Yes, a Room’s Available. But No, You Can’t Check In. [NYT]

There is now a dedicated website, and your better check it often if you want to beat out the 150,000 strong mob to win a snazzy hotel room. At least that is what Leading Hotels apologizer-in-chief Ted Tang said in what he promises will be the final update:

Dear Internets,

I would like to once again express my gratitude for your continued support, understanding, and patience with The Leading Hotels of the World. Since October 1, we have explored and evaluated many solutions to the technological failures encountered during the online USD 19.28 Sale.

I am delighted to inform you that today we selected Akamai Technologies, Inc., the world premier web content delivery network, with clients such as Yahoo, Travelocity, and Amazon. Together we are working diligently to finalize a new procedure whereby you, as well as the other 150,000 registrants, will have a chance to secure one of the originally allotted 6,000 room nights that are available at the rate of USD 19.28.

In developing a fair and foolproof platform, we have been faced with various considerations. Timing - both on the developmental front as well as for your trip-planning purposes - has proven to be our major and foremost concern. We chose to preserve the hotel availability dates, which in most cases began on November 1, as to not delay the promotion by several months. We also opted to maintain the promotion on a first-come, first-served basis. To make the offer a random selection or lottery would significantly delay the re-launch due to complicated international regulations. Lastly, we wanted to ensure successful communication to registrants in a prompt manner. We are now confident that, with Akamai, we have found a solution that addresses all of these challenges.

Please note that you will not be receiving any further emails, rather, we have decided to post all future updates and details on a dedicated website at www.lhw.com/1928status, which will go live on Monday, October 13. This will allow all registrants, throughout the various parts of the globe, simultaneous and equal access to the USD 19.28 updates around the clock. All updates will indicate the date and time of posting. Please know that we have intentionally communicated this website address only to registrants in order not to dilute your chances of securing a reservation at the promotional rate. We will announce the details of the new USD 19.28 promotion, no later than Friday, October 17, which will occur the following week. The sale details will be posted at least 48 hours before the promotion begins.

With thanks,

Ted Teng
President & CEO
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

Sorry, Ted, for posting the link to the super-secret website. We didn't mean to dilute the contest or anything, but since it's out there now, how about an RSS feed?

Keep checking this site, and by Friday at the latest (maybe sooner! surprise!) we'll find out when the mob gathers next.

1928 Status Page [Leading Hotels of the World]
PREVIOUSLY: Leading Hotels Do-Over Postponed
Do-Over Announced By Leading Hotels Of The World
$19.28 5-Star Hotel Room Promo Ends In Fiasco
Book A World-Class Hotel Room For Only $19.28 Per Night
(Photo: Getty)

My wife and I are there right now. We opened the minibar last night to put a piece of pizza in there in a pizza box. This morning, there’s a $26.04 charge for food on the bill slid under our door. Why? My wife just called to ask and was told, "If you open the mini bar door, there’s a sensor in there and if you move anything in there... you get billed for it." In our case, we must have jiggled a $20 bottle of wine.

Gregg adds, "Gee...I wonder how many people pay for the wine (or whatever) that they never ate or drank because they simply didn’t look at the bill???" Remember, if you so much as place the hotel's menu binder on top of the minibar, double-check your bill for charges. Double-check anyway because hotels can be sneaky.

(Photo: Getty)

Dear Ben Popken,

Thank you so much for your continued patience with The Leading Hotels of the World. We are extremely sorry for the inconveniences we have caused and regret to advise you that the USD 19.28 email promotion scheduled for tomorrow October 2nd shall be postponed.

Although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and greatly diminish your chances of securing a USD 19.28 rate.

In view of this, please do not email your form tomorrow. You will most likely receive an error message we have put in place as a safety mechanism.

We are sincerely committed to restoring your faith in our brand and do not want to risk disappointing you again. We are working tirelessly to develop a solution that will be fair for you and all registered participants. We will email you next week with further details.

Sincerely,

Ted Teng
President & CEO
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

The Leading Hotels of the World | Leaders Club | Privacy Policy

Should you wish to change your email subscription options or to unsubscribe please click here.
Note: Replies to this message are not monitored. Please direct any comments to 1928@lhw.com.
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. | 99 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-1601

If you release 5-star hotel rooms around the world for $19.28, don't be surprised when half the internet shows up.

I am the senior vice president of marketing for the Leading Hotels of the World.

There has been much spoken about our $19.28 promotion today. With this in mind, I wish to update those with an interest in this promotion, but first offer our sincercerest apology for the failure of our website.

Depsite every effort to ensure that our website could accommodate a large spike in traffic, it ultimately failed.

To remedy the situation, we are contacting every registrant to offer them another chance to participate in the promotion via e-mail. As was our original intent, the inventory will be available on a first come first serve basis.

We have over 6,000 rooms designated to the $19.28promotion. Over 150,000 persons have registered for the promotion and it is our intent to offer everyone one of them an equal opportunity to secure the $19.28 rate via our back-up plan.

I also wish to confirm that the e-mails of all registrants will be deleted at the conclusion of the promotion and shall not be used for any other purpose.

Regards,

Marshall Calder

Thanks for reaching out, Marshall. Let's hope you guys get it right this time.

PREVIOUSLY:
$19.28 5-Star Hotel Room Promo Ends In Fiasco
Book A World-Class Hotel Room For Only $19.28 Per Night

UPDATE: Do-Over Announced By Leading Hotels Of The World

Flyertalk
Moneysavingexpert
Slickdeals

According to this email reportedly sent out by their Director of Marketing (I'm still waiting for mine), their servers crashed before they could sell all the rooms. But don't worry, they'll be using all those thousands of email addresses they got people to enter to sell the inventory via email.

Unfortunately, we've had to suspend the sale due to overwhelming demand. Although we were aware of the traffic volume and made preparations ahead of time to accommodate it, the volume of traffic nonetheless outstripped our enhanced capacity. In lieu of the online process, we will be running an alternative email based sale shortly, as most of the inventory is still unsold.

You should be receiving an email from us shortly describing the specifics, but the details you've provided in terms of your intentions are exactly what we are going to be asking of our consumers. With this in mind, I'll try to get your request into the queue.

With sincere apologies for your inconvenience,

Robert Cantave
Director of Marketing Technology
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

If you're going to give away shit like a Midtown hotel for $20 a night, especially in this economy, you better ramp up capacity and load test your servers.

End Of Promotion [Leading Hotels Of The World]

I also learned something about myself this morning, which is that I don't enjoy watching other people fart half as much as I enjoy making up French phrases.

"Extended Stay Makes a Passing Reference" [MSNBC Ads of the Weird]

For 80 minutes on October 1, more than 90 world-class hotels will offer up their gaudy rooms for only $19.28 per night. Starting at 8 a.m., the Leading Hotels of the World, a debonair batch of swanky hotels, will drop their prices in homage to their founding year, 1928.

Most of the posh hotels are in Europe but there are a handful of domestic gems on sale, including:

Enchantment Resort & Mii Amo Spa (Sedona, Arizona)
Bernardus Lodge (Carmel Valley, California)
The Hay-Adams (Washington, D.C.)
Biltmore, Miami (Coral Gables, Florida) - (pictured)
The James Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)
Wheatleigh (Lenox, Massachusetts)
La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, A Rock Resort (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
The Alex Hotel (New York, New York)

GMail users might want to take advantage of plus-messaging when they register:

As part of the pre-registration for this promotion, The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. will be collecting email addresses. The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. reserves the right to use these emails for the purpose of communication regarding the 1928 offer as well as other promotional offers.

The offer is tempting, though we're sure we'll wake up at 8 a.m. to stare at 408 timeout errors. Still, twenty bucks for a midtown hotel...

Luxe travel deal: the Leading Hotels of the World on sale for $19.28 [Daily Travel & Deal Blog]
Celebrate LHW's 80th with USD 19.28 [The Leading Hotels of the World]
(Photo: Getty) (Thanks to Sacha!)

"In order to ensure that all carriers remain focused on safety, aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for consequential expenses because of delayed or canceled flights."

Come on, U.S. Air, at least make up interesting bullshit. Compensating passengers could resurrect mighty Rodan, whose insatiable hunger for man-blood would imperil plump business-class passengers. Stuff like that.

Here's the rest of their letter:

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced when Flight 1860 was cancelled due to Air Traffic Control. You have every right to expect our flights to operate as scheduled. We certainly don’t intend to cause difficulties for our customers and realize that any service failure, even when the cancellation is mandated by Air Traffic Control, creates a negative impression of our company.

All airlines must adhere to the instructions given by the airport’s traffic tower. We realize the cancellation of your flight was a frustrating situation; however, the flight was cancelled in conjunction with airport conditions and information from the airport tower.

Deteriorated weather conditions made flying to Philadelphia an impossibility. It became apparent an improvement in this situation was not going to happen. Safety considerations are paramount to all concerned and override flight schedules. We realize this was a frustrating situation; however, the flight was cancelled for safety reasons.

In order to ensure that all carriers remain focused on safety, aviation regulations do not require airlines to pay compensation for consequential expenses because of delayed or canceled flights. This would include such items as hotel expenses, telephone calls, lost wages, missed meetings and other personal expenses including purchasing alternate transportation.

I’m sincerely sorry for the difficulties and the inconvenience you experienced on this trip. Regretfully, per policy and guidelines this is not a compensation issue.

Technically, U.S. Airways is correct in that neither the contract of carriage nor federal regulations compel the airline to offer anything, including an apology letter. Still, as travel-meister Chris Elliot points out, "the federal government doesn't force us" isn't good enough.

...common sense tells you it should do something, even if it means sending them a couple of hundred bucks in vouchers that will be impossible to redeem (or that the passengers will refuse to redeem). But “this is not a compensation issue” is unacceptable.

So what would the right response look like? Could any airline offer a response we'd find acceptable? Compare U.S. Airways' response to Southwest's classy handling of a 2-hour delayed flight.

US Airways to Dominican flight victims: “This is not a compensation issue” [Tripso]
(Photo: Getty)

• When you check into a hotel or rent a car - or if a restaurant or other business asks for your card in advance of service - ask if the company is "blocking," how much will be blocked, how the amount is determined, and how long the block remains in place.
• Consider paying hotel, motel, rental car, or other "blocked" bills with the same credit or debit card you used at the beginning of the transaction. Ask the clerk when the prior block will be removed.
• If you pay with a different card, by cash, or by check, remind the clerk you're using a different form of payment and ask them to remove the prior block promptly.
• If your debit card issuer allows blocks, make sure you have overdraft protection.

Credit and debit card blocking can sour weekend travels - so be careful! [All Consuming]

It is believed an Indian hacker succeeded in bypassing the security software and placing a Trojan virus on one of the firm's machines used for reservations.

The next time a staff member logged in, his or her username and password were collected, stored then put up for sale on a website operated by a branch of the Russian mafia.

The stolen data includes a range of private information such as home addresses, telephone numbers, credit card details and place of employment.

Best Western fixed the security breach on Friday after being alerted by a Sunday newspaper, which had discovered the crime.

Best Western is "investigating further" and has temporarily handed control of their systems to its American team.

If you visited an affected hotel, you may want to immediately freeze your credit report and call your bank for replacement cards.

Hackers steal details of millions of Best Western hotel guests [The Telegraph]
Indian behind major cyber-crime in UK [Press Trust of India]
(Photo: Getty)

Travelers can now receive up to $400 if they are involuntarily bumped and rebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic flight time and within four hours for international. They are eligible for up to $800 in cash if they are not rerouted by then. The final amount depends on the length of the flight and the price paid for the ticket.

Even stricter rules apply in Europe, where compensation ranges from 125 euros (about $185) to 600 euros (about $888), depending on the length of the flight and the amount of time the passenger will be delayed.

Compensation must be paid immediately in cash, or with a voucher if the passenger accepts it, and the airline must offer a choice of a refund, a return flight to their departure city or an alternative flight. Volunteers also receive compensation, which they negotiate with the airline.

Passengers are learning, however, that if an airline does not get enough volunteers at a lower figure, they might be able to bid up the offer, and also obtain sweeteners that include vouchers for meals, hotels, transportation and even plane tickets.

Baiting the bump is a proud tradition for many thrifty travelers. If negotiating provides a cathartic prelude to vacation, read our guide for getting bumped.

If your trip can't wait for vouchers and cash, we also have a handy guide for holding onto your seat.

As Overbooked Flights Rise, So Do Payoffs for Those Who Are Bumped [The New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Barry Sternlicht
sternlicht1@starwood.com
203-422-7800

Don't forget to be polite, professional and concise. Use this post as your guide.

Eric says:

I recently stayed in a suite at the "Crowne Plaza Hotel In Kansas City" for a wedding. I made my reservations long in advance and everything seemed fine. I arrived and checked in, gave my card for any liabilities I incurred while staying there. Got to my room and was very happy with the cleanliness and space the suite offered. I almost immediately left after dropping my bags, running around town with the groom to be.

I have my checking account setup to send SMS messages to my phone for any purchases over 50 dollars. My wife likes to spend a lot of "little money", but I digress. I get an SMS message saying I had a pending charge of 547 dollars. Well through the package the new couple had setup with the hotel the suites were 89 dollars a night with taxes and such my bill was supposed to be 311.87 (per the reservation line l called to confirm the price). When I finally got back to the hotel I asked for the manager and inquired about the additional 235.13 pulled from my checking account. She stated it was for incidentals and that it would be placed back in my account after my stay. I've stayed at some pretty high-end hotels and never have heard of such a thing. Usually the hotel keeps your account on file and then charges you at the end of your stay your room and any room service, additions etc.

I didn't make a huge deal out of it because it wasn't really about the money, I had plenty of money in the account to account for, well honestly a 235 dollar purchase I didnt plan on. Because when it comes down to it, that was money that was not available in my account. If for some reason I came with only 311.87 in my account, the hotel would have overdrawn me.

I've heard of gas stations doing this to the tune of a few bucks, but 235 dollars? I was never told this would occur, even though the front desk is supposed to tell you about this before check in.

Really what it comes down to, is how much power do these companies have over our own money. Money we don't even designate them to take or "hold" in the first place. Ironically 30 mins after I left the desk, I get another SMS saying 160 dollars had been deposited into my account. Still not the whole amount just really odd. Something to think over.

Eric, you're not alone in being upset about this. We found a thread over at FlyerTalk where people are debating whether or not these types of holds should be standardized or disclosed to the customer. The problem, as the Marriott Concierge explains, lies in the fact that each hotel (even within a chain of hotels) calculates the incidental hold amount differently:

The hold is determined by sum of three factors, the length of stay, room rate and tax, and something called the incidental factor. The first two are simple math, you take your room rate and tax and multiple it by the number of nights you will be staying. However the incidental factor is less constant. This amount is based on the typical spending habits of the property’s guests. This means you can expect to have a much larger hold at a resort location than you would typically have at an Airport location because guest tended to spend a lot more on incidentals. Likewise guests typically spend more at certain international locations than at many domestic locations.

Once the incidental factor is created, like Socrates said, there is no human determination of what the hold amount will be. The hold is determined and processed by the hotels system based on the factors mentioned above.

As far as we can tell, the best thing to do is to ask how much the hold will be when you check in. Then, if you can, give the hotel a credit card, rather than a debit card, to use for incidentals. That way you're less likely to run into overdraft fees and other debit card related nuisances.

Of course, if the hotel doesn't end up returning the correct amount to your checking account within a reasonable period of time, you should contact your bank and dispute the charge.

Is there a consistent incidental hold policy? [FlyerTalk]
(Photo: Chrispitality )

Brandon and Eleanor write, to Doubletree/Hilton:

I am writing to you because of an extremely unpleasant interaction and stay that my husband and I had at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago-North Shore in Skokie, Illinois. I had blocked 50 rooms at the hotel for our wedding weekend June 27-June 29, 2008. I cannot even begin to express the frustration that I had dealing with the hotel and reservations staff, which I will outline for you later in this email.

I travel approximately six weeks a year in my position as [redacted] I usually enjoy staying at Doubletree Hotels (and other Hilton Hotels), but I do not believe I will stay again after all of the hassles and excess charges that my husband and I endured.

Here is an account of our experience: I blocked the rooms in November, 2007. Since we live out of town, as do many of our guests, I made sure that 50 rooms were blocked. I even remember asking if that high number was possible to block. I was told it would be fine.

On May 10, 2008, I received a phone call from one of my guests, telling me the block was full. I was shocked to hear this, and immediately called the hotel. They told me in a very curt manner that the block was indeed full and that 13 rooms had been booked. Of course, I told them that we had 50 rooms blocked, so this must be a mistake. They informed me that only 10 rooms had been reserved.

After much discussion and debate, they said they could open five more rooms ONLY. I was furious that seven weeks before my wedding, I had to book another block of rooms at another hotel, without even an "I'm sorry" from the Doubletree staff, who tried on two occasions to blame the error on me.

After blocking the rooms at two hotels, I called about 10 days before the wedding to ask how many rooms were blocked so that we could hand out gift bags to our guests. Imagine my surprise to find that 35 rooms were booked at the Doubletree. Obviously, there was enough room to expand out the block. This was quite aggravating!

When we went to give the gift bags to the front desk for delivery to each of our guests, I was again dismayed. We were told that there would be a charge of $1.50 per bag to simply hand the bag to each guest. I agreed to the $54 charge because I had no other option. I asked some of my recently married friends if the hotels that they had blocked for their wedding charged them for the same service. They had not been charged and were also shocked to hear of this fee, especially because we had filled 35 rooms of the hotel. Additionally, my in-laws had paid for breakfast for nearly 40 guests on June 29, 2008! This made the nickel-and-dime charge even more offensive.

Just yesterday, I was about to pay my credit card bill when I realized that another charge of $75 from the Doubletree Hotel was billed to my account on June 29, 2008. Again, I called the hotel. I was told that the charge was for transportation of 18 people to the reception site a mile and half away. I told the accounting department that I had NEVER authorized such a charge. I do not know if my guests used the hotel's transportation, but my husband and I never booked the transportation, never rode on the transportation ourselves, nor authorized such a charge.

The hotel has since reversed this charge because of my complaint, but it is just another example of our unsatisfactory experience. Additionally, our guests who blocked rooms early were told that the shuttle was free. Only closer to the wedding did the shuttle begin to charge a fare. I only discovered this myself and was never contacted by the Doubletree staff, nor were my guests.

Finally, when my Mother-in-law booked her room, she was told that she would have to pay a higher rate for the Thursday night she planned to stay. When she told the staff that she was under the impression that the wedding rate was valid Thursday through Monday, she was again met with a discourteous and unhelpful rebuttal. I was surprised to learn of this just a few days before the wedding because I was also told that the rate was valid Thursday through Monday. She and several guests mentioned that they were unable to book anything online. The rate was apparently only accessible by phone, contrary to what my husband and I were led to believe.

We were even given an online booking code to give our guests, but they could not receive the rate using it. My husband and I are embarrassed and irritated that our block was handled so unprofessionally. I have advised a close friend who is getting married in the area not to block rooms at that particular Doubletree Hotel, and I have advised my other friends not to block rooms for their weddings at Hilton or Doubletree Hotels because of our bad experience. I am dismayed that the Hilton Family of Hotels, a company that I so highly regarded, disappointed us so much on the biggest weekend of our lives. A reply would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Eleanor

I went to the window, to have a look. Turns out there were kids letting off more fireworks outside, the parents had let them roam freely. My girlfriend stood behind me to ask what was going on. I told her it was just some kids. We then turned on the lights and to my horror, there were BED BUGS on the bed!

Now he can't get a refund from Hotels.ca because Travelodge says their hotel is bedbug-free, and that Esmond just saw "some dirt kicked up on the bed."

Esmond and his girlfriend packed up and left, but the only person at the front desk to help them was a teenager who told them he only worked there once a week. "He gave me the number of Peggy, the manager, to speak to about the situation."

We're not sure whether Esmond tried calling Peggy or not, but the following Monday he called Travelodge's Customer Relations Center:

Their representative told me that they have to speak to management and get back to me within 48 hours. Well 48 hours went by and no one called me back.. I tried calling again. This time leaving a few messages, but no one called back! Finally, today [July 14th] I spoke to a representative and she told me that I would have to take it up with Hotels.com since I booked it with them and that they would call the management of the hotel to find out what situation is.

Hotels.ca put me on hold for like 7 minutes while they argued with the manager at the Sandusky Travelodge. Turns out the people at the Travelodge hotel wouldn't credit our account because they claimed there were NO Bugs in the hotel at all. They claimed it was merely some dirt kicked up on the bed. Give me a break people! I know what I saw. It didn't help that they were crawling about on my bed. Hotels.ca only wanted to give me $40 in travel coupons to credit my next stay. Please people I merely check into a hotel, sleep 20 minutes in it and i have to pay $100 for it? There were freaking bed bugs in there!

(Photo of dirt: DRB62)

From Ellott.org:

Richards’ conclusion — and it’s one I tend to agree with — is is that some hotels are overbilling their customers on purpose, hoping that they won’t check their final receipts.

Which hotels are doing this? Richards thinks many are trying.

For a long period of time last year I was staying at a W almost weekly. It got to the point that before I took possession of the room I would have them come remove the “goodie box.” Recently at a Marriott I was charged $5 each day for a bottle of water I did not even touch, much less consume.

Have the frequent travelers among you noticed this? It may sound cynical, but we've noticed that whenever refunds are instantly credited with no argument — the probability that something shady was going on increases dramatically. We picture the hotel employee whistling while she removes the charge from your bill. Nothing to see here...

Scam alert: beware of hotels that charge for what you don’t eat — or drink [Elliott]
(Photo: Richard Moross )

Amy points out that "the next cheapest 'New York City' hotels Expedia offers" are all in New Jersey, and all above $58/night.

Check out the full article for more reviews on the cheapest places you can stay in NYC.

"A few details about Expedia's '$58/night in NYC' ad" [NewYorkology]

(Photo: Ben Popken)

This website has a similar complaint from an anonymous customer:

# PL TN — 2008-04-25

I agree that HotWire is a scam! I booked a 3-night stay in Savannah at what their website showed was a 3-star hotel. When I got the confirmation, it was a 2-star, without very good customer reviews. I could have made the same reservation myself at that location and paid only $10 more! I've asked them to change,gave them screen shots of better hotels, etc. and now they tell me that their "Research Team" is looking into it. Unfortunately, that will take 7-10 days to get a reply, which the 10th days is the day before I leave for my trip. And the longer they wait, the fewer good rooms are left. Anyway, I'm not holding out much hope. But be assured I will never use HotWire again and I will make sure all my family, friends, acquaintenances and anyone else I find will know what a rip off this company is

One problem may be that Hotwire uses its own rating system for hotels, according to a USA Today article from 2005 (when the original lawsuit was first filed).

Like other leading travel sites, Hotwire has its own hotel star-rating system. That's because there is no single accepted star-rating system in the USA.

The problem with all these different rating systems is that even when they're accurate, they don't necessarily jibe with travelers' ideas about what star ratings mean. Your notion of what a constitutes a three-star property may not match Hotwire's (or any other site's) definition. And there's little consistency among the systems.

The site creates star ratings for hotels by consulting ratings from other industry sources. Hotwire may also visit the property, though not all hotels are inspected in person. The company adjusts star ratings to conform to its own scale.

The Days Inn that Hotwire gave 2.5 stars merited just two stars from Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline and AAA. Mobil doesn't rate it.

Here's an excerpt from the email Ryan received. Based on the third paragraph, it seems that the lawsuit isn't about Hotwire using a more lenient rating system, but actually selling lower-rated rooms as higher-rated ones.

THE FOLLOWING EMAIL REGARDS THE "HOTWIRE LITIGATION."

A proposed class action lawsuit is pending against Hotwire, Inc. Our client filed this case on behalf of certain California consumers who, since 2004, used Hotwire.com to reserve and pay for hotel rooms. We received your email agreeing to disclose your name to our office and we appreciate your help in investigating these claims.

This lawsuit alleges that certain Hotwire customers (including yourself) used Hotwire.com to book and pay for a hotel room with a certain "star rating" (as given by Hotwire's "Hotel Ratings Guide", one version of which is attached to this email for your review) but when the specific hotel name was revealed (after your non-refundable purchase), you actually received a hotel equated with a lower star rating than what you requested and purchased.

Hotwire has advised that at some point since 2004, like our client, YOU booked and paid for a hotel room of a certain star rating, but actually received a hotel equated by Hotwire with a lower star rating than what you requested/purchased. We are seeking to represent you and all others in your situation to get you financially compensated for the difference in what you paid for and what you actually received.

LAW OFFICES OF KEVIN T. BARNES
5670 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1460
Los Angeles, CA 90036-5627
Ph: (323) 549-9100 / Fax: (323) 549-0101

A La Quinta employee who's asked to remain anonymous wrote in to complain about La Quinta's room reservation policies. They "guarantee" a room by obligating you to pay full price for it even if you don't show up, but they also reserve the right to overbook the hotel by 5 rooms and re-book your room at another La Quinta.

I've been working with the La Quinta hotel chain for a year or so now. A few months ago, a policy was put in place (at least in my hotel, which I would assume applies to all) that reservations cannot be made without a credit card. This is so we can charge the guest full room price as a "no-show" and "hold" their room for them until 5AM the following morning.

Well, this is all fine and dandy, but now a new policy is in place that allows central reservations (1800 call center) to overbook a hotel by 5 rooms even if the hotel is completely full. This is a horrible plan as it rips off people by making their "credit card guarantee" just another way to make La Quinta money, as it doesn't "guarantee" anything as their rooms could be given away to one of the 5 overbooked guests if they arrives before you do. This is a first come first serve system, so yes, even if you booked six months in advance, and someone else was overbooked that day through central reservations, as long as they arrive before you, they could take your room and leave you without a room.

If this happens, La Quinta will pay for your stay at another La Quinta location, but who wants to drive 30 minutes/hours to another hotel if you booked months in advance!!! In the mighty words of As Penn and Teller would say, that is bullshit.

This is great news for the customers who were surprised to find charges from $600 to $1200 on their credit cards after they'd already paid to attend the conference back in October, but the customer who first brought it to the media's attention thinks Westin should do more:

Dible, however, is not totally satisfied with the hotel's solution and said the company should provide some extra compensation for attendees who had to deal with the hassle of The Westin's decision.

Dible, who first alerted the media to the dispute and has been in contact with many of the other attendees, said some people thought they were victims of identity theft and canceled credit cards or disputed charges.

"When you look at how many people were involved, hundreds of hours have been expended needlessly as a result of the unilateral actions of The Westin," Dible said.

"Hotel plans to issue refunds" [ReviewJournal] (Thanks to Kelly!)
(Photo: Starwood Hotels)

"I've seen your recent posts about the Westin Casuarina in Las Vegas and they are SPOT ON!" anonymous writes. He used to work there and does not have warm feelings for the management. He adds, "the property has several times barely escaped Starwood removing their name and flag (The Westin flag is the holy grail of Starwood properties)."

I hope this list of names and contact info is helpful...
 
Main Property Number - 702-836-5900
Executive Office Fax Number - 702-836-5991
 
*Note - all email accounts are first initial and last name @westinlv.com (John Doe = jdoe@westinlv.com)
 
Sig Ortloff - Hotel GM - o. 702-836-5930
David Smith - Casino GM - o. 702-836-5959
Sharron Salinas - Hotel GM Assistant - o. 702-836-5987
Luann Trimarchi - Casino GM Assistnant - o. 702-836-5992
Christoph Hoeflich - Asst. Hotel GM - o.702-836- 5965 - c. 513-373-9056
Asst. Casino GM - o. 702-836-5933
Stacy Houston - Director of Guest Services (Front Office Manager) - o. 702-836-5945
 
Hope they help!

After seeing the story about the Westin in Las Vegas charging for unpaid convention fees, I thought I would share my experience with the hotel from last weekend.

An organization I am involved with had a 1 day meeting at the Westin Casuarina on Saturday, March 29th. I flew in on the 28th and went to check in to the hotel around 4 or 5 o'clock that afternoon. According the the person who planned the event, everyone was going to be sharing a room with someone else from the organization. However, when I checked into my room I found a single king size bed. I assumed that i was the lucky man out who got his own room and headed out on the town. When I got back to my room around midnight, I found that the guy I should have been sharing a two bed room with had arrived. He already complained to no success because the hotel was full. He then asked for a roll away bed but they were out of those. Tired from my flight and a good times on the down I decided not to argue with it that night and pulled up come comforter and pillows and hit the floor.
 
The next morning I talked to the person who set up the event and he verified that we in fact should have had a double room. So, I talked to the front desk and asked for a manager. The lady at the desk said she could help me so I explained my dissatisfaction with the fact that I had to sleep on the floor. She apologized and explained that the hotel was full and they had some problems with some guests staying longer than expected and a lot of people requesting the roll away beds. She then said since they were full all they could really offer me for my night on the floor was to extend my checkout for later in the day. A lot of good this did me since I was going to the meeting for the rest of the day and then leaving to stay with a friend who lived in Vegas. I continued to argue with her but didn't get anywhere.
 
I guess between my bad experience and the experience The Coaching Center had with the Westin, it's not only a bad place to hold a conference, but a bad place to stay all together.
 
Randy

"Conventioneer says hotel asks attendees to pay charges" [Houson Chronicle] (Thanks to David!)
(Photo: Starwood Hotels)

Elliott goes over the fine print of the guarantee and discovers that it's mostly meaningless marketing twaddle:

Check out the fine print of the "100 Percent Satisfaction Guarantee" and you'll see that there are some important exceptions. "If you are not satisfied with your accommodations or our service, please advise the front desk of a problem right away and give them an opportunity to correct the situation," it says. "If the hotel staff is unable to satisfy you, they may give you up to one night's free stay."

Got that? You have to report a problem, and if the hotel can't fix it you may be entitled to up to one night's free stay. That's such a vaguely worded guarantee that you have to wonder why Choice Hotels even bothers.

But it gets worse. "Not all international hotels participate in this program," it adds. So the guarantee isn't much of a guarantee to begin with, and your hotel, being an international property, didn't have to honor it anyway.

"Not so comfortable at the Comfort Inn" [Elliott.org]
(Photo: "The Shining")

The three questions:

• 1. Ask how close your room is to the construction. Hotels are constantly undergoing renovations, so it's safe to assume that your is no exception.
• 2. Listen Rapunzel, ask for a room below the eight floor. Firefighters aren't scared of height, but their hoses can't reach past the eighth floor.
• 3. Ask for a room on the same floor as the booster pumps. They make your shower strong, like Ukraine.

I'm a longtime reader of consumerist and could definitely use y'alls help in my current situation. I am on a week long trip to Denver for a conference. The conference has been good, but the trip has been plagued with mishaps. I forgot my cell phone and my wallet in my husband's car when he dropped me off at the airport....Luckily I had my passport and mini-wallet which contained my debit card. By the time I realized my phone and wallet were not with me, my husband was long gone and the verizon payphone at the airport would not allow me to call his verizon cell phone. So, no phone, no credit cards, but I figured I'd be okay for a week with a debit card.

Checked into the Hotel Monaco Denver on 2/29/2008 with no problems. They swiped the debit card and gave me my room key. All was fine until yesterday evening, 3/5/2008 around 5 p.m. Denver time. I get a call from a Lisa at the front desk who states that my card is not authorizing. As I'm not checking out until Friday afternoon, I ask why this is a problem. Apparently, they need authorization or I will just walk out of the hotel without paying. I am stunned that Lisa has just said this, and remark that I do not appreciate being called a thief. She tells me that I can bring a check down to the front desk to cover my expenses, and that is what I do. Face to face, she continues to be rude and insinuate that I am not going to pay. I write a check and explain that I am using my debit card (due to forgetting of the wallet) and that my husband will be depositing money into my account tomorrow to cover my stay. She says that that will be fine as long as the funds are there by 5 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, 3/6/2008). I'm still a bit shell-shocked from being called a deadbeat and a thief, but I had an evening conference to attend.

Fast forward to this morning, where I had a conference from 8 am until noon. Afterwards, I stop and pick up a Arby's roast beef sandwich to go. I plan to eat in my room before I go to my afternoon and evening appointments. When I get back to the hotel, my key does not work. I go down to the front desk and they call the manager, Tim, who tells me that they still cannot authorize the card. Again, as I explain to him, my husband will be depositing sufficient funds this afternoon because I only have my debit card. I also explain I have no cell phone and no other cards with me. I am then told that until they receive authorization, I will not be allowed in my room. I again state that I was told I had until 5 p.m. and that is also what my husband was made aware of. I am again told that I will not be allowed in my room until they have authorization. Tim also echoes the sentiment of the manager of the previous day and states that he does not believe that I will pay for my room.

At this point I am extremely frustrated, I was told I had until 5 p.m. to have the authorization go through, I have no cell phone, and I WAS NEVER TOLD I WOULD BE LOCKED OUT OF MY ROOM if authorization wasn't there by noon. I have been accused of being a deadbeat and a thief and treated like trash. To add insult to injury, my sandwich is cold and my monthly girl time just started. So I'm also starving and without feminine hygiene products. It's also really cold here in Denver and I'm in a skirt and heels.

I've emailed the Kimpton hotels customer service and got the standard sorry for your inconvience reply. However, I am absolutely furious at what has occurred and I'm locked out of my room. Any advice or publicity you can give to my plight would help, and the sooner the better. I have access to email at the convention center, but that is my only form of communication.

If this happens again (we know, we know, it won't), we'd seriously consider FedExing your missing items overnight. Yes, it's extra money that you probably don't have, but being stuck by yourself in a strange city without proper access to your accounts is too risky should an emergency occur.

Readers, any suggestions?

I know you already did a piece on strange hotel charges a little while ago, but I was in the Bahamas at the Comfort Suites in Atlantis and I thought this was so misleading I took a picture of it.

I just think it's outrageous-if it wasn't bad for the Earth, I might as well be leaving on all my lights when I leave the room, just to get my money's worth! I was with a family of 4, and we booked the hotel because it was cheap. However, they did not include this 24 dollar a night tax! We stayed for 6 nights-they jipped us of $144!

PREVIOUSLY: Watch Out For These 14 Hidden Hotel Fees
10 Annoying Hidden Hotel Fees

It costs Marriott over $1,000 to scrub the smoke-stink off a room, a charge they happily offset by smacking smokers like Dan with a $250 fine.

Some hotels seek out actual physical evidence before they levy a fine. The New York Marriott Downtown first started charging people $250 for simply leaving the smell of smoke in their rooms after the brand went 100% nonsmoking in Sept. 2006. Within a few weeks, they realized they had too many complaints, says Anna Cervenyak, the hotel's office manager. Security started taking pictures of butts or ashes when housekeeping found them. Though they still make "plenty" of refunds, they now show people physical evidence, which usually is enough to draw a confession, Ms. Cervenyak says.

Physical evidence also plays a role when a guest tries to protest against the charge through a credit-card company. Sam Patel, who owns the Quality Inn Brick Town in Oklahoma City, says, "A lot of times you have to argue with the credit-card company" to have a smoking charge accepted. "If you don't find a cigarette," he says, the charge will not go through, and "we lose money." he says.

At least one hotel gives employees an incentive to catch illicit smokers: Swissotel Chicago awards housekeepers a $10 bonus for every smoker they catch.

Where were we?
Right, smoking in hotel rooms.

Please don't.

Now at Hotels: The $250 Cigarette [WSJ]
(Photo: Getty)

• Groundskeeping
• Towels (other than room—e.g., pool or fitness center)
• Business center, fitness room
• Safe
• Housekeeping, bellman gratuity fees
• Water and newspapers
• Energy surcharge
• Early check in or out/extended cancellation
• Shuttle service
• Baggage-holding
• Bartenders
• Room block fees
• Mini-Bar
• Random incorrect charges

Fodor's point out that federal law requires such "hidden" fees to be disclosed "clearly and conspicuously."

If extra fees aren't clearly stated in the reservation conditions when you book online or over the phone, you should inform the hotel they are violating the law and politely but firmly ask for the charges to be removed. Obviously you now need to read the fine print conditions when you book online, and should ask if any extra fees are billed when you book over the phone.