Ever been abused for booking a cheap rate online? I have. Please help!

dwhes on 31/10/2012 - 11:17

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone had ever experienced bad customer service or been abused by a hotel for booking a cheap rate online through a 3rd party site (hotelclub, agoda, expedia etc)? I can now officially say that I have experienced it. This morning I experienced some of the worst treatment I have ever had to deal with.

Back story:

I had been looking to book a hotel online for a destination in Australia for 4 people for 2 nights over NYE. This destination doesn't have a huge amount of hotels and they are filling up quite quickly for the period. Anyway I researched online like the good ozbargainer I am and found that I could achieve a much cheaper rate booking via www.hotelclub.com than booking via the hotel directly. The rate was also cheaper on zuji.com. Normally in these instances I ring the hotel directly and see if they are able to match the price, most often they do.

In this instance the lady that answered was very abrupt and said "No we have a 3 night minimum then and the rate will be at full price". I advised her I could book it elsewhere for much cheaper and with no minimum night requirement. To which she replied that she was meant to have taken the 3rd party sites down. At this point I said thank you for your help and hung up.

I decided that I had nothing to lose booking with hotelclub before I assume she would advise them to no longer sell rooms, I made a booking. Hotelclub confirmed the booking had 100% gone through and that there was no minimum night requirement and it is up to the hotel to correctly advise them if they no longer have any rooms available for 3rd parties to sell. Form this point I assumed everything was fine and that I am sure I had frustrated the manager but I had done nothing wrong. I was not expecting to be treated amazingly at check in or the best room but I wasn't expecting anything bad as a result. In fact I had possibly done her a favour by making her aware of the mistake before other potential customers went ahead and made a booking via 3rd party sites.

Fast forward to this morning:

1 week after the booking was confirmed I today received a phone call at 6:10am, we are in the same state as the hotel so it was also that time for them. At this time the phone woke my partner and I up and I proceded to answer the call. What I received was the same lady on the other end of the phone verbally abusing me for booking the room via hotelclub when she said she had a 3 night minimum. I calmly in my sleepy state responded that I was sorry but I had done nothing wrong other than book a hotel room online for an advertised rate, if I had never even called you I would have been totally unaware that you wanted a 3 night minimum. After several more minutes of abuse from the women she proceded to hang up on me.

Fast forward to 9:30am this morning:

Called the hotel back and spoke to the lady again. Calmly stated that I did not appreciate being woken and spoken to like that at 6:10am. She advised that she didn't appreciate me booking a room when I knew she wanted a 3 night minimum direct from the hotel. I again said I'm sorry but I did nothing wrong, I would never have known that if I hadn't called you to offer you to match the rate, perhaps it was not morally perfect but I am a customer trying to spend as little possible. She then advised she is sorting it out with hotelclub via email and hung up on me.

Wow. I had never encountered something like this before and was a little shook up to be honest. I know what I did was probably not morally impecable, but I literally would have had no idea about her 3 night minimum requirement if I had just proceded to book with hotelclub like I initially did. The 3 night minimum was not mentioned on the hotel's own personal website, it just said to call them for bookings over the christmas/nye period. Now I have no idea what is going on with my booking and where to go from here. I assume she is doing everything she can to get hotelclub to cancel the booking. I am now in linbo and have been charged the full amount for our stay. There are minimal hotels left for the 2 nights we need and to have any chance to book another one, I need this resolved ASAP.

Has anyone else experienced this before and can offer any advise? This appears to be the only person I can speak to at the hotel, she answers the phone every time someone calls and will not put me through to anyone else.

David

Travel

Comments

  • royus on 31/10/2012 - 11:23
    +1

    Which hotel was it? O.O
    Negative publicity (or the threat thereof) usually helps the consumer :)

    • dwhes on 31/10/2012 - 11:31

      Haven't even had a chance to offer a threat of negative publicity as she has hung up on me twice now. I've never encountered something like this in the business world. If I had been in her position I would have just sucked it up and said well at least he saved me a lot of money from potential other bookings. Don't want to reveal the hotel yet whilst I am still trying to sort it all out. I definitely will though if it doesn't get resolved.

      • RandomNinja on 31/10/2012 - 12:07
        +18

        Well, if you let us know the hotel and the cheap links you booked through, we'll Ozbargain it! Let's see her pull that crap on a bunch of other people…

        • dwhes on 31/10/2012 - 12:10
          +1

          Haha thanks for the offer. She has removed the rooms from all 3rd party sites now. I just saved her $1000s. Instead I am being treated like a criminal. I'll name the hotel once all this is resolved.

        • RandomNinja on 31/10/2012 - 12:19

          Bummer… FWIW, you're probably not the only one who has booked those dates at the cheaper rate. Hotelclub.com will likely fight cancellations as it will make them look bad/unreliable.

          Good luck with it!

        • dwhes on 31/10/2012 - 12:32

          Thanks. Hopefully it is all sorted now.

  • dwhes on 31/10/2012 - 12:28
    +8

    Ok just got off the phone with hotelclub. They were extremely helpful, even though it was an international call center and a bit hard to understand her. They called the hotel and spoke directly to the lady. She advised that they will honor the booking and it is 100% confirmed. I said to the girl is their any way to cancel the reservation and be refunded and she advised she couldn't due to the type of booking. So it look likes I have a room but I'm still worried about what's going to happen.. It's an apartment so I don't need hotel services or anything but I just hope there is a room there when I arrive. They all look nice no matter what floor so I don't even care if its physically the worst room they can offer. I will get my money back no question from hotelclub if there isn't but that still leaves me potentially standing in a far away place with nowhere to stay..
    \

    • voteoften on 31/10/2012 - 16:57
      +24

      Take photos of the place and video, when you arrive and leave. She sounds like an absolute hag and it wouldn't surprise me if she says extra cleaning was required and charged you extra. You will most likely have to give your cc on checkin.

      • Duff5000 on 31/10/2012 - 20:30
        +1

        Was going to say the same thing. Video everything as you walk in especially anything that is dented, scratched ect. Do the same on the way out.

        • voteoften on 31/10/2012 - 21:13
          +7

          And the cutlery, etc.

          Years ago, one of my best, most upstanding employees was accused of stealing a knife from some cottage in the Margaret River area. They charged his Amex about $300 for one knife out of a knife block. This guy is an eagle, no way he would steal anything. Obviously he disputed the charge. The problem is that they can do what they like once they have your credit card number.

          Maybe tell them you don't have one and will pay a $200 cash deposit refundable on check out (get a receipt).

        • dwhes on 31/10/2012 - 23:51
          +1

          Yeh we will definitely take photos and videos of everything when we check in and then check out. Will try and ask to provide a cash deposit rather than give her my credit card details.

        • voteoften on 01/11/2012 - 02:15
          +4

          Probably by the time your stay comes, the hag will have calmed down. Good luck. be sure to revisit this thread when you get back!

        • zappy32 on 01/11/2012 - 17:09
          +2

          I'd actually offer the opposite advice. Pay with a credit card and in that case if they do charge it you can just call your bank and get them to reverse the charge. Your bank won't pay them for around 45 days anyway and it's simple to call and say that you don't accept the charge. I've done it before in a similar case and explained it to my bank and they were more than happy to reverse the charge and just warned me that the business might try and take me to court. I'd like to see them try!

        • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 21:24

          Fingers crossed and will do.

        • surm on 04/11/2012 - 08:58

          Maybe tell them you don't have one and will pay a $200 cash deposit refundable on check out (get a receipt).

          This is a great piece of advise.
          Leave a cash deposit and on your checkout and collect it on your departure.

        • Davo1111 on 10/11/2012 - 18:42

          emphasis on getting a reciept

        • Jason Robards on 11/11/2012 - 08:08
          +1

          Margaret River! I stayed at Margaret River Country Cottages in 2011, arrived late in the evening and was given a cottage that we did not carefully inspect due to fatigue. Next morning we realized the kitchenette counters were liberally littered with mice feces! Not just one night's droppings, this was days and days or rodents having fun on the food preparation surfaces.

          What followed was a nightmare of emails to and fro with the unpleasant woman who runs the place. Eventually she gave us $50 off the ~$120 we'd paid to stay there, but the hassle factor was huge.

          All along she tried to dodge responsibility for the fact that she was letting rooms that would never pass a health inspection! She tried to make me feel like a criminal for complaining about the issue.

          Never again!

        • voteoften on 11/11/2012 - 14:48
          -3

          I bet you put those mouse turds there yourself, to get a discount!

  • The Buyer on 01/11/2012 - 08:24
    +2

    Personally, after all that, I wouldn't be staying at that hotel even if they offered me free accommodation.
    I wouldn't be able to keep this scene out of my head:
    http://youtu.be/QZtyvlzVm7Y

    • tensai on 04/11/2012 - 16:38
      +4

      agree, you made a booking, and upon she calls, you should just pretend you are not the person you called earlier and have no knowledge about the 3 nights requirement. There is no point in telling her that you are just taking advantage of her mistake on a 3rd party website. Only making her more upset.

      Second, you are going there for a holiday (enjoyable experience) and so you do not want any chance of disappointment. There is every chance now that we ozbargainers think the owner may do something bad to you, and you are prepared to take pics/videos upon your arrival and so on. That would have completely ruined your enjoyable experience of a holiday. You will be always worried that there may be something bad going to happen.

      There is no alternative hotel/apartment nearby?

      To go all out to get the owner to honour something that she told you it is a mistake, I think its a bit too much and at the end you are going to use her services and I would be worried.
      I would go somewhere else to enjoy a holiday instead

  • parisienne on 01/11/2012 - 08:57

    dwhes..you definitely need to name this b!+(h's motel,so we can all NOT go there and spread the word.You are a paying customer,REGARDLESS of the avenue you paid through,and in this day and age (when few people are spending on such luxury as a motel room)she should be pleased of the cashflow.What's the bet this hag is,infact,the manager of this place and you have nowhere to voice your concerns about her attitude?

  • maldrat on 01/11/2012 - 09:05

    Please name and shame. We'll go 4chan on her, Jessi Slaughter style.

  • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 09:16

    I don't want to name and shame just yet guys. I'm still staying there at the moment and they have the chance to redeem themselves. But trust me if the stay does not end well, I will be doing everything I can to spread the word about the experience I had. Thanks for all the help though.

  • Almost Banned on 01/11/2012 - 12:58
    +8

    Wow, just wow.
    After reading your story let me make the following comments:

    1. is the accomodation an independent place or is it part of a larger chain? If it is part of a larger chain I would definitely recommend making head office aware of your experience.
    2. At some point you need to post your experience naming the accomodation not just on this website but on some of the big sites like Tripadvisor so that people know what this place is like and this place understands what is unacceptable behaviour
    3. You did absolutely nothing wrong. It is every customer's right to seek the best possible price for goods and services they wish to acquire. IT WAS THE MANAGER'S FAULT THAT SHE HAD FAILED TO CHANGE HER ARRANGEMENTS WITH HOTELCLUB.COM.

    If this silly btch wants to get pssy with anyone it should be with herself for failing to DO HER JOB!

    • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 21:24
      +2

      Independant hotel unfortunately. It seems like she may be a live on manager/owns at least 1 or more of the apartments. She is the only person to ever answer the phone and won't put me through to anyone else when I asked. I will definitely post the name of the hotel and provide a full review on TA once I stay there. Hopefully she redeems herself and we have a lovely stay.

  • ilostnemo on 01/11/2012 - 16:16
    -4

    Hmmm,
    I'm reading into this a little different. First I have seen some people try and exploit alot of businesses for eg. I bought the holeproof socks for $10 at Big W, very happy, they had 3 ranges, I saw a customer abusing the staff as he was trying to get the other socks $19.95 for the $10.00 saying it wasn't his fault if someone put them in the wrong section, I thought what a knob and bought mine anyway.

    I agree and disagree how you proceeded, you were informed by the manager that there was a 3 day minimum, but you saw a backdoor/loophole to avoid this. I can see why she is upset, but don't agree with how she has acted.

    The problem now is that, your stay may not be that enjoyable.

    I'd hate to go to a hotel room, knowing I had to video tape everything, if it was me, I'd ring and try to make amends, just so you have a nice holiday, then after your holiday, you can name and shame them.

    Good Luck

    I'm one for getting a bargain, but sometimes you just have to suck it up.

    • noz on 01/11/2012 - 17:14
      +15

      As far as I'm concerned the OP did nothing wrong, there was no backdoor or loophole whatsoever. The place of accomodation had an agreement with Hotelclub. If they didn't make proper arrangements with Hotelclub for the details of the deal, or if they didn't properly cancel the deal, then it's their own fault.
      The offer on Hotelclub's website was exactly that - a service at a specified price. The client took up the offer as was offered. How is that a loophole?
      If we don't let the chain of contract be honoured then we may as well not have contracts at all.

    • T1OOO on 03/11/2012 - 10:13
      +1

      Agreed…

      I've also found biking through or asking the hotel direct gets u a better deal anyways.

    • unifex on 04/11/2012 - 14:55
      +9

      I don't agree with your opinion on this but I can see where your coming from. The OP tried to book through the hotel and they wouldnt do it for the conditions the customer asked for. They used a different channel to purchase the service which did have the appropriate conditions. Its the hotels managements fault that they have inconsistent sales rules on different distribution channels.

      • [Deactivated] on 08/11/2012 - 13:24
        +2

        ^This.

    • allyemil on 05/11/2012 - 10:31

      .

  • kiwipride on 01/11/2012 - 17:23

    Wow!

  • supersabroso on 01/11/2012 - 18:15
    +2

    Absolutely appalling, you should report her to the hotel.

  • Eivad on 01/11/2012 - 19:04
    +8

    I agree with Ilostnemo.

    Whilst I appreciate your bad experience, to be honest, if I called up the hotel directly and they told me they had a 3 night minimum and that they were in the process of taking down third party websites that offered less, I wouldn't try to go against their wishes and then book for less than 3 nights.

    Legally, you did nothing wrong as you entered into a contract with a third party provider and their policy with respect to this hotel allowed for < 3 nights.

    However, by going ahead of the booking, you've angered the hotel staff by directly acting against their policy. Doesn't matter if you wouldn't have known of the policy had you not called them, the fact that you had knowledge and nevertheless went ahead with it from the lady's point of view can understandably infuriate her.

    Basically, all this comes down to is that you probably won't have the best experience or service when you stay. Then again, (hopefully) she might've been fired by then for her incompetencies.

    • kiwipride on 01/11/2012 - 19:28

      How did the staff even know it was he who booked online?

      • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 21:21
        +3

        Provided my name when I was first talking to her. Won't be making that mistake in the future.

        • dealman on 08/11/2012 - 18:49

          amen to that !

  • Miss Dior on 01/11/2012 - 21:02
    +14

    I've learned that when making enquiries its best not to give a name, or if necessary give another name. I think most of us have learned from the Jupiters experience mentioned here on Ozbargain… They don't need your name unless they are going to make a booking for you. Just get the info, thell them you'll think it over and call back if you decide to book. Good luck with your holiday, hope for the best and prepare for any difficulties and of course take the good advice of photographing when you leave. That's a tip I will add to my repertoire.

    • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 21:04
      +4

      Thank you. Yep I've learnt my lesson about providing my actual name.

      • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 23:16
        +3

        Sorry I meant to like your post lol, but accidentally clicked the negative. How do I change it to a positive?

        • red-hot on 01/11/2012 - 23:20
          +3

          Click on the little blue 'votes' under the comment, & use the - link.

        • [Deactivated] on 08/11/2012 - 13:25
          +3

          Hope you don't mind me testing on your comment. ;)

    • dealman on 08/11/2012 - 18:49
      +2

      learned from the Jupiters experience mentioned here on Ozbargain…

      Where? link please ?

  • Agatha on 01/11/2012 - 23:04
    +4

    Can I suggest trying to get a paper trail in case she does end up screwing you over. People are a little less brazen in treating you like crap if you're covered by some thing in writing.

    I doubt very much she is willing to do this for you, but Im sure if you are able to speak to someone at the 3rd party site who is sympathetic, you could convince them that you'd like something in writing (even email) confirming she will honour your booking. Tell them you'd like to have this clear before you arrive, and if possible could they get this from her and then forward onto you a written comfirmation of this.

    Don't be afraid about insulting/upsetting her as you quite obviously already have.

    Worth a shot OP?

    • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 23:15
      +2

      Thanks for the advice. I actually already sort of did that with hotel club, although not in writing. They confirmed that they have voice recorded the conversation with her advising that there will definitely be a room and they have also attached notes to my system. I have also recorded the dates and times the conversations took place. Perhaps I should ask hotel cub to obtain an email though.

      • ilostnemo on 01/11/2012 - 23:20
        +10

        I can see, someone arriving at a hotel, and the person saying sorry it looks like we've double booked. I do apologize and please have this gift voucher for a buy 2 nights get one free.

        I see I was negged before, but seriously mate, a voice recording isn't going to help you NYE and so what if the manager has a falling out with hotelclub, I'm sure there are other businesses they can go to.

        I'll say it again,I'd ring them up and ask if you can extend your stay for 3 days, as you don't need this stress.

        Good Luck.

        • Agatha on 01/11/2012 - 23:32
          +2

          I'm not sure why nemo got negged earlier, I read his post (greyed out always piques my interest) and he/she had a good enough solution - you do catch more flies with honey than vinegar :)

        • dwhes on 01/11/2012 - 23:40
          +2

          Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately we can not extend our stay past the 2 nights. This is why I chose not to book directly from her mainly, the rate was cheaper on hotelclub but the minimum nights was the problem. Hopefully she will calm down and our stay will be great. If I can calm down and get over being abused at 6am, hopefully she can get over me booking via hotel club.

        • alizzan on 07/11/2012 - 11:34
          +5

          Firstly, OP, atrocious behaviour by the broad running the hotel. I wonder why some people get into customer service industries when they don't care about servicing the customers. Cafe/restaurants/bars seem to be the biggest offender for me, but anyway.

          Nemo - I think she'll have bigger fish to fry on NYE without having to worry about sabotaging his room, or something. Although this might be a reason for her to not address any issues with the room because she may claim she's occupied with other issues. Anyway, sucky situation, but OP is in the right and should try to enjoy his stay anyway.

      • kbp on 06/11/2012 - 10:04
        +1

        It's good to have voice records & notes. The only missing bit left is the time & date of when she'll murder you in your sleep.

        • [Deactivated] on 08/11/2012 - 13:26

          ouch

  • Jackson on 02/11/2012 - 13:24
    +4

    As an ex-work traveller, I have booked a lot through Wotif and other sites, and I once stayed in a hotel in Auckland that was so misrepresented on the site (there was seriously 20 shortcomings at this one hotel that I listed), that after 3 emails to them the admitted that others had complained and they refunded my 11 night stay to the tune of NZ$1350. This was wotif refunding me, not the hotel. They said they were taking down the hotel from their site and they will need send a person to visit before they are allowed back on.

    These hotels really rely on the business these sites provide, if I was you and anything adverse came up, I would put my complaints to the site. They are the 'retailer' and they are responsible for the quality of the experience matching the claims (as it's their site after all). This is what people refer to as 'statutory law' (laws that are implied by the government of the country.

    Having said that, there's really no way to know if they were going to spit in your food… :-)

    • kiwipride on 04/11/2012 - 08:08

      "there's really no way to know if they were going to spit in your food…"

      You could always reverse that, just in case….

  • Shout It Out on 02/11/2012 - 22:05
    +1

    You know, some of us really don't have a credit card ;o) So I'm sure you can convince her you don't have a credit card and want to use a cash deposit.

    I know I have never ever owned a credit card and would not be happy if anyone would not believe me simply because they have an issue with me and automatically assume the worst of me.

    • alizzan on 07/11/2012 - 11:39
      +4

      I echo what others say. You're better off paying through credit card. Visa/AMEX are usually excellent at refunding disputed transactions (ask anyone who has had their card details used fraudulently. I had 1600 bucks refunded within a day or two). If you pay with cash, no one is a mediator. Go with the CC, not cash.

    • IainLMTA on 12/11/2012 - 00:34

      Or do what I do … write them a cheque but put a date on it a week after your check-out. Only one of about 35 hotel desk-clerks have ever remarked on the date.

      Twice I have rung my bank and put a stop on the cheque when there has been a dispute that has brewed.

  • johnno07 on 03/11/2012 - 00:39

    I would have done exactly the same thing, dwhes. No doubt.

  • macharmaine on 03/11/2012 - 01:07
    +1

    this is shocking!!! thanks for posting. I hope your holiday turn out ok in the end. what a load of unnecessary stress. I'll check this thread later to find out name of hotel and make sure I never stay there!!! good luck with that horrid woman. btw a bit hard to say you don't have a credit card if you booked online? although can try say you forgot to bring it…

  • T1OOO on 03/11/2012 - 10:05

    1 issue. How did she know that u were the same person that called up the first time ? She had no way to match u. I would have played dumb Would have negated the whole part where she didn't appreciate what ud done after being told. ….. And put it all back on them. Even more so.

    • dwhes on 03/11/2012 - 14:28
      +1

      As I said in a previous comment reply, I provided my name when I first spoke to her. When she received a booking later that day from a person with exactly the same name and dates, she would have put it together. Learnt my lesson though, won't ever be providing my name until I actually intend to make a final booking.

  • T1OOO on 03/11/2012 - 10:07

    Also. U can't do a charge back. Ur bank would have to lodge a dispute in most cases. A dif thing.

    • dwhes on 03/11/2012 - 14:26
      +19

      No she was abusive. She called up at 6 am and yelled, directed accusations and offered some "nice words" and then hung up on me. Trust me it was abuse.

    • Shout It Out on 03/11/2012 - 20:55
      +2

      Verbally abusive, me thinks…

      • kiwipride on 04/11/2012 - 08:07
        +4

        Duh. Kind of hard to be physically/sexually abuse over the phone, no?

        • surm on 04/11/2012 - 09:12
          +5

          What are you wearing, sweety? :-)

        • Shout It Out on 04/11/2012 - 20:41
          +6

          I was being sarcastic towards T1000's question of where the abuse was. I wished there was a universal sarcasm font and/or emote for use on forums…..

  • Geewhizz on 04/11/2012 - 06:42
    +2

    I think you're going to find that by the time you get there she's going to have calmed down and realised it would be more beneficial to the business to treat you as she would any other customer.

    Yes, it would seem she/they stuffed up by not removing or amending the listings from the third party sites given that their rooms were selling fast. And yes, given that she had already told you there was a 3 night minimum she was probably a bit P****d off that you went behind her back and did what you told her you would do. lol Ringing you at that hour and abusing you though was inexcusable. She probably thought that what you'd done was too.

    At the end of the day, if your experience with them from hereon out is a good one, you'll have had a great NYE and this will be something you'll look back on in the future as the 'cost' of having gotten yourself a bargain.

  • surm on 04/11/2012 - 09:16
    +2

    In hindsight, since you gave your name to her during the earlier conversation, should have made the booking under your partner's name.

    • dwhes on 04/11/2012 - 14:37

      Definitely should have! Leant my lesson with that one..

  • riley94 on 04/11/2012 - 10:01
    +1

    To be fair, I understand why she was upset. She told you she was meant to have taken it down and that the deal wasn't meant to be there, but you went ahead and booked it anyway.

    You knowingly did something that the hotel wasn't okay with, and on top of that, she hadn't gotten around to doing a task assigned to her, and the hotel looks like it lost money on it (since they'd probably be able to find a longer booking at full price for NY)… she could get in trouble for that, maybe get a warning or something. Something you didn't take into account when trying to save a few bucks.

    Having said that, the way she treated you is totally unacceptable, and if she hasn't realized that by the time you go to stay there and is unpleasant to you in any way, I suggest complaining to her boss. She's basically blaming you for HER failure to do her job.

  • markinaus on 04/11/2012 - 10:30
    +2

    Wow, I hope this didn't leave you feeling bad or anything like that. This lady sounds like a total bitch! xD

  • oscargem on 04/11/2012 - 14:03
    +7

    My 2c:

    I don't think what you did was that straight down the line, but to be honest I would probably do the exact same situation. I have done this before with a telco when they said they made a mistake and I pressured them until I got the deal.

    1. You are not to blame. She was lazy and did not take the hotel down. A three night minimum is stupid. Abuse by her is not acceptable, especially not at 6am. That is ridiculous.

    2. Its fine to give you name, but I think it was clumsy to then put in your name. Why not put it in your partners name, friends name etc.

    3. Re: payment, banks are good as other have said, and will reverse charge. But I would do one better, get a prepaid visa /mastercard (http://www.visa-asia.com/ap/au/cardholders/cardsservices/vis…) that has $20 on it and give it too them, if they are not too sharp (which she doesn't sound) they will take it and not think twice. Often they do a quick verification to see if its legit $1-2.

    4. It is crucial that you give us her name, and the hotel name. I would like to even give her a call myself. Idiots like this do not deserve to be in business. Her actions are not acceptable, and should not go unpunished. OzBargain is a brilliant community built to support other hunting good deals, are we are he when deal go well and when deals go bad.

    I wish you the best for your holiday. Remember, "the consumer always has the power".

    • dwhes on 04/11/2012 - 14:37
      +1

      Thanks for your remarks :) Definitely was clumsy to put it in my own name in hindsight! Guess I never expected something like this in return, knew it would probably annoy her but I know how I would behave if I was her and it wouldn't be like she did. Naive and have learnt my lesson. The prepaid visa is a great idea, might go with that! I will give the name and hotel after I stay, don't want to cause further hassle for myself before I stay there. Hopefully she will redeem herself and all will be smooth.. we'll see…

      • oscargem on 05/11/2012 - 12:55

        Yeh fare call. I would also wait till this whole shenanigans is over before posting name (wise move, I would not have thought of that).

        I would actually even consider using this as a threat, perhaps she will look nicer on your situation if she knows the wrath that is coming if she doesnt. Looking forward to seeing how it all goes. When is it?

    • tensai on 04/11/2012 - 16:40
      +1

      i think pushing a telco to push through a mistake on a telco deal is fine, at the end you are using service of a big telco, not the representative that you deal with.
      but this case, the service will be provided from the owner, and with her being so upset, i wouldnt risk going there to push through a deal.

      • oscargem on 05/11/2012 - 12:57
        +2

        I guess. But like @dwhes said, he doesnt have a choice. He needs the accommodation, its too late to book anything else, and he can't stay three nights. By the sounds of it know one is ever going to stay at this stupid service apartments ever again, so why not play the system.

    • dealman on 08/11/2012 - 18:54
      +1

      I would like to even give her a call myself. Idiots like this do not deserve to be in business.

      I would like to even listen to the recording of that call ;-)

    • dimsum2 on 04/11/2012 - 16:22
      +7

      Nothing calls for such rude behaviour from her side though.

    • zhenjie on 05/11/2012 - 15:22
      +8

      verbal or physical abuse is never ok. I think you are very young and think this behaviour is ok.

    • jimborino on 07/11/2012 - 21:32
      +2

      I'm sure no one is that surprised at the abuse. It's more a matter of sucking in up on the hotel's side, they made the mistake not dwhes. You make it sound like you're a saint.

  • voteoften on 04/11/2012 - 16:31
    +1

    I am thinking the prepaid credit card might be better.

    Here's why - sometimes you have to show your exact same credit card that you paid with at check in - or maybe that is just ticketmaster/ticktek. So you may not be able to slide that by. You can just show it and say it is full and put the prepaid on file.

    They might claim they have to check the room before giving you back a cash deposit. This might delay you longer than you wish.

    They may claim they do not have the cash when you check out and that they will send you a cheque. No protection whatsoever in that instance.

    Good luck. While the lady may not have liked it, too bad. If they are reasonable, they will fill up over that time anyway. It is just the extra bit of check out cleaning a day earlier.

  • dimsum2 on 04/11/2012 - 16:39

    I think you should steer clear of this place mate.

    A ruined NY break isn't worth saving a few dollars.

    Edit: and all this talk of using other CC's, cash deposits and having to film the room sounds like trouble… trying to outsmart them could escalate the current situation if the lady is as stubborn(and crazy) as she seems.

    • dwhes on 04/11/2012 - 17:02

      I would change to somewhere else if I could. It was a pay up front, no cancellation booking with hotel club. Asked them for a refund and cancel after all of this and they weren't able to do so. As when they spoke to her directly she was able to confirm there would be a room so therefore to them there is no reason for a refund, even after her phone calls.

  • daoople on 04/11/2012 - 17:30
    +6

    I wouldn't give my partner's name to play dumb because she'd ask for my partner at 6am in the morning and I'd rather take the heat than her.

    When she called you back to abuse you, you should tell her to speak to Hotelclub not you. And if she says "I've spoken to hotelclub", then tell her there's nothing you can do and you can hangup on her. If she calls you directly again, my advice is not to engage with her directly and direct her queries to hotelclub.

    In the meantime, ask Hotelclub to confirm, and reconfirm that booking because of an abusive manager and ask them what they can do if they don't accept your booking - even escalate this case to a hotelclub manager now. Also ask them what they will do if that hotel "accidentally double books you". Have the name of someone you can speak to at hotelclub at the time of check in. If you have any problems, call them. If this was me, I would definitely ensure I had a Plan B for that night and I would want someone who I can call to 'fix' anything that might arise.

    Also, I too would like to know the name of this hotel. This is rubbish service and rubbish management. Regardless of how your stay is, this is unquestionably bad pre-service. Disgusting. Despite wanting to be private prior to your stay, we don't know your real name - except that you're staying over NYE. I would hope that you release the name of the hotel now in OZB and do a review of their pre-stay calls on Tripadvisor. Even if this was a 5* and turned out to be a 5* room, I would still hope you allow us to take your experience into account prior to our booking that hotel.

    No matter what happens, I do hope your NYE is fantastic and please let us know here how this all turns out.

    • aerona on 04/11/2012 - 20:30
      +1

      I think his already decided to give the name out but only after his finished with his stay to stay safe as possible. Very good advice though!

  • Shout It Out on 04/11/2012 - 20:50
    +2

    I'm just wondering where the heck your destination is? I'm starting to think it's in hill billy springs……

    • aerona on 04/11/2012 - 20:55
      +2

      close. its actually hill billy sprungs

      /notsrs

    • dwhes on 04/11/2012 - 21:07

      Haha it's in North Queensland

  • nikey2k27 on 04/11/2012 - 21:09
    +3

    i had this last year went i went on short trip. but ask for owner or boss. i find be most helpful. but in say that in New York in june went i want to stay at same place for few more night girl desk told me how to save 50% off using a web site. she got big fat tip and bottle of wine.

    • aerona on 04/11/2012 - 21:14
      +5

      she got big fat tip and bottle of wine.

      I hope it was the big fat mushroom tip or i are disapoint.

  • allyemil on 05/11/2012 - 10:33
    +2

    I actually agree with everything 'ilostnemo' said and i too can see it from both perspectives.

    OP did nothing wrong and took advantage of the offer albeit knowing that it was a mistake. As OP already said, maybe slightly immoral, but not necessarily anything wrong with it. Its just taking advantage of an opportunity.

    On the other hand, from the accommodation place perspective, it was a mistake. Can happen to anyone. I can see why they are upset with OP, but having said that, there is no point in making abusive phone calls and it is most definitely bad for business. It was their mistake and as a business, they should take it on the chin and move on.

    • Luke212 on 05/11/2012 - 20:30
      -8

      are you crazy? how can something be slightly immoral and not neccessarily anything wrong with it? thats an oxymoron. you know its wrong yet you do it because you are greedy. its definately wrong!!! kids these days!

      • jimborino on 11/11/2012 - 20:40
        +1

        Yes….kids. Any evidence for that comment??? Or is this the unsupported, illogical, irrational rant of an man/woman who is not a "kid". When you start to make statements based of emotions, you are much more likely to be incorrect and be seen as a "fool".

        • voteoften on 11/11/2012 - 21:57

          They obviously did not consult the ten part conflict resolution for online discussions.

        • Luke212 on 12/11/2012 - 00:39
          -4

          its evidence by their perspective. older people dont act this way. i know i am right even if it is not explicitly written.

  • 2ndeffort on 05/11/2012 - 10:50
    +1

    You may not want to name and shame on here but I recommend sharing your experience on TripAdvisor.com. A rating on there will not only save some unsuspecting other person but will probably also get more attention from the hotel than several calls to the manager would.

  • ilostnemo on 05/11/2012 - 13:43
    +1

    I don't think she'll forget the incident, as I'm sure the big asterix or red pen in her diary under your booking will remind her.

    To me this is a classic example of a kid asking her mum for something, getting the answer NO,then asking the father.

    In your post, you admit that you expected not to be treated amazingly after the incident, and guess what they are now not treating you amazingly.

    Hotelclub has your money, so I'd say to them I want to cancel my accomodation and transfer to another hotel. I'm pretty sure the hotel pays commission to hotel club, so they would be better off cancelling your accomodation.

    Just for the record, I just want your NYE to be remembered for the right reasons. I wouldn't rest easy with an assurance from hotel club, as double bookings would happen, and they would have disclaimers warning of this.

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