Originally Posted by
SK AAR
I can assure that many hotels do not verify CC numbers when the booking is made.
Correct. Outside of running the algorithm that verifies the card format (that keeps people from entering a random string of numbers), most hotels do not check to see if a credit card is an active account during the reservation process.
The reason behind is simple: Authorizing a credit card costs money. It's usually between $0.05 and $0.40 per transaction. If you did that for every reservation, it starts to add up.
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 used to work in hotels as a Revenue Manager. That's the person who is responsible for maintaining room rates. Today, changes in rates is all done by computer software. It is an automated function that uses wildly complex calculations. Since it is automated, the likelihood that any human being at the hotel knew that rates would drop is slim to none.
You were not scammed.
Originally Posted by
RollAnotherFatOne
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.
This is a completely false statement.
Originally Posted by
RollAnotherFatOne
I rarely see hotel rates fluctuate by more than 10% and I book 50+ nights a year all over the world.
Just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I literally worked in the hotel industry for over a decade. I assure you that large changes in rates is common. As demand changes, the computer software will adjust rates accordingly.