nsummy

Anyone ever have luck doing this? Basically I am a gold member (earned, not through cc, though I did just sign up for their cc too) that found a better BRG rate and I went ahead and booked a prepaid rate thinking this rate would get matched. Wrong.

Comedy of errors on Club Carlson's part. First they sent me a screenshot of their rate & the one I submitted and said it was denied because their rate was cheaper. Anyone who is above aged 5 and not blind would notice that the rate I submitted was $60 cheaper. So I pointed that out.

Now I just was notified that it has been denied because of a difference in cancellation policy. Get this though, the rate I booked was pre-paid, the rate I used for BRG allows cancellation up to 3 days before. So essentially a cheaper more flexible rate.

After this stunt I'm going to liquidate my points, cancel my club carlson card. and switch to SPG or Hyatt. I really don't want to stay in this hotel anymore. Any advice what to do? I'm thinking about calling my credit card company and denying the charge.

treppenlaeufer

On what grounds though? I understand your annoyance, but they haven't done anything that is not quite clearly written down. If you deny the charge, you may be lucky that the hotel just forgoes it, yes. But...

nsummy

Thats why I asked the question I know you can decline credit card charges for almost anything under the sun. I just wondered if anyone had done it. I'm kicking myself for even reserving the prepaid as its seems with their asinine policy they would have accepted the BRG if I booked a rate of theirs that can be cancelled.

Adam1222

This is your fault, not the hotel's, and could happen with any chain. Any charge back would be a misuse of the charge back process, as you clearly agreed to the charge, though you had a hope you would later get a discount.

nsummy

Sorry Adam but I beg to differ. Common sense would dictate that a hotel that has received thousands of dollars of my business would honor the BRG policy. Most chains don't charge your card until you check-in, even if you do a prepaid rate. If that were the case I would have just reported my card lost.

Adam1222

" Common sense would dictate that a hotel that has received thousands of dollars of my business would honor the BRG policy."

The BRG policy, of course, indeed states that the cancellation times must be the same.

Common sense also suggests that the BRG desk makes its decisions without concern as to how much money you spend, and that a BRG claim is never certain until it's approved.

If you are savvy enough to come on here after the fact, you were savvy enough to look before and read that a lot of people have trouble claiming BRGs with Club Carlson (as they do with IHG, as they do with Hilton, as they do with SPG...).

Reporting a card lost to get out of a payment is called fraud and is a crime - far worse than CC sticking to the terms of their policy, even if you disagree.

You played a game, and you lost.

wutlol

I would say, for those who are finding this thread via search, that if you have a legitimate issue (cancelled/delayed flights, illness, etc) a lot of reservation managers at Carlson properties will allow you out of an advance booking or compensate some proportion of your payment.

They're not obligated to as far as I know.

nsummy

You must not operate a business. Imagine you bought a car from a dealership that said they would beat any offer on a car if the buyer found a better price within 24 hours. You buy the car and get 0% interest for a year. After you leave, you find the same car for half the price, and with 0% interest for 2 years! You go back to the dealership and they say sorry, that doesn't count, even though its the same car and cheaper, they are giving you no interest for 2 years, not one, we can't accept it. How mad you would be? Imagine you had been a customer of this dealership for years. Would you be more upset?

I realize they do not take into account what type of customer you are, but if they were smart, they would.

As for it being a crime and fraud to purposely lose my card. That is laughable. Am I going to get sued? Am I going to go to prison? Its really a null point since my card was already charged. I was simply wondering if anyone had ever tried disputing the charge.

spankytoes

I'm not being a smart ......but did you read the fine print of the guarantee? If you did, you would see that you are way off base with your comparison. The cancellation terms did not match which invalidates your claim. I've had 50+ BRG matches in the past few years spanning several chains. Not once did I book a NR rate because of the chance that the rate would not be honored due to a small difference. Sometimes, the ball lands on red.

But to answer your question, the decision is left up to the hotel directly. I got snowed in and cancelled my reservation in San Antonio with no problem. I had flight delays and couldn't cancel in Chicago another time.

nsummy

Lesson learned with the NR rate. Its a sad state of affairs though if you have to comb the terms and conditions for even the smallest technicality. That is not how good businesses operate. As for my comparison, I don't think its off base at all. I found another rate thats cheaper and more flexible, and they won't honor it because its, wait for it, better in 2 ways instead of one. Keep in mind I have status at SPG & Hyatt too and could have gotten a room at one of their hotels for cheaper than this. I got this room strictly for the BRG.

I know they don't care but they have now lost a customer for life due to this. Thanks for your reply though. I might just contact the hotel directly and see if there is anything that can be done.

craz

I can assure you that had this been with any other chain that has a BRG, you would have been in the exact same spot. Its not only CC that compares apples to apples and not oranges, they all do and when everything doesnt match up, your DENIED

nsummy

To be honest I ordinarily only stay at Starwood & Hyatt chains and both of them allow you to do a BRG before booking. I believe Hyatt even will do it with you over the phone. That is the way to conduct good business.

To follow up on this the local hotel did call me and the guy I talked to was very nice. He explained that if corporate denies the claim there is really nothing they can do. They did comp me with a business class room though so it did restore my faith in the hotel, and a little bit with the chain as they forwarded my message on.

Adam1222

Cute. You got something you weren't entitled to based on your own mistake.

Note Hyatt and SPG have much less valuable BRGs.

arollins

Please send an email to CC praising this clerk

trooper

Anyone care to estimate just HOW MANY threads there are on FT in which someone makes various claims about a certain matter..... finally (often grudgingly) accepts they were not actually in the right...

Then resorts to the "a GOOD business would" type of argument?

It would NOT be a small number....