Thanks everyone for your replies
Originally Posted by
Accor Concierge
Boooking through third party sites should not be any different then others are long as you have received a confirmation email and have a reservation number?
My suggest would be to call the hotel quickly and confirm your reservation with reception, that way you are reassured and won't find yourself in a pickle if ever there has been a problem.
Hi Amy, yes I have a reservation number and I actually did send an email to the hotel who confirmed that they had my reservation. My understanding from getaroom.com though is that they have a block of rooms and your own name doesn't get put on the reservation until a few days before arrival.
I will however try and get the hotel to add my platinum number to the reservation.
None or this would be a problem if Accor honored their best price guarantee in spirit and not by trying to find microscopic differences on which to base their rejections.
Originally Posted by
gilbertaue
Hi Amy, I think that was 50% of the message. The other 50% is the, still, poor response times for the best rates guarantee by Accor. And in some cases even no response at all...
The response for my claim was timely and I was told that the alignment of the dot above the third "i" on the fourth line of the second paragraph was different by 0.02mm and this disqualified it from their best price guarantee.
Originally Posted by
BotB
Not sure what happens if they walk you, not heard of any reports on here of walking whereas with other chains (thinking Hilton) it happens more often.
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2) Its Germany, they are quite by the book and tend to be well organised and controlling of such situations so imagine your chances are less than at say a North American / UK hotel.
3) Its Berlin, so, even if you should be 'walked' or not have some room when you show up, just have a few other alternative ideas about how to deal with this (check what hotels are also nearby, which chains, what other sites you can use last minute to get something or better yet, which chain can you use points if needed to get a roof over your head.) then if all goes pear shaped, you'll be in a good position to react and sort out the who pays for what situation later on.
As a post script, if you are a person that likes to have contingency plans, might be worth the peace of mind to pay the extra and book via official channels with your membership number to reduce the stress of such situations? (or book a late refundable room or throwaway room that is still less than the difference between bookings if you are really paranoid)!
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Thanks for your insight BotB. Yes, most of the horror stories I've read about here on FT have tended to be in the US. The reason I'm a bit more concerned than usual is that I specifically want that airport hotel as it's within walking distance to the terminal. I have an early flight out and don't like stressing in the morning nor do I like waking at 05h00. If the difference between accor and any other website were reasonable, I would gladly pay the difference for the peace of mind. However, the difference is nearly double in this case. If Accor would have even come close to selling a room to me for what they're selling it to getaroom, I'd be happy and would book through them. But their price guarantee is an absolute sham. I have only chosen this hotel because of its location, not for brand loyalty.
My takeaway from this thread is that a) I will ensure that my platinum number is on the reservation and b) I will get in touch with the hotel shortly before my stay to make sure everything is in order.