Programs: AA Gold, DL Silver, BMI Gold, PC Gold, HHonors, SPG
Posts: 1,780
Quote:
Originally Posted by iahphx
Yeah, that would be the "injustice" here -- not hotelclub realizing tht it will be god-awful expensive to allow flyertalkers' to mercilessly exploit a loophole in their money-off promotion. (And, I would note this is REAL money they have to pay out. It seems their commission is about 20 percent -- so if you book a $50 hotel room, they lose out-of-pocket 40 bucks in this deal).
I think everyone who gets a room cancelled will get their money back. But, if history repeats itself, there will first be some "drama." After all, if they were screwed up in offering this promo, they're likely to be screwed up in correcting it.
First off, I'm not sure if you are playing the Devil's Advocate, or if you really find it to be an injustice that most of us took advantage (an understatement) of this promotion.
I don't doubt they're losing money, and frankly, I don't think any of us here care very much. If we did, we certainly wouldn't have partaken in the deal beyond one meager $50 credit.
If a company is this stupid, they deserve/it shouldn't be a surprise for them to be "exploited". I'm all for the exploitation. It's their own fault for not fastening down their promo or putting further restrictions on this.
That being said, I do agree with CalItalian that other than the Tube promo, no other promos said "one per person" or "for new members only". Way back in the thread, I mentioned how idiotic of them it was to not add this to their Terms and Conditions. Furthermore, their terms and conditions do not state one account per person anywhere - the only place that it implies this is on the Tube promo.
If they keep the money that I put down beyond the member dollars, without providing a service to me, then they are in fact "stealing" and I can accuse them of such. If they cancel the reservations and issue refunds, then no harm, no foul, we all break even. But, there's no way I'm going to let HotelClub turn the tables on us and profit from our exploiting of the deal. They stand to make a pretty penny off of all of us by cancelling reservations, if that would be the case.
__________________ The Best Rate Guarantee Blog is back and better than ever. Recently named one of the top Travel Blogs by Priceline.com.
Yeah, that would be the "injustice" here -- not hotelclub realizing tht it will be god-awful expensive to allow flyertalkers' to mercilessly exploit a loophole in their money-off promotion. (And, I would note this is REAL money they have to pay out. It seems their commission is about 20 percent -- so if you book a $50 hotel room, they lose out-of-pocket 40 bucks in this deal).
I think everyone who gets a room cancelled will get their money back. But, if history repeats itself, there will first be some "drama." After all, if they were screwed up in offering this promo, they're likely to be screwed up in correcting it.
These promos have been out since at least May 2008 from what I can tell (I alerted roadtripman where these promos were posted on an Australian board after he started this thread). They have had plenty of time to correct them but have not. The $49 promo was posted over the summer here in a thread on this Hotel forum on FT but got no action. Yet, they still allowed it to continue. This is their fault and nobody elses. This is an Orbitz company, not a mom and pop. If they can't get their act together, they deseve to go out of business but first they must keep their original obligations.
These are completed purchases NOT just simple reservations. They're breaking the law by cancelling any one.
Programs: AA Gold, DL Silver, BMI Gold, PC Gold, HHonors, SPG
Posts: 1,780
Quote:
Originally Posted by CalItalian
You continue to be wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iahphx
I'd also suggest a less combative tone (at least to fellow flyertalkers -- argue all you want with hotelclub!)
I'd suggest leaving it as agreeing to disagree, guys. We're all friends here trying to help each other with these deals, let's not get heated. Smile and nod.
__________________ The Best Rate Guarantee Blog is back and better than ever. Recently named one of the top Travel Blogs by Priceline.com.
It does NOT say that on their other promos and it does NOT say limit one per customer, as I have already stated (go look at the current hotelclub.com/us30 or the hotelclub.com/us50 and find ANY restriction).
us30 states:
"Special offer! Get $30 off your next hotel booking by joining HotelClub today"
"Become a member and start earning Member Dollars on your next booking. All you need to do is complete the details below."
I think if you're a member already.. you can't become a member, since you ARE a member.. so this promo wouldn't apply to you.
Programs: AA Gold, DL Silver, BMI Gold, PC Gold, HHonors, SPG
Posts: 1,780
Quote:
Originally Posted by CalItalian
This is their fault and nobody elses. This is an Orbitz company, not a mom and pop. If they can't get their act together, they deseve to go out of business but first they must keep their original obligations.
I completely agree with you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CalItalian
These are completed purchases NOT just simple reservations. They're breaking the law by cancelling any one.
This is dubious, but I'd like to agree with you. I sure wouldn't be very happy if I had booked airline tickets to use these rooms, only to find some company in Australia had decided I couldn't have the rooms because I was "a bad boy".
__________________ The Best Rate Guarantee Blog is back and better than ever. Recently named one of the top Travel Blogs by Priceline.com.
Programs: AA Gold, DL Silver, BMI Gold, PC Gold, HHonors, SPG
Posts: 1,780
Quote:
Originally Posted by newfbc
us30 states:
"Special offer! Get $30 off your next hotel booking by joining HotelClub today"
"Become a member and start earning Member Dollars on your next booking. All you need to do is complete the details below."
I think if you're a member already.. you can't become a member, since you ARE a member.. so this promo wouldn't apply to you.
Ron.
It totally could apply - there's no reason why a person can't become a member 10 times, according to their terms and conditions. If its not in their terms, then it can't be said to be "wrong" to do so.
The first thing I did was check if more than one account was OK - no mention was made, so in that case, it's open season in my eyes.
__________________ The Best Rate Guarantee Blog is back and better than ever. Recently named one of the top Travel Blogs by Priceline.com.
Forgive me if I missed it (I've checked...I really have), but are these cancellations only happening to those who booked multiple (translation: more than one) reservations?
I haven't used any these "deals" yet, however still have two accounts each with $49 available until Dec 2010. Is it still safe to make one booking and feel confident it won't be cancelled, or is the whole problem here the multiple booking issue?
First off, I'm not sure if you are playing the Devil's Advocate, or if you really find it to be an injustice that most of us took advantage (an understatement) of this promotion.
No, you're misunderstanding what I'm trying to say. I was AGREEING with you that a real injustice would be if hotelclub cancelled reservations and kept whatever amount over $50 the customer actually paid. (From the new information we have, though, it does not sound like this has happened).
I do not believe it would be an "injustice" if hotelclub -- with adequate advance notice -- cancelled the mutiple reservations made by the same individuals and refunded the money paid. This is not an injustice. It is simply a disappointment.
If someone whose reservations were cancelled (but had their money refunded) wants to go to court to claim they were cheated -- that they was nothing contractually preventing them from opening multiple membership accounts and booking dozens of one-night stays to take maximum advantage of hotelclub's largesse/stupidity -- fine. Go for it. I think it's a stone cold loser in any small claims (or "big claims") court. Your best hope, frankly, is that hotelclub doesn't show up in court, you get some default judgment, and then you find some assets to seize (and good luck with that!).
If that's the way anyone wants to play this game, go ahead. I'd rather just be looking for the next deal.
Forgive me if I missed it (I've checked...I really have), but are these cancellations only happening to those who booked multiple (translation: more than one) reservations?
I haven't used any these "deals" yet, however still have two accounts each with $49 available until Dec 2010. Is it still safe to make one booking and feel confident it won't be cancelled, or is the whole problem here the multiple booking issue?
Well, it SHOULD be safe, since by making one booking, you would be doing what hotelclub wanted you to do by offering the promotion. That said, it is certainly possible they could overreact and cancel any new bookings using the promo money. And if you read some past posts, you'll see that it was probably not their intention to let you spend the money until Dec. 2010. So they might zero out your account any day. It would therefore probably be wise to spend the money sooner rather than later.
Programs: AA Gold, DL Silver, BMI Gold, PC Gold, HHonors, SPG
Posts: 1,780
Quote:
Originally Posted by iahphx
No, you're misunderstanding what I'm trying to say. I was AGREEING with you that a real injustice would be if hotelclub cancelled reservations and kept whatever amount over $50 the customer actually paid. (From the new information we have, though, it does not sound like this has happened).
I do not believe it would be an "injustice" if hotelclub -- with adequate advance notice -- cancelled the mutiple reservations made by the same individuals and refunded the money paid. This is not an injustice. It is simply a disappointment.
If someone whose reservations were cancelled (but had their money refunded) wants to go to court to claim they were cheated -- that they was nothing contractually preventing them from opening multiple membership accounts and booking dozens of one-night stays to take maximum advantage of hotelclub's largesse/stupidity -- fine. Go for it. I think it's a stone cold loser in any small claims (or "big claims") court. Your best hope, frankly, is that hotelclub doesn't show up in court, you get some default judgment, and then you find some assets to seize (and good luck with that!).
If that's the way anyone wants to play this game, go ahead. I'd rather just be looking for the next deal.
I agree with you, iahphx, sorry for the misunderstanding. I wasn't clear at what you were getting at before. I agree, if my money is refunded, it's onto the next deal. I wouldn't take them to court over a crummy motel room if they provided my money back - after all, if they have refunded my money, then I have no longer provided them my end of the contract, and they don't really have to provide me accommodations.
I may make a Better Business Bureau complaint if the cancellations would result in a total inconvenience (ie. cancelling with no advance notice, on the day of my arrival, causing me undue stress to find a new hotel for the night, etc). But a lawsuit seems silly, unless they owe me something.
__________________ The Best Rate Guarantee Blog is back and better than ever. Recently named one of the top Travel Blogs by Priceline.com.
1) Did they only cancel bookings where you had booked multiple nights -- back-to-back -- at the same hotel under the same name? Or did they cancel every single booking using the promo $, even the ones for one-night-only stays?
2) Has anyone booked a room at the Hilton January sale rate and has such a booking been canceled? These bookings are normally non-refundable and I've booked a three-night stay back-to-back at the Hilton London Metropole.
The thing is: This deal is so good, I would have booked it at the regular Hilton sale rate, even without the promo $ being applied. But you can only book this deal in January and my stay is in April. So if Hotelclub decides to cancel my bookings after January 31st, I won't be able to get this rate directly on the Hilton website anymore.
They even cancel my reservation for one-night-only-stay, but there was a second reservation (another hotel and date, but same credit card) at HC.
And one of it was a stay from the Hilton January sale (for May 09) - I know that it is normally a non-refundable rate, but it has be cancelled. I still wait for the refund.
1) Did they only cancel bookings where you had booked multiple nights -- back-to-back -- at the same hotel under the same name? Or did they cancel every single booking using the promo $, even the ones for one-night-only stays?
2) Has anyone booked a room at the Hilton January sale rate and has such a booking been canceled? These bookings are normally non-refundable and I've booked a three-night stay back-to-back at the Hilton London Metropole.
The thing is: This deal is so good, I would have booked it at the regular Hilton sale rate, even without the promo $ being applied. But you can only book this deal in January and my stay is in April. So if Hotelclub decides to cancel my bookings after January 31st, I won't be able to get this rate directly on the Hilton website anymore.
Not everything of mine has been canceled, yet. I have almost 20 reservations and right now over 10 have been canceled over the last 2 days. They seem to be systematically going from my oldest reservations to my newest and canceling them as they progress through some master list. They didn't batch cancel everything of mine, they just seem to keep popping up with another one every couple of hours or so. Like I said, someone seems to be doing this by hand, possibly matching/going off of a master list.
These are for different dates, different cities, worldwide, some credit cards used for multiple reservations, some CCs for just one, some back-to-back nights, some solo nights, HC account names mostly different, etc.
There's nowhere to hide. If your reservations stand you might be lucky, or you may just get a very unwelcome surprise when you arrive at your property.
