Reserve on the Web, cancel on the Web. Wouldn’t that make sense? Mike thought so, and he didn’t see anything indicating otherwise when he made his Super 8 reservation. But somehow, his reservation for one night turned into a two-night reservation after he canceled it because he was supposed to call the motel directly to cancel. Who knew that canceling a reservation could have the opposite effect?

I booked a room at this Super 8 on a Monday for the upcoming Thursday night. I ended up not needing the room so I cancelled on Wednesday which, per their website and the confirmation email I received, would result in no charge as I cancelled before the 4:00PM Thursday deadline.

Friday morning my AMEX showed two charges for $80. I contacted the hotel and they said the reservation system automatically applied those charges and they asked me to call the 800 number for Super 8. The lady at the 800 number said their system does not issue charges and the billing system for the hotel is completely separate from theirs – and that it can only be the hotel that made the charges.

Now the hotel changed the story and is trying to say that it’s because I cancelled through Super8.com and they never received the cancellation and that I should of called the hotel. Nowhere in the confirmation email I received does it say I need to call the hotel in addition to cancelling through the website (and if is the case – then why charge me for 2 nights for a one night reservation?) Moreover, the 800 number lady says they have a complete record of my cancellation and even called the hotel on my behalf to try and resolve this – the hotel will still not refund my money.

I’ve opened a “case” with the customer service department at Super 8. This was on Friday afternoon. She said I would receive a call within 24-48 hours. Still no call. If no resolution by tomorrow, I will be issuing a charge back through AMEX. I will not be staying at any Super 8 in the future.

Here’s some executive customer service info for Super 8 from two years ago – calling these numbers might still get you an actual human.

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