Hotels and rental agencies like to carve out the full cost of their services on your credit or debit card before you pay in full. This credit blocking can catch anyone who sticks near their minimum or maximum balance off guard when they try to use their card. Inside, learn how to keep retailers from unexpectedly clogging your credit and debit cards with unwanted blocks.
hotels
Russian Mobsters Steal 8 Million Customer Records From Best Western
By 8.24.08
If you stayed at one of Best Western’s 1,312 European hotels since 2007, the Russian mafia now has your credit information! In a nightmarish globalization fairy tale come true, an Indian hacker successfully planted a virus in Best Western’s European computer systems that fed addresses, phone numbers, and credit card details to mobsters in Russia.
Airlines Have Bumped 343,000 Passengers This Year
By 8.23.08
Over a quarter-million passengers were bumped from flights in the past eight months, a number that is set to grow as airlines try to boost anemic profits by slashing fleets. The Department of Transportation requires airlines to compensate bumped passengers with cash or vouchers, but savvy passengers can leverage their situation to negotiate heftier payments…
U.S. Airways Boots 274 Stranded Passengers From Caribbean Airport, Refuses To Pay For Hotels
By 8.16.08
Armed guards ordered 274 stranded passengers out of the Punta Cana airport with no place to go after bad weather forced U.S. Airways to cancel its flight from the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia. Several passengers ended up sleeping in a bus after the airline responded to Tropical Storm Fay by asking passengers to pick up their luggage and get lost.
Contact Starwood Founder Barry Sternlicht
By 8.7.08
Having trouble with your Starwood hotels experience and regular customer service not helping? This guy might. After all, he founded the place.
Crowne Plaza Hotel Blindsides You With A $235.13 Hold For Incidental Charges
By 8.4.08
Much like that nasty little gas station problem we talked about awhile back, hotels just love to slap holds on your debit or credit card accounts for “incidental charges.” There’s nothing wrong or uncommon about the practice, but its difficult or impossible to tell exactly how much the hold might be — and for some consumers who aren’t expecting it, the holds can cause big problems. Reader Eric recently got slapped with a $253.13 hold from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kansas City, and he’s a little irked because they didn’t disclose the hold when he was checking in, and they only refunded $160 of it when he checked out.
Thanks, Doubletree Hotel, For Not Even Apologizing After Messing Up My Wedding Reservations
By 7.24.08
Readers Brandon and Eleanor made reservations back in November for their wedding this June, but in May found out that the Doubletree Hotel had only reserved a small fraction of the rooms they requested. This started off a chain of bad service that included weddings guests not able to book their rooms at the quoted rate, unauthorized charges to Eleanor’s credit card, and unexpected fees for handing out gift bags. What a headache.
Those Aren't Bedbugs, Says Ohio Travelodge. They're Dirt!
By 7.16.08
People, we’re never going to attract Canadian tourists if we keep scaring the hell out of them with fireworks and bedbugs. Esmond and his girlfriend were staying at a Travelodge in Sandusky, Ohio on July 5th, and couldn’t sleep because of fellow Travelodge guests shooting off fireworks in the parking lot. Around 1:30 a.m. there was a loud boom:
Scam Alert: Are Hotels Billing You For Goodies You Didn't Eat, Hoping You Won't Check Your Bill?
By 6.16.08
Travel superhero Christopher Elliott is wondering if there’s some systematic shadiness afoot in the land of the hotel minibar. He’s been hearing reports of items not consumed showing up on hotel bills, and when the error is brought to the attention of the front desk, refunds are instantly credited with no argument. Hmmm.
Expedia's "New York From $58 A Night" Offer Is Bunk (Beds)
By 6.15.08
Expedia says they can get you room and board in NYC for $58 a night. Amy at NewYorkology looked into what such a low, low price actually gets you, and it’s not pretty: think hostels, co-ed group rooms, mice, bunk beds, and generally dirty environments. If you’re undaunted by college-lifestyle travel, Amy points out that there’s one cheap hostel listed that has some good reviews, but since we’re talking about ultra-budget hostels here, a good review actually includes the phrase, “best of all NO ROACHES!!!”
Don't Get Charged An Occupancy Tax For A Hotel Room You Never Occupied
By 6.4.08
Michael canceled his Hilton Hotel reservation with less than 24 hour notice and got charged the full-room rate of $189. This post is not about that. Michael knows and accepts that this is the policy. Rather, this is about $25. The $25 “occupancy tax” the Hilton tacked on. Michael wasn’t about to be charged an occupancy tax for a room he never occupied. After talking to three different people for two days, he finally got Hilton refund the charge. “I thought other readers may like to know about this story and to be on the look out for stupid taxes that aren’t valid when you cancel a hotel room,” Michael writes.
Hotwire Facing Possible Class Action Lawsuit For Selling 2-Star Rooms As 3-Star
By 5.30.08
A reader forwarded us an email that indicates a class action motion is being prepared against Hotwire, the discount travel company, for promoting hotel rooms at artifically high ratings. On Hotwire, you can’t preview the hotel before booking, so the star rating is really all you have to go on—and there’s at least anecdotal evidence online that Hotwire has been known to be more lenient in its rating system. Though Ryan says he’s gotten some good deals through Hotwire, he adds, “I do recall booking a room around Christmas in the 2.5 to 3 star range and getting La Quinta (which as we all know is spanish for ‘near a Denny’s’), which is listed as a two star hotel.”
Update: Westin Casuarina Refunds Extra Charges, Apologizes To Customers
By 4.11.08
Last week’s news that the Westin Casuarina hotel in Las Vegas was surreptitiously charging conference attendees for the organizer’s unpaid bill generated enough bad press that the Westin did an about-face this week, and sent out letters on Tuesday telling affected customers it is reversing the extra charges. A Westin spokesman said, “We’ve decided as a matter of customer relations to issue the refunds while continuing to pursue payment from The Coaching Center” in Austin, Texas. The Westin also says the refunds are an “effort to show our good faith,” which we assume means “please don’t sue us.”
Contact Info For Westin Casuarina In Las Vegas
By 4.4.08
If you were one of the conventioneers who got charged extra fees by the Westin Casuarina, we suggest you talk to your credit card company or contact The Coaching Center (according to the Houston Chronicle, the company’s president is refunding the charges directly to those affected). If you need contact info for management at the hotel, however, an anonymous tipster sent in a list of phone numbers and email addresses.
Westin Casuarina Update: Hotel Also Forces You To Sleep With Strange Men
By 4.3.08
Randy saw our post earlier today about the Westin Casuarina in Las Vegas and wanted to share his own experience with them. In honor of the Casuarina’s increasingly sketchy reputation, we will add lightning to their photo.
Vegas Hotel Charges Attendees For Unpaid Convention Fees
By 4.3.08
The Westin Casuarina Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas has begun charging an unpaid $50,000 convention fee to the attendees who already paid before they attended back in October. The company that set up the event, Austin-based The Coaching Center, hasn’t paid its bill yet, and “president Suzanne Black said she was trying to arrange a payment plan when she was told by Westin management that the hotel would recoup the bill from attendees.” Now people are finding charges anywhere from $600 to $1200 on their credit card bills. Even the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has said this isn’t standard practice, but Westin says it’s got fine print that proves it can hold you liable for any charges left unpaid on your visit.
North Vancouver Comfort Inn's "100% Satisfaction Guarantee" Is More Like 10-15%
By 3.25.08
A man wrote in to travel writer Christopher Elliott to complain about the awful experience he and his wife had with Comfort Inn & Suites in North Vancouver, British Columbia. When they checked in, they were surprised with a “free upgrade,” but found the room was unclean and lacked linens. They asked to be given the room they initially reserved, then discovered the water was lukewarm during their entire visit, and the coffee machine was broken. The hotel’s ice machine was also broken. Richard said in each case he complained to the front desk but only got an apology—and when he contacted Choice Hotels to complain, they told him he should have brought the issues to the attention of the hotel, and consequently they would not honor their 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
