Originally Posted by
RollAnotherFatOne
The hotel scammed me because it waited for me to book the rate and then lowered it substantially.
You don't treat one of your biggest customers like this, who books a top room.
I wanted to see what options there were by hitting the cancellation button. To say that hotel rates go up and down is total nonsense. Not by this amount, ever, for almost any hotel.. certainly not this one. I rarely see hotel rates fluctuate by more than 10% and I book 50+ nights a year all over the world. Taking payment when I hit the button was just a joke.
I can't think of any good reason any particular hotel would "target"
you specifically.
Hotel rates go up an down; some rate changes swing wildly based on room availability. Here is a recent example of my own: heading to Asia in a few days, Marriott SkyCity at HKG was under 1K HKD/night when I looked last week, then it jumped to over 2K HKD earlier this week (with my plans firmed), with only executive suites. Now, base rates are back to a little over 1K HKD, with availability of deluxe rooms (likely due to prior cancellations).
Next time, before you hit the reserve button, read the payment/refund policy carefully. Most hotel reservation systems process your payment immediately on non-refundable reservations. That said, most chain hotels and reputable OTAs provide flexibility within the first 24 hours of booking on non-refundable reservations. Again, read the payment/refund policy, so you would not be surprised.