Last week, we shared the story of a Canadian tourist who disappeared and died under mysterious circumstances, then turned up dead in the water tank of the Los Angeles hotel where she was staying. The investigation into the 21-year-old’s disappearance and tragic death continues, but some former guests are being proactive and have already filed a lawsuit against the hotel. [More]
hotels
Hampton Inn Offers Me Refund For Canceled Reservation, Changes Its Mind And Charges Me $500
By 2.20.13 — Updated: 3.4.13
Many hotels have rather strict cancellation policies, which is understandable since it’s bad for business if people book rooms and then fail to show up. What’s not so understandable is a hotel that decides it has a strict cancellation policy after it’s allowed a guest to cancel and provided her with a cancellation number. [More]
Howard Johnson Gives Away Block Of Rooms Reserved For Wedding Because It Doesn’t Know How To Say No To Mumford & Sons Fans
By 2.19.13
A bride-to-be got some bad news last week about a block of rooms she’d reserved at a Howard Johnson Inn in St. Augustine — they had all been given away to Mumford & Sons fans and there was nothing that could be done about it. [More]
Priceline Books Me In 3.5 Star Roach Motel, And There’s No Refunds
By 1.22.13
The problem with Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price” feature is that you don’t get to name your own hotel. That’s the point, of course. When Chris used it to book a 3.5 star hotel for his vacation, though, he looked up reviews for the place and saw that other customers’ experiences ranged from “no heat” to “dog poop in the closet” to “bedbugs.” That was not promising. So he tried to cancel, only to learn that Priceline has a strict policy against that. No matter how terrible the hotel you end up with might be. [More]
Hotel Claims Overzealous Employee Posted Sign Offering To Pay For Nice Online Reviews
By 12.14.12
Earlier today, we told you about the Texas hotel that offered guests up to $5 if they posted positive reviews on any number of popular travel sites. A rep for the hotel has since responded to say that this was a case of an overzealous employee acting on their own. [More]
Dallas Hotel Blatantly Offers To Pay Guests For Positive Online Reviews
By 12.14.12
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Here’s a tip to hotel managers around the world — Paying for reviews is bad enough. Advertising that you’re willing to pay for positive feedback is only going to communicate to your guests that you run a bad hotel and that you expect them to not have anything nice to say about your establishment. [More]
FTC Warns Hotels That Hiding Resort Fees May Violate The Law
By 11.28.12
Have you ever booked a hotel room and then arrived to find that in addition to the room rate, you must also pay a “resort fee,” even if you have no intention of using the amenities the fee is intended to cover? The Federal Trade Commission thinks some hotel operators may be illegally hiding these fees in order to mislead consumers about their room rates. [More]
Expedia Books Me Into 4 Hotels I Can’t Stay In
By 11.2.12
Like many New Yorkers in low-lying areas, Consumerist reader Jacob’s home was evacuated. Without a place to stay, he used his phone to book a room at a Manhattan hotel. Little did he know that he wouldn’t be staying at that hotel, or the one after that, or the one after that. [More]
NYC Hotels Double Rates On Some Guests, But Is It Gouging?
By 10.30.12
All over Manhattan today, there are hotel guests who were supposed to have checked out but who are forced to stay at least one more night because their flights are canceled — and they couldn’t get to the airport anyway. Making matters worse, a lot of these people are paying higher room rates then they have been. [More]
Fancy Hotel Wedding Planner Doesn’t Understand How Email’s “CC” Function Works
By 10.24.12
We’ve all had the horrible “Oh no no I sent that hilarious yet inappropriate email to everyone in the entire office” moment, but there’s a difference between slipping up and hitting the “reply all” function, and adding someone as a “cc” or carbon copy (remember paper?) recipient. Which must mean the wedding planner at a fancy British hotel who accidentally revealed her truly snooty feelings about a couple just doesn’t know how to use email. [More]
Comfort Inn Boots Wedding Guests From Overbooked Hotel, Doesn’t Seem To Care
By 10.11.12
When you book a block of eight rooms at a hotel, 18 months in advance no less, you’d expect to have a little leverage when the place suddenly realizes it’s been overbooked. At the very least, you’d expect a little bit of respect. But a woman in New Jersey says the folks at Comfort Inn were not terribly comforting when they told guests who had reserved rooms for a nearby wedding that they would have to stay elsewhere. [More]
When Tropical Storm Threatens Tropical Paradise, Hotel Won't Let Me Cancel
By 8.23.12
William’s dilemma with Priceline and Westin is what we’re guessing will be the first of very many travel problems caused by what is now Tropical Storm Isaac. William used to live in New Orleans, and knows better than to be anywhere near the projected path of a hurricane if he doesn’t have to. He had plans to travel to a vacation spot in Florida right in Isaac’s predicted path this weekend, and was probably supposed to be in the air right now. He was able to cancel his normally non-refundable AirTran flight, but the hotel, a Westin, won’t budge. He paid through Priceline, which has a no-refunds policy. That’s common knowledge. The problem is that Westin wouldn’t cancel his reservation anyway until an actual evacuation order is issued for the area. [More]
Holiday Inn Sends Me Wrong Receipt, Reveals How Much Of A Discount It Gives To Travelocity
By 8.22.12
If you’ve ever booked a room through Travelocity or any other online travel site, you might have wondered how much that company is paying the hotel operator for the room. Without even trying to, one Consumerist reader managed to find out what Travelocity actually paid for a recent stay at a Holiday Inn. [More]
Lawsuit Alleges Price-Fixing By Major Hotel Chains And Online Booking Sites
By 8.21.12
A class-action lawsuit filed yesterday in a U.S. District Court in California alleges that the biggest names in online travel — Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com — and some of the world’s largest hotel chains — Hilton, Starwood, Marriott, Intercontinental, among others — conspired together so that the “best price guarantee” you often see when booking a room online is in actuality just a number set by the hotel operators. [More]
Surprise! That’s Not A Bible In Your Hotel Nightstand — It’s ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’
By 7.25.12
When was the last time you read a Bible at a hotel? And when is the last time you read or were tempted to read Fifty Shades of Grey? The widespread and overwhelming popularity of the steamy trilogy has led a hotel owner in England’s Lake District to replace all of the bibles in his 40 guest rooms with a copy of E.L. James’ book, in order to appeal to that second group of people who would pick it over the traditional copy of the Gideons Bible. [More]
Here’s A Hint For Hotels Losing Guests: Maybe It’s Time Free Internet Access Comes With The Room
By 7.25.12
Cutting corners to save on costs is understandable, but now that the economic downturn isn’t so downturny, hotel operators might want to think about trying to please their guests more. Perhaps throw in some free Internet access? Just a thought, as a new suvery says guest satisfaction is waning. [More]
Cops: Man Used Guests’ Credit Cards In Order To Live The High Life At Luxury Hotels
By 7.3.12
Can’t afford to stay in the priciest hotels, order the swankiest room service and wash your hands with the nicest-smelling fancy soaps? Don’t use other guests’ credit cards to make your dreams come true, as cops say one homeless man did. He was busted for allegedly posing as guests at luxury hotels and going on spending sprees at the expense of his victims. [More]
Families Displaced By Storm Accuse Hotels Of Gouging
By 7.3.12
Over this past weekend, some crazy rains tore a path through a portion of the Mid-Atlantic, leaving entire areas without power or other utilities and forcing some residents to turn to hotels for shelter. But some people in New Jersey have accused local hotel operators of trying to cash in on area residents’ misfortune. [More]
