bosman

Family and I are staying at a Hilton as part of an event. Event website showed rate per night @ $169. I check online and find I can get the same room for the same nights for $114 (2 nights) and $156 (2 nights) directly so I book online, get confirmation, etc.

Event requires that I provide reservation # as part of their registration (they say they have a room count commitment to the hotel to get the meeting rooms free, which I get) so I provide the # that I booked. So today I check my reservation and, boom, it's now at the event rates (ie +$145 total across the 4 nights).

So, how would you handle? I can call and make a fuss now, make a fuss when I check in, or dispute the charge after the fact with Amex by showing them my reservation rates and the rates that I was ultimately charged. I don't know how a 3rd party (the event) can change a rate and the hotel would allow that without checking with/informing me.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

writerguyfl

Check the fine print with the event. It's possible that you gave them permission to do this when registered your participation. That's how some events/conventions operated back when I worked in hotels.

storewanderer

The event likely has that room guarantee at the higher rate. So you are basically helping to subsidize the free conference room by paying a higher room rate than those not attending the conference.

I would just tell the conference you are staying elsewhere for cost reasons... even if you still stay there, since it is cheaper to not link your reservation to the conference... or is that not even an option?

Were you notified of the rate change or was it done arbitrarily?

Disputing the charge with AmEx will get your HHonors Account suspended/frozen until they collect the money they think they are owed. I do not suggest that route.

You could take it up with the hotel now or when when you arrive, or take it up with the conference people... you don't want to be the "one" who makes the conference not meet its minimum room requirement... better to resolve this now than later.

DiverDave

And sometimes the event rate includes extras. When we had our Delta Do at the ATL airport Hilton, we got a good rate, free parking, and free internet (back when it was not free).

David

serpens

Tangential to the primary discussion....

And sometimes not. A few years ago, the event rate at a Holiday Inn Express was $1 less than a publicly available rate, but (I was informed at check-in) excluded breakfast.

jeffandnicole

This is fairly normal. The rate rules for all parties probably state something in regards to the rate for those attending the event. The event may be free; it's just made up as part of the booking.

Technically, you are the one in violation. The terms and conditions of that confirmation probably excludes special event rates. If you book the cheaper rates without the event code, would it exclude you from the event?

Often1

This is hardly surprising. The event coordinator has negotiated a contract with the property which includes a room guarantee at $X per room. That rate pays for your room and a share of the event expenses. The alternative is that the registration fee for the event increases. In addition, event room space would also typically include some f&b allowance or comped rooms for the event organizers.

The question here is whether the event requires that you stay at its property. If this is just event organizers being pushy to keep their room block rate, push back. But, if the issue is that in order to attend the conference, you are required to pay for a room, you are stuck with a choice between attending and paying the higher rate.

It would be helpful to know the name of the property, the type of event, e.g. commercial, charitable, or personal such as a wedding.

bosman

Thanks all who weighed in on this (particularly the warning about what would happen if I disputed the charges after the fact through Amex). A few details to close out this conversation:

- The contract I signed with the event did indeed require me to stay at one of the "assigned host hotels" at "a reduced rate + taxes and fees".
- No promo code was given, just a link provided to register at the event rate.
- This is a charitable event.

Net, it does look like I was in violation of the event agreement, so no leg to stand on to try to get my previous lower rates. The good news is that I actually booked 2 rooms, 1 with cash (rates adjusted) and 1 with points which they did not convert, so I guess they "let me slide" with one of my rooms.

Again, appreciate the input.

MSPeconomist

IANAL but if the rule is that you must stay at an assigned hotel at "a reduced rate...." to me this doesn't say that you must pay the rate that they negotiated, just any (reduced from rack) rate at the hotel.

However, if you want to support the charity, the bigger picture is that the higher room block rates do contribute toward the charity's expenses at the hotel, so in a sense the difference is mostly a charitable contribution without tax benefits.

serpens

I also ANAL, but what it says is all too often ignored. Typically, someone says, "What it means is..." even when what it says is something different. It's especially galling when the organization is large enough to have competent proofreaders, but chooses not to.

DiverDave

Leading me to wonder if the hotel stationed a breakfast dragon to guard the breakfast buffet against the unentitled.

David