This is a letter I recently sent to Hotels.com concerning my recent experience with them:
On 7/11/09 I used Hotels.com to make two hotel reservations. One was for Klamath Falls, OR, confirmation 070913264 on 7/13; the other was for Lakeview, OR, confirmation 31333686 on 7/14. I received an email confirmation for Klamath Falls; I did not receive one for Lakeview. On Sunday I discovered that my plans had changed and called the number listed with the Lakeview Lodge Hotel (866-539-7254) to cancel the reservation. The first person I spoke to was "Nancy". Nancy barely spoke English and indicated that she could not find my reservation #, name, or phone number in the system. After several minutes of unsuccessful attempts to locate me, she gave me another phone number to call (800-168-1972). This turned out to not be a good number. I called the original number back, this time I was connected to "Robert". He, too, was not able to locate my reservation information. I asked him how I should cancel the reservation and he (and Nancy, previously) directed me to the "Manage reservations" link at the Hotels.com site.
Upon accessing my account I was able to view past reservations, but not the one for Lakeview Lodge. At that point Robert said it looked like I didn't have a reservation. I said, "So, I won't get billed for not cancelling my stay at this hotel?" and Robert responded, "You shouldn't have any trouble, there is no reservation in the system". Last night, I received a debit to my account for $96, plus a $5 "service charge". When I contacted Hotels.com about the charge, I was informed that I would have to contact the actual hotel that submitted the charge. I called the hotel (541) 947-2181, and spoke to Barbara. She confirmed that they did, in fact, have a reservation for me, that had been made through Travelnow.com. She also refused to reverse the charges. This was the first I've ever heard of Travelnow.com. When I called Hotels.com back and asked about it, I was told, "Oh, they are an affiliate of ours". It was explained to me that the hotels for which Hotels.com does not have a contract are booked through Travelnow.com. Apparently the Lakeview Lodge was such a hotel; I was told that these particular hotels do not do prepaid reservations through Hotels.com, but rather did their own billing, using Travelnow.com as the booking site. I spent 3 hours on the phone this morning trying to get Hotels.com to make this right. I spoke to a number of people: Lance and Shane in sales (both very nice, but unable to help me); Gel in "Customer Care", and supervisor Shayla. Nothing was resolved; I was told they would escalate my issue up the chain and I am to call back in 48 hours.
I was not...at any point while making my reservation...informed that Travelnow.com would be handling my transaction. I was not given the proper number to contact if I needed to cancel the reservation; when I tried to cancel by calling Hotels.com (the site I THOUGHT I was using and could trust) I was told my reservation did not exist. Because of this, I do not feel that I should be held responsible for the missed reservation. I was told by Shayla that Hotels.com does not offer monetary refunds, and I could have a voucher for $100. To me, thats like I just prepaid for another room. I said I'd take 3 $100 vouchers, or a refund to my debit account. She said that was an impossible request; it was at that point she told me that she'd escalate my problem up the chain of command.
This trip was a disaster from start to finish. If you review my account, you'll see that I've used Hotels.com successfully 4 times in the past. I've encouraged my friends to use it, as well, and was trying to accumulate points for a free night. When I made my reservation for the Days Inn at Klamath Falls, OR, I SPECIFICALLY CHOSE THAT HOTEL BECAUSE THE ROOM AMENITIES LISTED A MICROWAVE AND REFRIGERATOR. When I discovered I'd be spending two nights in K Falls, rather than one in K Falls and one in Lakeview, I went back and booked my second night at the same hotel. When I arrived at the hotel I discovered that they did not have a Fridge and Microwave. I asked at the desk and was told they had never had them.
Because I had work to do in my room and didn't want to go back out, I had stopped at the grocery store and purchased items for my upcoming meals, thinking I'd have a place to store and cook them. I was not able to switch to a different room because of my nonrefundable deposits at this point. I made due by putting ice in my sink to store my cold items. I called Hotels.com and spoke with Rom. I explained the situation, and indicated how upset I was. She offered my a $30 credit voucher per night. I asked for the credit to go to my debit card and was told Hotels.com doesn't do that. I asked for a supervisor and was told none were available. I was asked for my phone number and told I'd receive a call back by the next day.
When I didn't receive a return call two days later I called back. This time I spoke to Cesar and had to tell my story over again. He said that the fridge and microwave were available by "special request" only. I said no, its on the site as a room amenity. He then said that the hotel provides the information and Hotels.com wasn't responsible for incorrect data. I asked for a supervisor and was connected to Eugena. When I asked why I hadn't gotten a call back she told me, "We aren't allowed to make outbound calls." I find that difficult to believe, especially in light of the fact that the web site has a feature in which a person can enter their phone number and request a call. Eugena told me that she reviewed my complaint, and saw that Rom had indicated that I had accepted the offer of a $30 credit. I said I had not, and that if I had it should've been $30 PER NIGHT, for a total of $60. Eugena said that was incorrect; I had been offered $30 for my night and I reminded her that I had stayed two nights. Her response was, "Why would you stay a second night if the hotel didn't have what you wanted the first night?" I stayed because I had to; because I had prepaid for two nights and the charge was nonrefundable. She then changed the offer to a 10% discount per night, for a total refund of $14 I have had nothing but trouble in dealing with Hotels.com over the last few days.
Between the lack of advertised amenities to the blatant overcharging of my account, needless to say I am not a fan of Hotels.com. With the exception of Lance and Shane in sales, everyone I spoke to was rude and had a very annoying tendency to interrupt and talk over me. Nancy and Robert gave me incorrect information (the 800-168-1972 number mentioned earlier and the fact that they both told me my reservation did not exist. Rom, Cesar, Shirlene, Megan, and Eugena were argumentative. When I asked Eugena who HER supervisor was I was told she would not provide me with that information. I asked her who the president of the company was, and again she stated, "We are not allowed to give out that info." When a company refuses to provide the name of the person running it, that screams of shady dealings in my mind. At this point I am asking for a refund of $101 for the hotel in Lakeview that I never stayed at, as well as the $60 that I was offered for the misrepresented rooms in Klamath Falls. I do not want this in the form of Hotels.com credit; I want all $161 returned to my debit card. I expect a phone call from a supervisor within 72 hours in which I expect to be told that my refund has been processed.
UPDATE: Hotels.com has indicated that they will refund my account $36 for the room amenity mix-up and is issuing $60 in "hotel bucks". I'm not sure if I'll use them; I guess time will tell. They are still refusing to budge on the "lost reservation", even though I believe they are clearly at fault for not informing me that my transaction had been processed through another company. The hotel (Lakeview Lodge, in Lakeview OR) is also refusing to refund my money. I have turned this over to my bank for dispute research.
