Hotel Mistake Deals - Best Practices
Jan 27, 2015, 2:38 pm
#122
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 390
If you NEED to know. Book the rack rate. The deal you are looking for confirmation on has been booked by a lot of other people. Start a new thread asking if anybody else has information, this is not the thread for it, your question has been lost in what should or should not be done.
To be clear, contacting the hotel reduces the chances of you getting the rate honored. Best practice is to book an alternative hotel at a rate you can cancel without penalty. If your 1st choice doesn't come through and sometimes they don't, you have a back up plan. Booking mistake rates are a GAMBLE. There is a risk involved.
Jan 28, 2015, 7:11 am
#123
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 366
1) Any legal advice you get here is worth what you pay for it.
2) They seem to have covered their ground with the waiver. Your opinion as to what constitutes a pending reservation is irrelevant.
3) If you knew it was a mistake rate when you booked it, you typically do not have a contractual cause of action.
2) They seem to have covered their ground with the waiver. Your opinion as to what constitutes a pending reservation is irrelevant.
3) If you knew it was a mistake rate when you booked it, you typically do not have a contractual cause of action.
just never ever admit you knew it was a mistake
Jan 28, 2015, 1:05 pm
#124
Join Date: May 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 3,951
You REALLY dont get how this works. DONT CONTACT THE HOTEL, you will F it up for seasoned mistake rate travelers. People like you is why I don't post deals that I find and book. I only post deals that I cant take.
If you NEED to know. Book the rack rate. The deal you are looking for confirmation on has been booked by a lot of other people. Start a new thread asking if anybody else has information, this is not the thread for it, your question has been lost in what should or should not be done.
To be clear, contacting the hotel reduces the chances of you getting the rate honored. Best practice is to book an alternative hotel at a rate you can cancel without penalty. If your 1st choice doesn't come through and sometimes they don't, you have a back up plan. Booking mistake rates are a GAMBLE. There is a risk involved.
If you NEED to know. Book the rack rate. The deal you are looking for confirmation on has been booked by a lot of other people. Start a new thread asking if anybody else has information, this is not the thread for it, your question has been lost in what should or should not be done.
To be clear, contacting the hotel reduces the chances of you getting the rate honored. Best practice is to book an alternative hotel at a rate you can cancel without penalty. If your 1st choice doesn't come through and sometimes they don't, you have a back up plan. Booking mistake rates are a GAMBLE. There is a risk involved.
Jan 29, 2015, 12:31 am
#125
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
My anecdotal evidence is that it doesn't make a difference one way or the other. It might make them kill the deal faster, which might suck for others, but it makes zero difference as to whether the hotel will honor the deal, offer a compromise, or just cancel it outright.
Just stating that something is a fact with bold letters doesn't make it so.
Jan 29, 2015, 4:01 am
#126
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 801
Nothing is set in stone regarding these mistakes. However I personally feel that in the vast majority of cases the hotel is fully aware that they have made an error due to the fact the error rate has eventually been corrected by somebody or possibly due to the deluge of bookings at the special price. So basically you are going to hear( or not hear) from the hotel one way or the other about your reservation.
I agree that whether they honour in 99% of cases will not rest on whether you have made contact. They will have basically already made up their minds. The golden rule (as I hope we all know!) is never contact the hotel before the deal is dead.
Now what about that 1%?? Well I have turned up on two occasions at hotels in the last year where the hotel was actually not aware that a mistake had been made.Maybe they should have been aware but for reasons beyond me they were not.
The first was in Marrakech where the mistake was only realised at check out and the second at none other than Gleneagles Hotel, home to the Ryder Cup last year, where again the hotel got a shock surprise at check out
The Gleneagles deal was a half board double room deal at just £40 pn representing only a fraction of the original price. When myself and friends checked out we were presented with a bill of sizeable proportions as befits such a fine establishment.
Gleneagles were clearly not aware of the mistake they had made(and presumably corrected) on the LHW website or at least that anybody had booked the rate....or maybe they were just hoping we would pay the full rate?? Strangely the name of the rate plan on our reservations with them had been changed although it was still for the half board option.
Everything was sorted out satisfactorily by the hotel in the end and they honoured the rate of our booking.^
However what if I had decided not to risk just turning up at the door? It can only be subjective but my thoughts, based on my checkout experience in each case, are that both Gleneagles and the hotel in Marrakech( where there was a little drama) , would on balance probably of taken the opportunity to cancel if I had called them.
So my take on this is calling once a deal is dead in the vast majority of cases should make no difference although where possible it is probably better not to call. If you have to call,and I except that in some cases this may be necessary for different people for various reasons then delay making that call for as long as possible. If it's 6 months down the line then that will put the hotel under a little more pressure to do the honourable thing at that time rather than 6 hours or 6 days later when the hotel has a far more morally right case to cancel your booking.
However be warned that due to the reasons outlined above I do feel that in a tiny percentage of cases a deal could fall flat on it's face due to a phone call at any time....but of course I don't have that proof since I never call the hotels if they have not made any contact with me!
I agree that whether they honour in 99% of cases will not rest on whether you have made contact. They will have basically already made up their minds. The golden rule (as I hope we all know!) is never contact the hotel before the deal is dead.
Now what about that 1%?? Well I have turned up on two occasions at hotels in the last year where the hotel was actually not aware that a mistake had been made.Maybe they should have been aware but for reasons beyond me they were not.
The first was in Marrakech where the mistake was only realised at check out and the second at none other than Gleneagles Hotel, home to the Ryder Cup last year, where again the hotel got a shock surprise at check out
The Gleneagles deal was a half board double room deal at just £40 pn representing only a fraction of the original price. When myself and friends checked out we were presented with a bill of sizeable proportions as befits such a fine establishment.
Gleneagles were clearly not aware of the mistake they had made(and presumably corrected) on the LHW website or at least that anybody had booked the rate....or maybe they were just hoping we would pay the full rate?? Strangely the name of the rate plan on our reservations with them had been changed although it was still for the half board option.
Everything was sorted out satisfactorily by the hotel in the end and they honoured the rate of our booking.^
However what if I had decided not to risk just turning up at the door? It can only be subjective but my thoughts, based on my checkout experience in each case, are that both Gleneagles and the hotel in Marrakech( where there was a little drama) , would on balance probably of taken the opportunity to cancel if I had called them.
So my take on this is calling once a deal is dead in the vast majority of cases should make no difference although where possible it is probably better not to call. If you have to call,and I except that in some cases this may be necessary for different people for various reasons then delay making that call for as long as possible. If it's 6 months down the line then that will put the hotel under a little more pressure to do the honourable thing at that time rather than 6 hours or 6 days later when the hotel has a far more morally right case to cancel your booking.
However be warned that due to the reasons outlined above I do feel that in a tiny percentage of cases a deal could fall flat on it's face due to a phone call at any time....but of course I don't have that proof since I never call the hotels if they have not made any contact with me!
Jan 29, 2015, 9:45 am
#128
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Amsterdam
Programs: SkyTeam Gold, Hilton Gold, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 1,421
Nothing is set in stone regarding these mistakes. However I personally feel that in the vast majority of cases the hotel is fully aware that they have made an error due to the fact the error rate has eventually been corrected by somebody or possibly due to the deluge of bookings at the special price. So basically you are going to hear( or not hear) from the hotel one way or the other about your reservation.
I agree that whether they honour in 99% of cases will not rest on whether you have made contact. They will have basically already made up their minds. The golden rule (as I hope we all know!) is never contact the hotel before the deal is dead.
Now what about that 1%?? Well I have turned up on two occasions at hotels in the last year where the hotel was actually not aware that a mistake had been made.Maybe they should have been aware but for reasons beyond me they were not.
The first was in Marrakech where the mistake was only realised at check out and the second at none other than Gleneagles Hotel, home to the Ryder Cup last year, where again the hotel got a shock surprise at check out
The Gleneagles deal was a half board double room deal at just £40 pn representing only a fraction of the original price. When myself and friends checked out we were presented with a bill of sizeable proportions as befits such a fine establishment.
Gleneagles were clearly not aware of the mistake they had made(and presumably corrected) on the LHW website or at least that anybody had booked the rate....or maybe they were just hoping we would pay the full rate?? Strangely the name of the rate plan on our reservations with them had been changed although it was still for the half board option.
Everything was sorted out satisfactorily by the hotel in the end and they honoured the rate of our booking.^
However what if I had decided not to risk just turning up at the door? It can only be subjective but my thoughts, based on my checkout experience in each case, are that both Gleneagles and the hotel in Marrakech( where there was a little drama) , would on balance probably of taken the opportunity to cancel if I had called them.
So my take on this is calling once a deal is dead in the vast majority of cases should make no difference although where possible it is probably better not to call. If you have to call,and I except that in some cases this may be necessary for different people for various reasons then delay making that call for as long as possible. If it's 6 months down the line then that will put the hotel under a little more pressure to do the honourable thing at that time rather than 6 hours or 6 days later when the hotel has a far more morally right case to cancel your booking.
However be warned that due to the reasons outlined above I do feel that in a tiny percentage of cases a deal could fall flat on it's face due to a phone call at any time....but of course I don't have that proof since I never call the hotels if they have not made any contact with me!
I agree that whether they honour in 99% of cases will not rest on whether you have made contact. They will have basically already made up their minds. The golden rule (as I hope we all know!) is never contact the hotel before the deal is dead.
Now what about that 1%?? Well I have turned up on two occasions at hotels in the last year where the hotel was actually not aware that a mistake had been made.Maybe they should have been aware but for reasons beyond me they were not.
The first was in Marrakech where the mistake was only realised at check out and the second at none other than Gleneagles Hotel, home to the Ryder Cup last year, where again the hotel got a shock surprise at check out
The Gleneagles deal was a half board double room deal at just £40 pn representing only a fraction of the original price. When myself and friends checked out we were presented with a bill of sizeable proportions as befits such a fine establishment.
Gleneagles were clearly not aware of the mistake they had made(and presumably corrected) on the LHW website or at least that anybody had booked the rate....or maybe they were just hoping we would pay the full rate?? Strangely the name of the rate plan on our reservations with them had been changed although it was still for the half board option.
Everything was sorted out satisfactorily by the hotel in the end and they honoured the rate of our booking.^
However what if I had decided not to risk just turning up at the door? It can only be subjective but my thoughts, based on my checkout experience in each case, are that both Gleneagles and the hotel in Marrakech( where there was a little drama) , would on balance probably of taken the opportunity to cancel if I had called them.
So my take on this is calling once a deal is dead in the vast majority of cases should make no difference although where possible it is probably better not to call. If you have to call,and I except that in some cases this may be necessary for different people for various reasons then delay making that call for as long as possible. If it's 6 months down the line then that will put the hotel under a little more pressure to do the honourable thing at that time rather than 6 hours or 6 days later when the hotel has a far more morally right case to cancel your booking.
However be warned that due to the reasons outlined above I do feel that in a tiny percentage of cases a deal could fall flat on it's face due to a phone call at any time....but of course I don't have that proof since I never call the hotels if they have not made any contact with me!
I agree with Chokdee here as calling can ruin things also after the rate disappeared. This could also especially be the case for a mistake that was made for one room/night, which means the hotel won't see much extra traffic/bookings.
What is forgotten in this discussion is what outweighs the risk of calling? There is no benefit to calling:
- Call to confirm: if they already were planning to honor it, they will do so regardless. If they weren't, you had a cancellation already (if you did not, and rock up, and they then cancel that makes them liable). If they didn't know and now they do because you called, you messed it up for yourself (and potentially the rest).
- Call to change reservation/ name: see above. If they know it's an error, it is highly unlikely they will allow you to do so. Not because they might not be okay honoring the rate, but because it opens the door to booking mistake rates and then selling them to someone else for a profit.
Jul 4, 2015, 10:34 am
#130
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 10
I booked an error rate at a 5 star resort in Vietnam during high season. 3 nights for 76$ each (suite) instead of the regular 390$...the sales manager sent me an email a week after with an apology and told me if I could cancel the room or pay 150$/night extra, otherwise he had to pay for the difference because he made the mistake when loading the rates...can someone confirm this is indeed a common practice in SEA?
Really would feel bad if this is true....
Really would feel bad if this is true....
Jul 5, 2015, 5:52 am
#131
Join Date: May 2002
Location: District of Columbia, Maryland- AA 2M Life Platinum, UA 1K, TK Gold, BA Silver, IC RA, Fairmont/Marriott Platinum, SPG/Hilton/Omni Gold, Wynn/Makers Mark Ambassador, Hertz Presidents Circle, Avis Chairmans, National Executive
Posts: 1,578
I hate to see hotels getting away with this. Booking.com had Sheraton DFW for $49 on the Club level. Hotel is offering $119 as a "middle ground". Booking.com is still showing the same rate but has also contacted me. Both are trying to bully me to either cancel on my own accord, or pay the higher rate.
Isn't this a violation of bait and switch policies? You would not go to a restaurant, order the special of their printed menu and expect to pay more when the food arrives, no?
Mistake rates seems to be honored less and less. As anyone simply checked into the hotel, paid the higher rate and then deal with their credit card for refunding the difference as it was not the original agreed upon non-refundable rate offered?
Isn't this a violation of bait and switch policies? You would not go to a restaurant, order the special of their printed menu and expect to pay more when the food arrives, no?
Mistake rates seems to be honored less and less. As anyone simply checked into the hotel, paid the higher rate and then deal with their credit card for refunding the difference as it was not the original agreed upon non-refundable rate offered?
Jul 5, 2015, 9:54 am
#132
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NYC/Northern NJ
Programs: 1K - UAL, Platinum DL, Marriott, Hilton, SPG
Posts: 1,815
I'm going to agree with you.. As if you book a hotel months/weeks in advance with a pre-paid rate. If they have abundant availability closer to check-in date and offer $79 or $109 - rarely will they refund you the difference because you are locked in. Unfortunate how it appears you are cheating if you booked a great rate but they have no problems charging you $329 for a room now offered at $99.
Jul 6, 2015, 5:19 am
#133
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
I hate to see hotels getting away with this. Booking.com had Sheraton DFW for $49 on the Club level. Hotel is offering $119 as a "middle ground". Booking.com is still showing the same rate but has also contacted me. Both are trying to bully me to either cancel on my own accord, or pay the higher rate.
Isn't this a violation of bait and switch policies? You would not go to a restaurant, order the special of their printed menu and expect to pay more when the food arrives, no?
Mistake rates seems to be honored less and less. As anyone simply checked into the hotel, paid the higher rate and then deal with their credit card for refunding the difference as it was not the original agreed upon non-refundable rate offered?
Isn't this a violation of bait and switch policies? You would not go to a restaurant, order the special of their printed menu and expect to pay more when the food arrives, no?
Mistake rates seems to be honored less and less. As anyone simply checked into the hotel, paid the higher rate and then deal with their credit card for refunding the difference as it was not the original agreed upon non-refundable rate offered?
The reason mistake fares and rates are less frequently honored is because of the greed of consumers. That was a major factor in the US DOT changing its position on mistake fares. Reasonableness of consumers would go a long way. You are trying to bully them just as much as they're trying to bully you. You're arguably worse as you're trying to take advantage of what you know to be an innocent mistake.
Last edited by Adam1222; Jul 6, 2015 at 5:54 am
Jul 6, 2015, 9:07 am
#134
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: AA, EC, FB, M&M, HH, Accor, Radisson Rewards
Posts: 46
But no, the proper comparison would be if you saw a sign saying Filet Mignon, $4.0, and you knew it was a mistake and meant $40., but you nonetheless brought all your friends to the restaurant, which you would never otherwise go to, and each demand $4 filet mignon and tap water for dinner.
I have faced personally many mistake rates on Booking.com. That is why I always contact the hotel in order to confirm my reservations and rates. Once I argued as the rate in low season looked like a special offer they spammed me with and hotel honored it. Most of times I just cancel my reservation if they say it is a mistake rate or let them do it for me.
Last edited by Isoveli; Jul 6, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Jul 13, 2015, 5:51 am
#135
Join Date: May 2002
Location: District of Columbia, Maryland- AA 2M Life Platinum, UA 1K, TK Gold, BA Silver, IC RA, Fairmont/Marriott Platinum, SPG/Hilton/Omni Gold, Wynn/Makers Mark Ambassador, Hertz Presidents Circle, Avis Chairmans, National Executive
Posts: 1,578
I fail to see the comparison between a $49 hotel rate in Texas to a $4 filet mignon. It is more like the restaurant charging $20 instead of the $40 if comparing percentages. You can blame us for greed if the hotel was $4 and we were demanding justice. There are plenty of hotels in DFW with weekend rates well below the $119 being offered as a compromise rate. It is not like there are thousands of business travelers in town for the weekend with padded expense accounts.
Anyways, I booked the nearby Westin for $77, a hotel that is twice as nice as the Sheraton DFW at half the "special rate" offered by the hotel. On the SPG website too without any nonsense or trickery about is the rate a mistake, will it be honored, and are we all going to hell because looking for a great deal, etc.
Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I believe 50% off hotel rates is (or at least used to be) a common occurrence. It is not like I am demanding the hotel honor a $29 at the Ritz Carlton in New York for example.
Anyways, I booked the nearby Westin for $77, a hotel that is twice as nice as the Sheraton DFW at half the "special rate" offered by the hotel. On the SPG website too without any nonsense or trickery about is the rate a mistake, will it be honored, and are we all going to hell because looking for a great deal, etc.
Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I believe 50% off hotel rates is (or at least used to be) a common occurrence. It is not like I am demanding the hotel honor a $29 at the Ritz Carlton in New York for example.