister spoke with them today, they are honoring them, and are in the process of reinstating the ones that had been cancelled apparantly. So, with that said, my sister went ahead and booked her tickets and will be checking in 8th October I believe. 8th or 10th. I will check with her.

We are glad the hotel/Crowne Plaza treated your sister well and fairly.

Usually, the hotel/Crowne Plaza require some kind of extra conditions such as cancellation/name change/limit # of rooms/nights.
However, I have not seen any actions by the hotel yet.

Anyone know if club access is normally included for Executive rooms.

If so I'm booking 2 tickets for my folks to Europe in March so they can use this. Otherwise they will be going in June.

I have not found any evidence of a "Club". Someone can correct me if I am wrong. In addition to mining various Crowne Plaza websites, I've read a ton of TripAdvisor postings. No mention anywhere.

The Executive category seems to be purely a room type. The property actively upsells a breakfast inclusive package for Executive rooms, for about an extra 8 Euros per person, nightly.

I have not found any evidence of a "Club". Someone can correct me if I am wrong. In addition to mining various Crowne Plaza websites, I've read a ton of TripAdvisor postings. No mention anywhere.

The Executive category seems to be purely a room type. The property actively upsells a breakfast inclusive package for Executive rooms, for about an extra 8 Euros per person, nightly.

Good info...thanks for sharing it!

They wanted to know if I would be using all of my reservations, and if I would not be, they would offer me 5000 priority club points per reservation if I would cancel them. I haven't called them back since I am still planning and looking at my ticket options. My first reservation is for October 12 I believe.

The phone call came from 801-887-7468 (Salt Lake City, UT) in case you get a call from a number you don't recognize.

Anyone else get any other offers?