Originally Posted by ForbesHall

On January 11, I booked the W for a 2-night stay in late February. I used the AAA rate and saw one of the "Hot Deals" was available and didn't require any deposit so I booked it. On my confirmation email, it said "You may cancel your reservation for no charge before 11:59 PM local hotel time on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 (3 day before arrival). Please note that we will assess a fee of 768.31 USD if you must cancel after this deadline. If you have made a prepayment, we will retain all or part of your prepayment. If not, we will charge your credit card. This fee equals your room charge plus tax for all the nights of your reservation." There was no mention of any deposit at the time of booking and that's what I expected. There was no charge to the card I used to hold the reservation.

So I checked my credit card account on February 2nd and noticed a charge of $450.56 from the W. I figured there was a screw up and they accidently charged me for the first night for my upcoming stay in 3 weeks. I called the hotel to get it corrected and was informed that my reservation now required a deposit. The clerk even sent me a screen shot of my reservation and it stated that a deposit was required with that rate. She was polite about the situation but was clearly trying to prove that hotel was right and I was wrong. However, if the rate did require a deposit, then that should have been charged on 1/11/22 and not a few weeks later. I wasn't in the mood to argue with her and just cancelled my reservation. This is was the second time this hotel has billed me incorrectly (cancelled a reservation before the deadline and they charged me anyway a few years ago) so I won't be back to property again.

Has anyone encountered a hotel changing the rate rules on them after the fact?