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Ctrip fully cancellable rates for hotels in Hong Kong

Ctrip fully cancellable rates for hotels in Hong Kong

Old Apr 30, 2016, 2:33 pm
  #1  
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Ctrip fully cancellable rates for hotels in Hong Kong

Has anyone used CTrip to book hotels in Hong Kong?

Instead of our usual point or point+cash bookings with chain hotels, I am trying to see if booking independent hotels work better now given hotel prices have gone down in Hong Kong.

For the few choices I narrow down, CTrip offers the best prices on "free cancellation" 3 days before arrival, plus a breakfast thrown in - cheaper than hotel's own site, booking.com and other OTAs.

However I could not find the clear answer on how CTrip operates on the "free cancellation" because it mentioned about it would put XXX charge on the card as a guarantee...

This is the language on Ctrip site

Guarantee required

-Due to limited availability, a credit card guarantee charge of CNY 740 is required to guarantee your booking. If Ctrip does not confirm your booking, the charge will be returned to your payment account.

-Please inform us by 【12:00 06-08-2016 Beijing time】if you wish to cancel or modify this booking.

-【Failure to check in, modify or cancel this booking before the deadline will incur a credit card guarantee charge of CNY 740】.

It looks to me that Ctrip would immediately charge you 740 RMB and then it would only refund it if either one of the following occurs
1) Ctrip could not confirm your booking. (false advertisement)
2) You cancel the booking before the deadline for free cancellation.

In this case, HOW one could reconcile the 740 RMB charged with the hotel at check out?!

I have never seen things like that - usually Pay at the Hotel booking only needs a CC in file to guarantee the booking. It is only until you are no show or cancel passing the free cancellation deadline, would the credit card be charged.

Anybody has experiences using CTrip "free cancellation" please chime in.

Thank you!

Last edited by Happy; Apr 30, 2016 at 2:40 pm
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Old Apr 30, 2016, 8:10 pm
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Eh, it says that "failure to check in..." will cause the guarantee not to be refunded. If/when you check in then the guarantee is refunded.

Seems pretty clear to me.
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Old May 1, 2016, 1:53 pm
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Originally Posted by christep
Eh, it says that "failure to check in..." will cause the guarantee not to be refunded. If/when you check in then the guarantee is refunded.

Seems pretty clear to me.
Have you actually used Ctrip before for this type of booking?

Is the refund automatically after hotel stay or you need to follow up with Ctrip?

It is the ACTUAL experiences I am seeking feedback, not mere interpretation on the language because we are dealing with China-based OTAs which in my book are not very trustworthy. Some of them even allow their rogue employees sell reward tickets from fraudulently obtained miles to unwary customers and that actually happened repeatedly. Or they overcharge and do not make refund. The Chinese OTAs dont seem to operate with standards and ethics in many cases.

Recent example of airlines cracking down on the Chinese OTAs

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/974427.shtml

Qunar is about as popular as Ctrip. Only difference is Ctrip has IPOed in US market.

Hence I hope anyone who has ACTUALLY used Ctrip for cancellable hotel booking could provide Real Life Feedback.

With Booking.com you dont have any issue booking cancellable, payable at hotel, booking. Not even an authorization.

If you fully trust the words from China-based OTAs then you are blessed.

Last edited by Happy; May 1, 2016 at 2:03 pm
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Old May 2, 2016, 8:14 am
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I used CTrip in Taipei. I used PayPal as payment. I was charged the deposit. We ended up changing the dates. So I cancelled the booking and my PayPal was refunded the deposit. I rebooked different dates, and I again used PayPal to pay for the new booking. I had no problems.

Sorry I cannot offer any more info other than that.
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Old May 2, 2016, 8:48 am
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Ctrip used to have a closed platform business model, where terms like "free cancellation up to 24 hrs" "refundable" and "pay at hotel" meant just that, along with full quality control over policies and operations. That changed around 2014 and especially 2015. Ctrip is now an open platform used by hundreds (thousands?) of Chinese agents to springboard their own offerings, and with their own policies which seem to supersede whatever Ctrip continues to post as policy. The exact agent you would be dealing with is invisible to the customer, as far as I can tell (unlike Qunar). This has caused a lot of issues--particularly with hotel reservations--and I am now uncomfortable recommending Ctrip as a first-line provider for hotel reservations. If Ctrip themselves are making the hotel reservation directly, then you can expect the written policy given for that booking to be honored.....but you can't tell anymore if it's Ctrip directly or one of the other agencies on the platform. The mathmatical odds don't favor the direct booking though. I have found Elong.net is currently a reasonable alternative for the mainland, though I'm not sure how they are for Hong Kong specifically. For additional information: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...-beyond-5.html

For Hong Kong in the past several years, I have tended to use Agoda.com (sometimes need to print out a voucher), booking.com, asiatravel.com, Australian site wotif.com, and (very seldom): expedia.com.

Last edited by jiejie; May 2, 2016 at 9:06 am
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