bigdog2

additionally there should be an ombudsman department at Chase that you can escalate this to, since you were ruled against by the disputes department erroneously.
i did this with HSBC in a situation where they ruled in favor of the merchant (the merchant simply provided the original contract with my signature), despite me providing a detailed document with annotated facsimiles showing i was wronged. i emailed the ombudsman office thru the hsbc website and the dispute department ended up calling me and apologizing for their error...

indieblackflyer

Maybe I am the oddball out, but why would you ever tell a hotel you are checking out the same day? Just do it! Once you are checked in with a room, there is nothing preventing you from checking out the same evening. Or alternatively, leaving the key in the room and alerting them the next day around check out time that you are gone. That way you get your room, get credit for your stay with whatever loyalty program. Maybe I need to understand better what you were attempting to do.

mia

Did you contact the hotel directly before disputing the charge?

sethb

The day rate is typically a lot less than the overnight rate.

diburning

The OP booked through Dayuse which is a site that aggregates hotels that offer a day use rate. It’s usually less expensive than a nightly rate, and is usually only offered by hotels that have around the clock housekeeping (or if not, the day use period is limited to whenever housekeepers are available, so that they can turn the room for a nightly stay guest)

The check-in person absolutely can see that it is a day use rate because the reservation will be for ZERO (0) nights.

llmayhan

I had an issue with a hotel booked through the Chase portal. I went round and round with them for months with no resolution. Then, I took someone's advice that the social media managers have the ability to solve issues quickly, I tried contacting Chase through their Twitter account. The issue was resolved and, I received a refund within a few days. It's worth a try.

MSPeconomist

Maybe a best practices lesson to learn from this is that one should avoid booking "day use" rates through third party websites, just as it's common advice to avoid thrid party sites for airline tickets, hotel stays, etc. IMO 15% off a future booking, even if there had not bee a charge for the denied room, is inadequate compensation for the hassle and waste of time involved in finding another hotel and going there.

dba

The "Dayuse" app lets you book a room for a daytime stay. The rate is usually much lower than an overnight stay. In my use case, I was done with a conference and had an 8pm flight so I booked a dayuse hotel near the airport for 10am to 5pm for about $80 so I could swim, nap, etc. Not only was it much much less than the $299 nightly rate, but it isn't so easy to check into a hotel at 10am. Certainly isn't guaranteed unless you're something like Bonvoy Ambassador with a Your24 guarantee (and even then it doesn't always work).

diburning

I don't think this would have mattered as the OP was charged by the hotel and not the third party website.

Podcat

1. Exactly why I hate Chase.

2. Redispute the charge.

In reality, there’s no such thing as a merchant winning a credit card dispute unless you give up, You can redispute the same charge indefinitely by disputing the new charge that appears on your bill, giving you another 60 days. They just hope you’ll give up, and you did.

I would never, ever let something like this pass. You are 100% in the right here, and obviously so.
If the jerk that checked you in really did intentionally have you sign the form and then refused you keys, he committed a crime.
I would talk to an attorney and consider filing a criminal complaint for fraud.

What would stop any other hotel from trying this stunt?
Other than wanting to stay in business, I mean?

Here … want these shiny keys?
Sign here first.
Whoops … el snatcharoonee … GOTCHA!

I would also go after any license they have to operate the hotel.

Podcat

But then they don’t always give you the keys which makes it not a great deal at all.

LapLap

Perhaps, but the booking I have coming up is not available through the Hotel’s own website nor through the portal of the chain it belongs to.
My Dayuse reservation required no credit card details, it seems to be an honour booking. It leaves me a bit exposed if I were to turn up and then be declined, but the flip side is I could simply not turn up (not that I would do that)

What this thread exposes is the possibility of the Hotel taking my credit card and assent to have the card charged at the premises AND THEN be declined a room.
But I’ve now learned here the importance of having that charge cancelled and insisting that any signed paperwork be invalidated and receipt of cancellation provided before I leave the premises. I actually feel more secure about my coming Dayuse reservation knowing what could go wrong.

lamphs

Curious. Are day use rates available via Marriott, IHG, etc, i.e. an ability to compare rates, etc?

diburning

Yes and no. Some hotels may offer day use rates, but some chains don't have the ability to book them online. I know that Hilton is one that does. Just set the check-in and check-out date to the same day. Marriott does not seem to let me do this on their website.

friendlyplanet

Since you seem ready and willing to file a small claims case on this, that seems the easiest way to resolve the issue. You would submit an affidavit testifying that you tried to check into the room, including signing the check in form, but were refused the key and not given a room.

The hotel producing the sign-in form would not be proof that you did not receive a room- they would have to testify that they had given you a room. And I doubt that anyone would be willing to commit perjury. You could also ask them what room they gave you. They know that there are records of them also selling the same room to someone else. It's not 100% certain they won't continue to lie, but most people once you get to court are usually more willing to resolve things, particularly if they are wrong...