Booking of Nights Using Cash and Free Night Certs and
Jan 30, 2015, 1:34 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 15
Booking of Nights Using Cash and Free Night Certs and
Hi, I had to call 3 different departments at IHG and the hotel directly and not happy with the outcome, but curious if this group can set me straight on if I'm getting fair treatment or not.
I have 3 Free Night certificates I'm using for a hotel stay at the Intercontinental in San Juan. The Monday night is the end of a holiday weekend, they have no Free Nights available for that Monday, and the hotel has set a 3 night minimum stay for the weekend. IHG applied the Free Night Certs for Tues-Thurs night, then told me to call the hotel directly to have them override the booking and add Monday as a self-pay night.
First, they refused telling me that I needed to book for three nights. I again stated that adding Monday to my Tue-Thu booking would actually be 4 nights, and was put on hold while awaiting a manager. The best I was offered was that they would waive the three night rule for me but that I would have to pay full-rate for Monday if I want it.
A competitor's hotel next door (and arguably the El San Juan is nicer than the Intercontinental San Juan) is offering rooms at half that rate amount and will let me book for Monday night only. I really don't want to have stay 1 night at another hotel, and then move the whole family over to the Intercontinental for the remainder of the stay.
For now, i booked the Intercontinental for the 1 night at the full rate but can cancel up to 48 hrs before. I'm thinking if rooms go unsold, they may remove the 3 night requirement and I can cancel and rebook at a lower rate, or I can cancel and stay elsewhere. But does this not seem right to you?..should I call the hotel and try again?
I have 3 Free Night certificates I'm using for a hotel stay at the Intercontinental in San Juan. The Monday night is the end of a holiday weekend, they have no Free Nights available for that Monday, and the hotel has set a 3 night minimum stay for the weekend. IHG applied the Free Night Certs for Tues-Thurs night, then told me to call the hotel directly to have them override the booking and add Monday as a self-pay night.
First, they refused telling me that I needed to book for three nights. I again stated that adding Monday to my Tue-Thu booking would actually be 4 nights, and was put on hold while awaiting a manager. The best I was offered was that they would waive the three night rule for me but that I would have to pay full-rate for Monday if I want it.
A competitor's hotel next door (and arguably the El San Juan is nicer than the Intercontinental San Juan) is offering rooms at half that rate amount and will let me book for Monday night only. I really don't want to have stay 1 night at another hotel, and then move the whole family over to the Intercontinental for the remainder of the stay.
For now, i booked the Intercontinental for the 1 night at the full rate but can cancel up to 48 hrs before. I'm thinking if rooms go unsold, they may remove the 3 night requirement and I can cancel and rebook at a lower rate, or I can cancel and stay elsewhere. But does this not seem right to you?..should I call the hotel and try again?
Jan 30, 2015, 2:11 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: AA EXP, TK Elite, LY Top-Platinum, HGP Diamond, HH Diamond, IHGR Platinum Amb
Posts: 280
For now, i booked the Intercontinental for the 1 night at the full rate but can cancel up to 48 hrs before. I'm thinking if rooms go unsold, they may remove the 3 night requirement and I can cancel and rebook at a lower rate, or I can cancel and stay elsewhere. But does this not seem right to you?..should I call the hotel and try again?
The rate at the next-door hotel is of course irrelevant.
Jan 31, 2015, 7:44 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: MCO, YEG
Posts: 1,182
I don't think you have gotten the gist of the OP, possibly because it was not quite clear. I think they are being charged an extra high rate for their "one night" cash stay because it does not meet the 3 night minimum stay, but their "one night" stay is really part of a 4 night stay. I think what they are saying is that if they could combine the cash night with the award nights into one stay, that the cash night would be at a much lower rate, because they would not be making an exception to their minimum stay requirement.
I think that I would at least try to get IHG customer service involved, as the rules for everything else define this as one stay. If you made a 1 night booking and a 3 night booking both for cash, they would combine it and say that you only had 1 stay, so this should be the same. The only issue I can see is if there is no similar room available for your cash stay versus your award stay, as changing room types would probably make their position make more sense.
You might also have some luck waiting to closer to your arrival as an award night might come available for your cash night and you should be able to get IHG to extend your stay. Every time (only three times, so far) I have tried to book award nights with IHG, the nights have not been available at first and availability has always opened up eventually.
Edit: sorry, just noticed that you already tried IHG. To answer your question, no, I don't think you are being treated fairly. They seem to be using two different definitions for stay, with their usage being whichever one is least advantageous for the guest.
I think that I would at least try to get IHG customer service involved, as the rules for everything else define this as one stay. If you made a 1 night booking and a 3 night booking both for cash, they would combine it and say that you only had 1 stay, so this should be the same. The only issue I can see is if there is no similar room available for your cash stay versus your award stay, as changing room types would probably make their position make more sense.
You might also have some luck waiting to closer to your arrival as an award night might come available for your cash night and you should be able to get IHG to extend your stay. Every time (only three times, so far) I have tried to book award nights with IHG, the nights have not been available at first and availability has always opened up eventually.
Edit: sorry, just noticed that you already tried IHG. To answer your question, no, I don't think you are being treated fairly. They seem to be using two different definitions for stay, with their usage being whichever one is least advantageous for the guest.