drjazz.. First let me say I stay here often and love it, thats why I keep going back... on that note.. I must say I'd be P-O'd too if I were in your shoes. The business center charges well those can happen anywhere as all of the majors gouge you in that sense but once they waive it, they should never charge you after the fact. I find the corking fee excuse pretty lame and and out right lie and I'd push it further with someone in the Hyatt chain, whether the hotel itself or in corporate.
This BS about getting charged after the fact happens to me all the time as I get charged for the $4.50 bottles of water that I never touch, the mini bar I never open (hey I don't even take the mb key if thats an option), for parking, bar charges, room service that I never had.. the list goes on..
I always ask for a ZERO balance receipt and I always reconcile every hotel receipt to my online credit card statements as well. Unfortunately this reconciliation is where I catch most of the "We are sorry about that Mr TH, we will remove the charges", the LaJolla Hyatt was the latest perpetrator of this scam for me. Its not a Hyatt issue, its an industry issue. These hotels must just charge people and those that complain, they remove no problem, but a lot must never reconcile their bills and the hotels know this so they bill for water etc and its another profit center for them..
This is one thing that really Pi$$es me off about the hotel industry.. its such a regular occurence that I now expect it to happen
Originally Posted by drjazz
I recently stayed at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach in conjunction with a convention. I had a hospitality suite with 2 connecting bedrooms. A business associate had 10 cases of beer (from his micro-brewery) delivered to the suite. The hotel turns around and charges me $120 “corkage fee”, and was going to tack on extra charges for accepting the beer in their receiving department. They insisted that their liquor license required them to charge the “corkage” fee. Needless to say, I was very upset and complained when they told me of these extra charges when I checked in. They only agreed to waive the “shipping charges”. In addition I had to utilize their business center and was charged $9 to print 3 pages.
Four days later, I checked out and saw that the shipping charges and the business center charge were not on the bill. Fine, the shipping charge was not on the bill as they told me, and I figured they also waived the $9 business center as a courtesy.
I return home and check on my debit card balance a few days later and realized they overcharged me almost $50. When I contacted the desk manager in Long Beach, he informs me that they only agreed to waive the shipping charge on the beer, not the other 5 boxes delivered to my room at the same time as the beer. No distinction was ever made to me!
When I questioned how they could charge me after I checked out, their excuse was that sometimes the receiving department doesn’t submit charges on time! We’re not talking about a delay of a few hours, or even a full day. This was 4 days after the charges supposedly occurred. In addition, the business center is run by a different company, and that they also sometimes have a delay. Hyatt Consumers Affairs told me that this is an acceptable business practice!!!
After 2 weeks of complaining, they finally agreed, “…as a courtesy…” to refund the extra charges. “A courtesy”? I suggested that the “courtesy” would have been to not charge me in the first place. When I suggested it would be better to offer an apology, they refused.
By the way, I did check with the Alcohol Beverage Control Dept. of the CA Attorney General Office and was informed that there is NOTHING in the hotel’s liquor license that requires them to charge a corkage fee. Instead of having the balls to tell me the truth, the front desk person passed the buck and said it was the State forcing them to do this.
I am a Diamond member of Hyatt.
-Dr.