chokdee

Well congratulations must go to you too!

I would like to share 3 ways with people about what can sometimes work when trying to get an hotel or OTA to reconsider honouring a mistake rate.
I appreciate for some they will be obvious but they might prove useful to others who sometimes just except any decision or give up.

1) As with my recent Thai hotel, if you think you have a strong case then you have nothing to lose by putting up a fight. In that example my room was not ''a dollar a night'' but $70 and I had previously stayed at the same hotel some 3 years earlier on a slightly cheaper rate with no questions asked.

The OTA had never advised that there had been an error, only that ''due to unforeseen circumstances the hotel was not able to honour the rate''.

Most importantly the T & C's which I had read on booking appeared to be in my favour.

So in short if you think you have a good case then always go for it, but on the flip side of the coin should you have booked a $5 room at the London Savoy, had that reservation declined the very next day and the small print clearly shows the hotel has the right to do so, then its time to accept the decision gracefully and move on to the next deal.

2) On occasions where you receive a counter offer from the hotel where the hotel obviously has a good case then take the time to always reply politely to that offer. In one such instance I thanked the hotel for their new offer, said that I would of course very much liked to have stayed but the new price was still beyond my budget. Just being polite and civil about the matter appeared to do the trick, I had a lovely email back confirming my original reservation!

3) In the scenario where the hotel act very rudely in cancelling your reservation, such as by sending an impersonal no explanation generic cancellation email then do follow up such a rude response by letting the manager know about what has happened. Explain that you would have expected better from such a highly regarded hotel, you accept that the rate was low but some politeness would have cost them nothing. This has worked on the odd occasion for me with cancelled reservations being reinstated.

The biggest tip is very obvious and that is always to be cordial and polite in all dealings. Of course you can be forceful where you think it is justified but above all ALWAYS be polite.

Nothing is guaranteed here but I have been successful on occasion under the 3 scenarios above.... although of course I have also been unsuccessful...you can win some of them some of the time but you cant win all of them all of the time.

JohnnyColombia

Great advice thanks Chokdee

redreeper

Great advice - thank you. ^

My advice follows along the same lines; I let the hotel, etc. know that I picked that specific location/date because of the low rate. Arguing over whether it was a mistake in their listing or a mistake in my understanding is a waste of time, no matter what the rate was. They advertised it, I liked it, I booked it - I go from there. Although it often goes nowhere but to a cancellation

Soccerdad1995

I personally know people that have been thrown out of their rooms in the middle of the night when they had paid for the room (not a comped stay). Of course, these cases all involved hotels with attached casinos where the management figured out that the customer was smart enough to legally have an edge against the casino.

Just saying that hotel chains do throw people out of their rooms if they decide that the people are no longer welcome for some reason.

chokdee

I was personally thrown out of my room in the middle of the night once.

I had paid a healthy premium months in advance for a sleeper cabin on the ''Ghan'' train from Adelaide to Alice Springs. So I board the train, throw my case under the bed in my room and head straight for the trains bar where I stayed until closing at around 2.00 am . On retiring to my room I found the cabin was locked and no one was responding to my knocks on the door.

After walking the length of the train I eventually found a guard who opened the door for me to find two people sleeping on the bunks within my cabin with my case still under the bed!

The funny thing was it was they that seemed to be put out that I had returned to my own fully paid room and woken them up....grumpy is an understatement...blimmin cheek of it all...my bet is they gave the guard a back hander who thought that my cabin which had not been touched all night was vacant...however on arrival in Alice I did stay a night at Lasseters Hotel & Casino so maybe that had something to do with it ...

quikie

I recently booked a hotel using despegar.com. The hotel was re branded ( new owners) back in 2012 but only for certain dates it comes up under the old name. The reservation went through and saved me $1000 ($272 vs 440 a night) over 6 days versus the 'real' name (same hotel). I am not sure what to do here. I think it could be honored - maybe it was a special sale - but only available on despegar.com

ascg

Thanks for choosing best western Premier.We had system error as a result the rates were not installed in a system.The Best rate for 21st will be $69.99 plus taxes.So we will not be able to Honor the rate $19.99 plus taxes.So either we have to cancel your reservation or we have to update the rate to $69.99 plus taxes.

Are they obligated to Honor?

Adam1222

No is the short answer. You don't say how long after booking they contacted you, or what the standard rate is. If you knew it was a mistake, you dont really have much of a moral or legal ground to stand on if they corrected it promptly.

pazza2000

Booked 5 nights at the WA New York at a 'mistake rate' (20% of the next lowest price) through booking.com. One week on, I've not heard anything from booking.com or the hotel whom I understand loads their own rates, so with my confirmation still standing I assume all is well? My concern is, it's a pay on arrival (refundable) rate and we will be coming from the UK. Before flights are booked around these dates, it would be great to try and seek some aditional confirmation though I'm not sure of the best practice how? Any advice or insight would be great.

bmchris

Best practice is NOT to check confirmation by calling. See what you can do just to confirm the reservation. And then have a backup hotel that is cancelable.

frank_10b

Except that most hotels and ALL CHAINS have very restrictive cancellation policies now. The one ones that don't are small Mom and Pop locations who shouldn't be punished for being trusting.

Maybe compile a list of possible alternatives or send inquiries the day of before you leave thru airbnb and then just confirm the airbnbs that are still avail if the hotel refuses to honor the promo rate. I use airbnb more and more now for leisure trips. I have often found that Craigslist or Airbnb and its alternatives are better than hotels for family trips.

MileageAddict

Thread cleaned up. Please stay on topic.

MileageAddict
Moderator

pazza2000

How could I comfirm without calling? Trip is based around this booking, so if it's going to be cancelled at any point then i would rather sooner than later before travel plans are in place. Maybe I should 'go for broke' and try find out if this will definetly be honoured.

bmchris

Check the reservation online and make sure it is still showing as booked. You will still have a chance at being rejected at check in, but that is the gamble being played. 20% off is not a big amount - it will be likely honoured with minimal issue, even if they don't want to.

pazza2000

20% approx of the actual price I paid (so 80% off). Yes the res is still booked online. Getting rejected at check in or a few days before isn't really feasible, I need to get as good an idea as possible if this will be honoured or not before I book travel etc. Making contact with the hotel will give me a bit more peace of mind.