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Quote:
Originally Posted by bevvy5
Is there an indication of when the new offer expires? I can't see one but maybe I'm missing something.
Sigh, I just used my last $49 discount this morning. I have stuff booked for everybody I know. Now I'll probably have to create a bunch of makebelieve email addys.
There is no expiry on the current discount, so as far as I can tell.
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Wow, all these mentions of canceled bookings has me frightened. I had signed up for the Nov $50 promo but had them expire with no travel plans (very unemployed). I saw the 25 quid offer with only 10 hours to go and came up with the idea of doing another ultracheap roadtrip. Problem is that I had to schedule it several months ahead. That's a long opportunity for cancellation! *nervous* I used a different card for each. I hope that helps.
I'm a little conflicted about booking anymore with US30, although extending my trip would be great. The lack of an expiry leads me to think I could wait months and see if they cancel the others before risking cash on bookings, which would be wasted should they cancel my other hot scores. Big gamble!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vapno
Wow, all these mentions of canceled bookings has me frightened. I had signed up for the Nov $50 promo but had them expire with no travel plans (very unemployed). I saw the 25 quid offer with only 10 hours to go and came up with the idea of doing another ultracheap roadtrip. Problem is that I had to schedule it several months ahead. That's a long opportunity for cancellation! *nervous* I used a different card for each. I hope that helps.
I'm a little conflicted about booking anymore with US30, although extending my trip would be great. The lack of an expiry leads me to think I could wait months and see if they cancel the others before risking cash on bookings, which would be wasted should they cancel my other hot scores. Big gamble!
You are way too cautious. The cancellations were people that live overseas using International credit cards (at least this is what I was told via PM). I know many of my friends who have taken part in this offer - many of them have over 50 bookings each - and none of them have been cancelled (and believe me, they check). As long as the card is valid, you are good to go.
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Out of curiosity, are these people using the same name for all 50 bookings? I know people are using different e-mail addresses, but surely the name has to match the one on the credit card.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by margarita girl
Out of curiosity, are these people using the same name for all 50 bookings? I know people are using different e-mail addresses, but surely the name has to match the one on the credit card.
They use their real names along with their real credit card addresses. It would be hard to check into a hotel using a fake name, after all...
Also, you'll note that the HotelClub account name can be anything, and the guest name can be anything - there's no way to prove that John Doe, Jane Moe, and Jenn Roe, didn't themselves book Margarita Girl into a hotel room using their HotelClub $$$. It's perfectly legal. There's no way for HotelClub to prove that John, Jane, and Jenn are fake individuals (especially since they aren't required to provide any identifying information upon sign up). MargaritaGirl can be booked many dozens of times into hotel rooms, using the same name and credit card - it's WHO is doing those bookings that matters. And WHO is doing them, cannot be proven.
This whole promotion was conceived in the mind of a 15 year old boy, I'm convinced...
No one can be this stupid!
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Thanks roadtripman. You're either up really late, or really, really early if you're in YYC!
I've only booked 2 of these, one $50 credit with my biz e-mail which I used for a hotel in Vegas which ended up costing me Cdn$6 (thank you!). And now I just applied for a $30 credit (which I have no immediate plans for) using my personal e-mail account. In both cases, I used my real name which I probably shouldn't have, at least the second time. Guess if I go for more of these, I'll use fictitious names to set up Hotel Club accounts.
I've used the $50 money several times and have had no problems whatsoever. It does SEEM to be a foreign credit card problem.
I have mixed feelings about the reduction in "funding" from $50 to $30. It was generally insane not to use the $50 credit, as many hotels became free or at least very cheap. The problem, however, is that most veteran travellers (or at least spoiled veteran travellers, and I'll throw myself into that camp) can get unhappy with "$50 hotels." Heck, even my 10-year-old was complaining about one recent Best Western. I have had many good experiences, however, and I certainly know much more about "typical American motels" than I did before this offer appeared.
Getting $30 off will considerably raise the price of most hotelclub rooms, at least in the US. Indeed, in larger cities where priceline is more useful, it will probably make priceline a better deal in MOST circumstances. In smaller cities -- or places with great promos, like Vegas -- it might still be the best option. It will also be worthwhile when you simply can't find a better deal, or you really want to stay at a specific hotel. On some occasions, I've seen the hotelclub rate to be as cheap as anything I could find elsewhere at Hyatts or Hiltons. Heck, I see that even Disney sometimes has the same rates as at hotelclub (with the $50 off, the Pop Century was down to about $14 for some nights in January). So this deal will remain useful and, hopefully, at a more modest $30, will be more "sustainable" for the website.
I've used the $50 money several times and have had no problems whatsoever. It does SEEM to be a foreign credit card problem.
Well, even if it is a FOREIGN credit card issue, please be aware that although HotelClub is part of Orbitz Worldwide, it's a subsidiary of Flairview, an Australian company. Although my cards have been debited in USD, you might incur forex fees as they still could debit in AUD.
Anyways - it has been roughly ten days now and I didn't get any reply regarding the cancellation of five bookings. I doubt their Customer Service is this overwhelmed with tickets and that my questions were so complicated. I just would like to know which card owner they contacted and which bank they contacted as they experienced issues with my card - actually, it's obvious why they are not reacting: it's a made-up story and there's no reason why they haven't kept the bookings!
i checked into one hotel where the booking was canceled, the front desk wasn't even aware of it and told me that i don't need to pay as this is a prepaid booking. I told them to check on the booking status and it was canceled. They then checked with HotelClub who told them that it was a fake ID who booked. What is fake about using my real name, my real card, my real address? Nothing, I guess... not even the user names were made up, I only created new email addresses...
I remain with my conclusion which seems to be shared by the OP, this promotion is not thought through, HotelClub has inflated prices in many regions and the 30 USD promotion does not suit me as the discount is not high enough to make up the price difference - i stick with the usual hotel reservation where i have never had any issues so far!
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Anyone have experience with whether the hotels offered for a particular date/location change?
I need a Friday night hotel in March at MCI and would prefer a Hilton HHonors property (Hampton, Hilton, HGI, Homewood, Doubletree). But none come up for that particular date.
I have Canadian credit cards. I did four separate bookings with the $50 and the $49 deals, with four separate email addresses, and four separate credit cards, and had no problems with any booking. I used the correct mailing address, which is the same for all of them. Is the problem arising for people when they use the same credit card more than once?
This turned out to be a great deal for me. Thanks for posting it. I wanted nice hotels in specific locations, at a cheap price, and for this purpose, the HotelClub deals were perfect.
)
I have had many good experiences, however, and I certainly know much more about "typical American motels" than I did before this offer appeared.
