NC_Girl

Sorry, this is nothing but a vent. I am frustrated and getting more so by the hour! I am trying to book a suite in Columbus Ohio and need something specific. A living/dining area separate from the bedroom with a door between them..... Seems simple enough, only I have been trying to do so for days now and still have NOTHING! All the websites say suites can not be booked online so I must call or email. This weekend I emailed 2 hotels and no one responded. I called the Sheraton and they told me I had to speak to a specific person who handles the suites and I went to their VM and no return call so far. Called the Hilton and they sent me to central reservations and while nice, the lady had no idea about the suites and just read exactly what I read on the screen, no idea if the suite had doors or was open. Called back to the hotel and after 15 minutes on the phone with someone from the front desk was given a price and was booked. yippee... or so I thought! Then I received an email and the price was hundreds higher than quoted on the phone. Called back and was told someone would get back with me. 24 hours later and still no call back.

Renaissance may have something available, but there is not a single photo, nor a real description on the junior suite. Why can't they put some pictures and information about the actual rooms? They only say living room is separate but is there a door? who knows. I called, but the only person I could speak with didn't know the answer. I am waiting for a call back, and have been since yesterday.

Why can't they put a few photos and a thorough description of the room/suite?
What is the logic to this you must call or email crap?

Kagehitokiri

talk to property's management-level staff and or sales department
may have to ask to hold while front-line/entry-level finds someone

vast majority of hotels dont list room categories, nor their photos, nor show all in web reservations
some hotels load more information/categories/rates into GDS for travel agents to look/reserve

84fiero

It is surprising, and frustrating, than in this day and age hotel many websites have so few pictures of the rooms. Or sometimes they may have a decent number of pics for the "standard" room but little to nothing for suites or other rooms.

I'd agree that calling the local property directly should get a clear answer but it really shouldn't have to come to that.

Kagehitokiri

i dont think its surprising considering majority of mainstream hotels are franchises (wyndham, choice, intercontinental, hilton, marriott) and majority of guests just book something (entry level room) online, often not via hotel but 3rd party

even on flyertalk, seems like a ton of people use 3rd party websites for price, cashback, or some kind of benefit

if OP also considering non-chain >
http://www.55lofts.com/rooms-suites/
i googled: boutique hotel columbus ohio

gobluetwo

Are you looking for a particular class of hotels or location? There is a Residence Inn downtown, just a few blocks from the Renaissance and Sheraton. There is also a Doubletree Suites (with french doors) in the same area.

gungadin

I really like the Blackwell. Their concierge phone number is 614-247-4050. Several sizes of suites- they may be able to help.

heraclitus

I sympathize with the OP. Ever since my first kid was born I've been generally booking suites. I've noticed what a PITA it is to actually find one, though. Particularly in North America.

So many places fail to specify whether a room is actually a proper suite with separate bedroom. I've learned that most Comfort Suites basically consider a hotel room with two beds, a sofa and a three-foot tall partial dividing wall in between to be a "suite".

Contrast that with most European and Asian hotels where websites are scrupulously accurate about always providing those kinds of essential details along with room square footage, etc. How hard can it be to provide this info online and to actually put up a photo or two of your suite?!

milepig

I hear you all on this.

I recently was working on booking something for my 2 sisters and their husbands they wanted a suite but two distinct rooms each with its own bath.

This is fairly easy with a lot of top end places, since they'll have specific rooms you can book online and with pretty good descriptions. Not so much with the Holiday Inn level they were looking for.

I wound up just calling the hotel and asking about exactly what I needed and the hotel then booked the room without my having to go through central reservations. A bit of a hassle, but the entire phone call probably took 10 minutes so really not a big deal and the room was exactly as described by the hotel front desk.

marlborobell

BTDT too many times. Honestly, we've almost given up trying and will most often go to Airbnb and/or VRBO instead to get what we need. It's much easier to search, often cheaper than a hotel suite (sometimes cheaper than a basic hotel room!) and you get tons of useful information on what exactly you're getting.

chgoeditor

What I would give for a SeatGuru-like site for hotel rooms!

CPRich

You're looking for something different than this?


or this?


(Sheraton Suites, about 90 seconds to find)

chgoeditor

Not everyone is a searching wiz. The OP clearly invested a lot of time trying to track down information (and her rant wasn't solely limited to the issue of finding photos). Rather than imply that it was an easy search or she was lazy about looking, why don't you share what search you did on the off chance she (or someone else reading this thread) might learn something?

jrl767

this

call the hotel directly, and ask to speak to a Reservations Manager (obviously this technique works better if you're a member of their rewards program, and better still if you have any kind of status in said program)

TravelerMSY

Any hotel sales office is going to be able to handle this. They will be very well acquainted with all the various room categories for their specific property. It sucks for you, but the descriptions are deliberately vague just to reduce the sheer numbers of room categories that would result.

Annalisa12

I emailed a hotel recently, can't remember which one, but it was a nice one in DC or NYC and asked what Suite was the picture of on their website. They had about 5 types of suites all with the same picture but different prices. Of course they never answered.