Anyone ever deal with Hotels.com?

biosurfer1 · 03-19-2014, 08:46 AM

Maybe I've just caught them on a bad day...twice now.

I have only used Hotels.com to book places twice and both times they either screwed something up or did not honor what they claim.

First time was several years ago, just got a regular hotel room in Pismo Beach to see my parents. Show up to the hotel, no reservation. Had my print out from hotels.com but they still couldn't find it and basically said it was between me and hotels.com. I called and they claimed they show the reservations, here is the numbers which I gave to the hotel...nothing. Hotels.com blamed the hotel, hotel blamed hotels.com and I ended up getting refunded from hotels.com and have to pay almost 2x for the room for the night.

Yesterday, the latest and final time I tried them out was to book our hotel for Vegas this summer. Chase is giving some extra points for booking with them so what the heck, they have a "best price guarantee" and free cancellation so why not. I booked with them (Flamingo) and then went to the actual Flamingo website to check on upgrades and a couple other things. They had a banner claiming some sale so I checked my dates and sure enough, it was $137 (total) cheaper.
I put in a price match request on hotels.com, attached a screenshot as requested and I get an email 10 minutes later that I was credited $16.74?? I called to find out what that was about and the phone rep I talk to says I was actually credited $77 (he wasn't sure why the email said $16.74) and I told him that still isn't correct. He pointed out $74 is the difference in what I paid for my reservation and the difference shown in the screen shot. I then pointed out that the Flamingo reservation includes the $20/night resort fee ($60 total, separate line item) and the hotels.com reservation does not. He tells me they can only go off the stated total. I made sure he understood what I was talking about, how if I stuck with the hotels.com reservation I would have to pay an extra $60 not included in their price and he kept telling me there was nothing they could do except offer a voucher for $60 on my next stay...um no thanks, I'll pay the lesser amount and won't book with hotels.com again.

They had no problem cancelling my reservation and I booked directly with Flamingo. I could understand if my screenshot just showed the total without the line items but it clearly stated the resort fees, room rate and taxes all as separate items. Apparently using common sense isn't part of their CSR training.

gprsh924 · 03-19-2014, 09:17 AM

I don't book a ton of hotels as I tend to stay in condos/houses or with friends when I travel, but I have booked about 15 nights through hotels.com. I've never had any issues with honoring the reservations, the prices are always low (if they aren't, I book elsewhere) and canceling is always extremely easy. Sorry your experience has been poor.

LakeCleElum · 03-19-2014, 10:22 AM

Used them 4 or 5 times; never a problems.........Sometimes the hotel tells me that don't even know the rate I paid......

1990C4S · 03-19-2014, 11:01 AM

I use it regularly. With excellent results, but too much spam.

scottmandue · 03-19-2014, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gprsh924

I've never had any issues with honoring the reservations, the prices are always low (if they aren't, I book elsewhere) and canceling is always extremely easy. Sorry your experience has been poor.

Same here

onewhippedpuppy · 03-19-2014, 11:16 AM

My biggest issue with those sites - you rarely get your hotel points, and typically they aren't any cheaper. I had an issue with a Hyatt booked through Expedia that couldn't find my reservation for about 20 minutes, then they finally found it in a print out (reassuring use of technology). So now I use the booking sites to shop hotels, then go to the actual hotel to book. No worries about a mistake, and I get my points. The only exception is if I can save real money on a package deal, for instance I saved around $250 booking my entire Vegas trip through Southwest earlier this year.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

Exactly Matt. I almost always book direct. I prefer marriott or IHG properties because they build points the best. Granted 75% of my travel is on someone else's dime, but even on vacation it's worth a little more to have the for sure room. I have enough points with both of the aforementioned that they make sure to get me a room.

scottmandue · 03-19-2014, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

My biggest issue with those sites - you rarely get your hotel points, and typically they aren't any cheaper. I had an issue with a Hyatt booked through Expedia that couldn't find my reservation for about 20 minutes, then they finally found it in a print out (reassuring use of technology). So now I use the booking sites to shop hotels, then go to the actual hotel to book. No worries about a mistake, and I get my points. The only exception is if I can save real money on a package deal, for instance I saved around $250 booking my entire Vegas trip through Southwest earlier this year.

I should add, like Matt says... I now always check at hotels.com but usually just book direct with the hotel as long as the price is the same. Fewer levels of complexity and less chance for missed communication.

Now booking Vegas... unfortunately rooms in Vegas are becoming a shell game with hidden fees and such... not all hotels are bad but you have to stay on top of your game to make sure they are not sneaking extra charges in on you.

On our recent trip to LV I paid for the room up front at check in to avoid any surprises.

biosurfer1 · 03-19-2014, 11:53 AM

I usually book direct but Chase was running a promo for 3 extra points through their portal for hotels.com so I gave it a shot. My bigger gripe is with the lack of common sense on the CSR's part but at this point, I should expect it.

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

I use hotels.com almost exclusively - I'm able to convert to a free night using a much broader range of properties (usually international). For long-range or where points are valuable, then direct.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-19-2014, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Exactly Matt. I almost always book direct. I prefer marriott or IHG properties because they build points the best. Granted 75% of my travel is on someone else's dime, but even on vacation it's worth a little more to have the for sure room. I have enough points with both of the aforementioned that they make sure to get me a room.

I'm a Hilton guy, so the points actually add up to something because I use them often. I used to like Marriot, but several bad experiences pissed me off.

Hugh R · 03-19-2014, 12:45 PM

My one experience with Hotels.com was when I arrived they couldn't find my reservation. I gave them a printout and they honored the rate and found me a room fortunately.

My advise if you use any of those sites is to call the hotel and confirm with them that you have an actual reservation.