I made an error in hotel reservations

[DonnasMom&Dad]

My DW and I are booked for a cruise in January 2011 out of San Pedro, California. Due to flight

schedules, and me not moving too swift, we decided to stay in a hotel at both ends of the cruise,

having read about many hotels on Cruise Critic, we decided on the Doubletree, as it is close to

the cruise dock, and apparently has a good view.

 

During the process, of making the reservations, through Expedia.ca, I pulled a boob, on the

second date, so I, what I thought, canceled the entry, and started from start, and everything went

smoothly, or so I thought, but when I received the confirming e-mails, I found that the error had

gone through, and I had two reservations for the second date, when I phoned Expedia, they

informed me, after talking to the hotel, that they could not cancel the extra room, I then Fax’d the

hotel immediately, explaining the situation, and the next morning, I received a phone call from

the hotel, letting me know that everything had been taken care of.

 

As we sometimes seem to have complaints about businesses, I thought this would be an uplift !! :D:)

 

Happy Cruising !!

 

Cato ;)

catolga28@shaw.ca

 

 

 

 

Passed Cruises !

 

First cruise - Coral Princess, 19 November 2008, 10 day Panama Canal, FLL to ACA

Second cruise - Coral Princess, 15 May 2009, 3 day Repositioning, Los Angeles to Vancouver.

Third cruise - Sapphire Princess, 25 November 2009? 7 day Mexican Riviera.

Fourth cruise - Golden Princes, 12 November 2010, 7 day Alaska. (Golden Anniversary Cruise)

 

Future & Hopeful Cruises !

( Already booked )

 

Fifth & (hopefully Platinum member cruise), Island Princess, 04 October 2010, Vancouver -LA

Repositioning .

Sixth cruise - Sapphire Princess, 05 January 2011, 10 day Mexican Riviera. LA to LA.

Seventh cruise - Crown Princess, 26 Mach 2011, 7 day Western Carribean, LA to LA

Eighth cruise - Emerald Princess, 04 June 2011, 11 day Baltic, Copenhagen to Copenhagen

[Keith1010]

Glad to hear this. It was interesting that you had to go directly to the hotel and that Expedia didn't help you. At least the hotel did.

 

Keith

[paul929207]

I am happy it worked out ok

[Cygneagile]

So you are now saying that should we make an error while booking on line with Expedia.CA they can not make corrections or cancel a booking. So I trust you got a good price. I do my research on line then call the Hotel directly. I quote the Internet price and that is what they give me if their price is higher. That is what we did in San Juan prior to our Winter Cruise.

I sometimes wonder about all these online agencies... Do you not have to pay an administration fee? I have a free long distance package with my land phone so it no cost to me. Actually, it is not free I am paying for some way or other.

So glad you were able to sort things out.

[grandmato4]

Glad to hear your good news.

 

When on occasion I've found while making reservations over the internet that I've had a booper occur;) I've always found when immediately contacting the business directly(not through the third party site)they've been more than happy to correct the error. I regularly use different 3rd party sites to research for reservation possibilities but rarely do I actually book through them as IMHO a middleman only causes more problems when there is a problem needing to be fixed.

 

Hope you enjoy your stay at the Doubletree in San Pedro. :)

[cb at sea]

I, too, book directly thru the hotel...it's almost always cheaper, and you can almost always cancel with 24 hours notice....sometimes, even less! I never use a 3rd party (especially online things!) for hotels!

[madge57]

Hmmmm that sounds strange that Expedia didn't cancel your reservation!! I too have made errors but called Expedia and they canceled if for me. they gave me a confirmation # for the cancelation too. Wonder why they wouldn't cancel this one?? Oh well at least youv'e got it taken care of.

[Alrana Eris]

I research the gnome, orbitz or expedia. WE always booked our hotel directly with the hotels, tell you why.

I was at a conference years ago and I booked with hotel and someone else ahead of me booked through the gnome. There was an issue about the rate (she claimed didn't know there was conference rate which if she read the paperwork of the conference they gave a code to book the rate; but you had to book the hotel directly to get the rate)and it got ugly hotel manager came out. The manager said that since they didn't book the hotel directly and through a 3rd party, she would have to go to the gnome and get help from them and can't adjust the rate. Also the conference hotel was booked solid.

 

Sometimes with the hotel you can get AARP, AAA and they may have a local un-advertised special package rate not on hotel website, like a free breakfast coupon or something.

[room010]

The internet is a useful tool but when it comes to hotel reservations I pick up the phone and call the hotel direct. They are usually happy to offer a good deal and if the booking needs changing for any reason they are more likely to cooperate. Once you get a third party involved things get way too complicated.

[centurycruiser]

I do my research on line then call the Hotel directly. I quote the Internet price and that is what they give me if their price is higher.

I sometimes wonder about all these online agencies... Do you not have to pay an administration fee?

 

By booking directly with the hotel at the same discounted rate you are saving them the commission they would pay to the on line agency. So, basically you are stealing the service of the on line agency by using their price and then cutting them out of the process.

 

Congratulations. You must be very, very proud!

[room010]

These hotel booking agencies rely on the fact that people think any online booking is automatically cheaper because they have access to all the "bargains" and special deals. In my experience if it's significantly cheaper there's usually a catch (no refunds, limited dates, sneaky small print, etc) which can be avoided for the minimal price of a phone call - although most major hotel chains have a Toll Free reservations number anyway. If you are prepared to do a little gentle haggling "I saw this room quoted online at XXXXXX for $XXXXX" the hotel will almost always match that price or even quote a lower one.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you called the hotel and got everything worked out.

 

Now you can relax and enjoy your cruise.

[Cygneagile]

By booking directly with the hotel at the same discounted rate you are saving them the commission they would pay to the on line agency. So, basically you are stealing the service of the on line agency by using their price and then cutting them out of the process.

 

Congratulations. You must be very, very proud!

 

 

The Internet is there at our finger tips. I always prefer to speak to a live person. I have a TA and use her for our cruises. But I have found that Post and Pre cruise accommodation are cheaper if you do your own research. Even the Air fare can be somewhat cheaper. Also the Hotel can give you shopping and restaurant information as well as other tidbits about the location. The on line Agent does not know this. So let them get their commission from someone who does not care to save the 40 or 50 dollars. There are many people out that that welcome the online agencies and use them all the time. I can now take that money and allocate it for drinks, food or shopping. I do not consider myself a thief, just a very very practical, astute and thrifty person.

[centurycruiser]

The Internet is there at our finger tips. I always prefer to speak to a live person. I have a TA and use her for our cruises. But I have found that Post and Pre cruise accommodation are cheaper if you do your own research. Even the Air fare can be somewhat cheaper. Also the Hotel can give you shopping and restaurant information as well as other tidbits about the location. The on line Agent does not know this. So let them get their commission from someone who does not care to save the 40 or 50 dollars. There are many people out that that welcome the online agencies and use them all the time. I can now take that money and allocate it for drinks' date=' food or shopping. I do not consider myself a thief, just a very very practical, astute and thrifty person. [/font']

 

Consider that your internet research is using the online agency tools and expertise to find a price. Then you bypass them and negotiate with the hotel directly to match the price and cut the online agency out of their commission and you don't feel you are stealing a service?

 

The hotel is happy to match that because they just saved a commission. Additionally, the on line agency may have booked through the hotel companies central reservation system so the hotel saves that referral fee too. They make out like a bandit. The only loser is the on line agency.

 

Compare the situation to someone who calls in an interior decorator to design their living room. The interior designer doesn't charge a fee because they sell furniture and furnishing. After getting the design you go to Rooms to Go to get everything cheaper. Stealing or not?

 

A second situation. You need some work done at your house but you are not sure how to do it. You call in a contractor to give you a quote and while he's there you discuss the work with him. Once he explains how he would do it you realize it is something you can do. So, you do the work your self. Stealing or not?

 

The interior designer, the contractor and the on line agency are all in business to sell services. If you take their service with the intent of not using it, in my mind that's stealing. The only difference between that and picking up a candy bar at a store and not paying for it, is there is nothing tangible carried away but knowledge.

 

But, I guess we look at things differently.

[Cygneagile]

Yes we do see things differently. And Hooray for the freedom of being able to do so. I can not believe that with all the monies spent on cruises that people are not doing their best to save here and there where they can so they can spend the money somewhere else.

 

 

 

If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.

-Benjamin Franklin

[Alrana Eris]

I also forgot to mention that online agents have no clue of actual geography of the particualr area, the hotel you call directly does know the geographic area. Nothing worse than being placed in a hotel in a seedy neighborhood, land that time forgot or no where near where you need to be. I'm just saying... Then again someone on CC would probably have the answer for you as well if not familiar with a particular area.

[Cygneagile]

I also forgot to mention that online agents have no clue of actual geography of the particualr area, the hotel you call directly does know the geographic area. Nothing worse than being placed in a hotel in a seedy neighborhood, land that time forgot or no where near where you need to be. I'm just saying... Then again someone on CC would probably have the answer for you as well if not familiar with a particular area.

 

So true Alrana. When we were looking for a place in San Juan. I called one of the Online agents and they could not even tell me if the hotel was at the Airport or in Old San Juan or close to the Port. We wanted in Old San Juan so we could tour the city. So we ended up by going to Google Earth and searching the locations for the best one for us.

[jagoffee]

Consider that your internet research is using the online agency tools and expertise to find a price. Then you bypass them and negotiate with the hotel directly to match the price and cut the online agency out of their commission and you don't feel you are stealing a service?

 

The hotel is happy to match that because they just saved a commission. Additionally, the on line agency may have booked through the hotel companies central reservation system so the hotel saves that referral fee too. They make out like a bandit. The only loser is the on line agency.

 

Compare the situation to someone who calls in an interior decorator to design their living room. The interior designer doesn't charge a fee because they sell furniture and furnishing. After getting the design you go to Rooms to Go to get everything cheaper. Stealing or not?

 

A second situation. You need some work done at your house but you are not sure how to do it. You call in a contractor to give you a quote and while he's there you discuss the work with him. Once he explains how he would do it you realize it is something you can do. So, you do the work your self. Stealing or not?

 

The interior designer, the contractor and the on line agency are all in business to sell services. If you take their service with the intent of not using it, in my mind that's stealing. The only difference between that and picking up a candy bar at a store and not paying for it, is there is nothing tangible carried away but knowledge.

 

But, I guess we look at things differently.

 

I do not think that the interior designer and contractor examples are the same as reviewing pricing, options, and availability (including reviews) on line at various sites. As long as you are using the tools on line and not taking the time of a real person than there is no variable cost for the website. In fact the company might get fees for advertising based on the fact that you used their site even without purchasing. So you are doing them a favor and potentially increasing their revenue even if you do not book via the site.

 

I use various wesites for airline pricing, hotel pricing/availability, and reviews for both travel and other purchases. A larger group of people are using the tools available.

 

You are free to do what you want, but you might be missing out by not using the tools available to you because you feel that it is not ethical. I almost always use the tools and book my air line tickets and hotels on line directly with the company.

 

I do agree with you about using an interior designer just to get ideas to use elsewhere, but I would not hestitate to take advantage of on line tools for this purpose.

[luvs2travl]

These hotel booking agencies rely on the fact that people think any online booking is automatically cheaper because they have access to all the "bargains" and special deals. In my experience if it's significantly cheaper there's usually a catch (no refunds, limited dates, sneaky small print, etc) which can be avoided for the minimal price of a phone call - although most major hotel chains have a Toll Free reservations number anyway. If you are prepared to do a little gentle haggling "I saw this room quoted online at XXXXXX for $XXXXX" the hotel will almost always match that price or even quote a lower one.

 

We have found the same thing. We got burned a few years back by the "Price Line Negotiator" and have since done just as you have described above with great success.

 

In fact, on our February trip out to Prescott AZ, one of the Best Western hotels offered a "Neighborhood Rate" that was about HALF of what their advertised rate was. This hotel was a bit out-of-the way, but since we were actually visiting friends IN that 'neighborhood' - it worked out perfectly for us. This rate was not offered on line - but was obtained by our calling them directly and asking about any specials that they might be having.

 

Many of these so-called "lowest rates available" also have the No Cancellation" clause attached as well. Folks don't realize this until they have to cancel - then it's too late. You're going to be charged anyway. We've found that clause on several of the on-line HIE sites. It's in the fine print at the very end of their reservation form - just before you click on "Complete this Booking" or whatever it says.

[luvs2travl]

By booking directly with the hotel at the same discounted rate you are saving them the commission they would pay to the on line agency. So, basically you are stealing the service of the on line agency by using their price and then cutting them out of the process.

 

Congratulations. You must be very, very proud!

 

How is this stealing from an on-line agency if you are not using their services? :confused: Anyone can find a price quote on line, and ask the provider directly if they can match the price. The on-line agencies put their prices out there for all to see. They are not copyright protected or anything. The provider can then say "Yes" or "No". The on-line agency isn't being cut out of anything.

 

We do it all the time with cruise fares. Our TA can say "Yes, I can match that price (or get close)" or "No - sorry. No can do." I don't see the correlation here. It's like putting an item up for bid. If the on-line agency is the low bidder, than one can choose to book through them, thereby utilizing their services and getting them a commission from the provider. If they are not, then one can certainly go elsewhere for the same or a lower price if they so choose.

[Texaswinediva]

Consider that your internet research is using the online agency tools and expertise to find a price. Then you bypass them and negotiate with the hotel directly to match the price and cut the online agency out of their commission and you don't feel you are stealing a service?

 

The hotel is happy to match that because they just saved a commission. Additionally, the on line agency may have booked through the hotel companies central reservation system so the hotel saves that referral fee too. They make out like a bandit. The only loser is the on line agency.

 

Compare the situation to someone who calls in an interior decorator to design their living room. The interior designer doesn't charge a fee because they sell furniture and furnishing. After getting the design you go to Rooms to Go to get everything cheaper. Stealing or not?

 

A second situation. You need some work done at your house but you are not sure how to do it. You call in a contractor to give you a quote and while he's there you discuss the work with him. Once he explains how he would do it you realize it is something you can do. So, you do the work your self. Stealing or not?

 

The interior designer, the contractor and the on line agency are all in business to sell services. If you take their service with the intent of not using it, in my mind that's stealing. The only difference between that and picking up a candy bar at a store and not paying for it, is there is nothing tangible carried away but knowledge.

 

But, I guess we look at things differently.

 

 

I have used an interior designer before and they charge a consultation

fee up front. So you pay for the experts advice, you are not stealing it.

[luvs2travl]

I have used an interior designer before and they charge a consultation

fee up front. So you pay for the experts advice, you are not stealing it.

 

Agree! If the on-line agencies don't want folks to look at their prices and then price-shop, perhaps they should start charging a fee to access their website.

 

I had a landscaping service come to my house and give me an estimate on what my landscaping would cost. He charged a $50.00 consultation fee. We decided to go with another less-expensive service and incorporate some of his suggestions. He got his fee and I got my yard landscaping done.

 

So no- I do not feel as if I am stealing a service by using information that is given out world-wide on the internet for free. As I said, these agencies can always start charging an access fee if they they choose.

[Texaswinediva]

If an internet agency has the pricing info for all the world to see,

then it is not stealing. IMHO :D