Priceline hassle - Sheraton Bal Harbor in Miami is closing!

[Leejnd4]

So I was all proud of myself -- I'd done the background work to do this right, read all the stuff on Biddingfortravel.com, done all my research, and followed their strategy for getting a great hotel in Miami for the best price, for the night before our August 26 Navigator cruise. My bid was accepted for a "resort" level hotel for $90 -- turns out it was the Sheraton Bal Harbor. Which sounded great -- I knew which hotels I might get, had read all the reviews, and everything looked fabulous.

 

Until today, when I was checking a few more things out about the hotel...and I learned that it's closing, permanently, at the "end of August" according to the hotel! I spoke to several people there, and they all confirmed that it is closing, to make way for a brand new hotel, but none of them could tell me the specific date -- only "end of August". Well, I'm supposed to be STAYING there at the end of August!

 

Even if they are still open on our date, I don't see how a hotel can give us an adequate level of service when they will be closing down permanently only a couple days later. The hotel looks very nice, but geez, they're tearing the whole place down!

 

So I contacted Priceline and told them I wanted to cancel my room and get reimbursed. They are "looking into it" and will get back to me in two days.

 

I really hope they do the right thing. Wish me luck.

[wrp96]

Hey, LeeAnne I'm beginning to think maybe you don't need to sail the MOS with us.;) Hope everything works out with the hotel. If not, maybe Casa de Randy has an opening.

[Leejnd4]

Hey, LeeAnne I'm beginning to think maybe you don't need to sail the MOS with us.;) Hope everything works out with the hotel. If not, maybe Casa de Randy has an opening.

I disagree - I think I REALLY need to sail the MOS with all you nutcases! LOL! As for Randy -- trust me, he doesn't want me to sic my teenagers on him. :eek:

[superjerryw]

Perhaps you should consider making another reservation at a different hotel. Preferably, one of the major chains that allows you to guarantee your room without actually charging your credit card and also allows you to cancel without penalty up until 6:00PM of the scheduled date of arrival. You would at least have a room booked in case Priceline does not resolve the matter.

[atlcple2]

I used Priceline a few years ago for a hotel here in Atlanta. With Priceline, you pay for the room up front through them. Priceline did not send the money to the hotel and when we checked out, we had to pay for the room AGAIN and my credit card number was stolen from someon who worked at Priceline! About a month later, I received a confirmation from Southwest Airline in the mail of a trip that was charged to my credit card for travel. By the time I received the notification, the travel had already taken place and they could not give me the names of the people who traveled under those tickets. I have never used Priceline again and never will.

[signman]

Gee, and I've used Priceline dozens of times and never had a problem.

 

LeeAnne, I'd try for a backup just in case. But that Sheraton is a very nice place with a great pool area. If they are still open I wouldn't worry a bit. The beds there are great. As long as they still make them each morning and give you clean towels, and the pool is open, what else do you need? There are lots of dining options nearby.

[OPSoccermom]

LeeAnn - the Bal Harbour is a great hotel - that's too bad. We had heard they were sold and were going to change names. Did the staff there say they were tearing the current hotel down, or is it just closing and then will re-open as a different hotel?

 

I have some great memories of that hotel, also it is the hotel featured in "Analyze This" with Billy Crystal and Robert DeNiro.

[ottawapuppy]

My partner and I stayed there last April after our Navigator cruise. Nice rooms with FANTASTIC beds. Got it on Priceline as well. We asked for non-smoking, we got smoking. It was disgusting. We eventually got a non-smoking room but it took a while.

The hotel is being demolished as a condo building is going up on that site.

[Leejnd4]

I may go ahead and book a backup hotel direct (one that can be canceled), but I won't get anything like the deals I can get on Priceline, which is why I used them to begin with. The price I got is literally half what I could find for this hotel anywhere else, including all the discount sites. I was hoping to stay at a really nice place for the day before our cruise - I like to start my vacation right!

 

Oh well...I'll wait and see what Priceline does. They have several other really nice properties that have been going for about the same price as the Sheraton, so if they allow me to re-bid I'm sure I'll get something.

 

Even if the hotel is still open, I guess my major concern about staying there a couple days before they close is that things may be in a deteriorating state -- including the service! What motivation does a staff have to keep their customers happy if they know they'll all be out of a job in a couple days? And what motiviation is there to "keep the place up" if it's about to be torn down?

 

atlcpl2 -- that's an awful story! Sorry that happened to you. Did you at least get your money back from your credit card company? Most credit card companies have theft protection and fraud departments to investigate matters such as this, and will not make you pay for products/services you didn't receive, or that were charged fraudulently. I've had my credit card number used for fraudulent purchases several times, and in every case I received a new cc#, and didn't have to pay the fraudulent charges. In any case, it sounds as if Priceline had a criminal for an employee. Sad, but it could happen to any company that processes cc's.

[BlueHerons]

LeeAnne, I have years of hotel management experience so I can give you my professional opinion of your situation.

 

Firstly, hotel transitions usually fail the first time around. It usually takes the third or fouth time for something to happen. When I say transitions, I mean the sale of a hotel or changing the flag or brand. Hotel deals that die at the signing are legendary.

 

If the transition does happen, chances are again on your side because they usually take much longer than what is announced. A hotel that announces is closing in August will probably still be operating in December.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would moniter the situation and not do anything until June. When priceline calls you back, if they will not do anything to your satisfaction, have them note on your reservation your concern about the hotel shutting down.

 

Also, take down the name of the person you are speaking with and any relevant details.

 

Lastly, if all else fails and the hotel definitely is going to close in August and they are on a hard timeline, Starwood (Sheraton's parent company) still has the responsibility to you for an enjoyable stay. Get the customer service 800 number and if the hotel can't rectify any problems you have, call the corporate office.

 

There is no worse hell for a hotel than having the corporate office calling wanting to know why you can't handle an unhappy guest currently under your roof!

[Leejnd4]

Blue Herons, thanks for that. It's always nice to hear from someone with direct experience.

 

As it turns out, Ottowapuppy is correct -- the place is in fact being completely torn down, for condo's. So it's not a transition, it's a total shut-down and tear-down. Also, the date was originally supposed to be in June, but it was pushed back to August, and I'm now told that it's firm -- Aug. 31 the place shuts and the demolition begins.

 

I WISH it was only a transition -- then at least I could feel confident that the facilities would be kept up, as the incoming owners would be using the same facilities, and would expect them to be maintained. But given that the whole place is being demolished, at some point I would imagine they would stop spending any money keeping the place up. Maintenance costs money -- why spend it on repairs, or stuff like cleaning, polishing, etc. when it will be torn down in the very near future. I have visions of the place being all dusty and dirty and dingy and in disrepair.

 

As for the hotel having to deal with the corporate office -- well at that point why should they care? The place will be gone in just a few days, what's Corporate going to do to them?

 

Anyway, I'm just venting my concerns. I'm still waiting for Priceline to get back to me, and I'll report back what they say.

[BlueHerons]

Blue Herons, thanks for that. It's always nice to hear from someone with direct experience.

 

As it turns out, Ottowapuppy is correct -- the place is in fact being completely torn down, for condo's. So it's not a transition, it's a total shut-down and tear-down. .

 

A complete demolition is a transition.

 

My point is well made, the original shut down date was June and that has already been postponed (I remember now reading about this in the trades last winter).

 

I can promise you from experience, the shutdown date will change again.

[signman]

I understand your concerns, but I believe it is Starwood that is redeveloping the property to include condos and some hotel rooms. This has been a sort of flagship hotel for Sheraton for a long time. My first stay there was in 1984, most recent in 2001, and recent comments by guests have been positive, so it's not like they are totally walking away from this location.

[Lou33]

I used Priceline a few years ago for a hotel here in Atlanta. With Priceline, you pay for the room up front through them. Priceline did not send the money to the hotel and when we checked out, we had to pay for the room AGAIN and my credit card number was stolen from someon who worked at Priceline! About a month later, I received a confirmation from Southwest Airline in the mail of a trip that was charged to my credit card for travel. By the time I received the notification, the travel had already taken place and they could not give me the names of the people who traveled under those tickets. I have never used Priceline again and never will.

 

That sounds very strange. Are you saying that when you checked into the hotel, they told you that you had a reservation through priceline, but priceline didn't pay for it? That's not how priceline works. Did you get a confirmation from priceline when you made your bid? Did you print it out and show it to the hotel clerk when you checked in?

 

How do you know that your credit card was stolen by someone from priceline, and it was not stolen by someone else? Are you saying that Southwest had a record of the transaction to buy the tickets, but they didn't have a record of the names that were used for the travel?

 

Please clarify.

[Leejnd4]

I understand your concerns, but I believe it is Starwood that is redeveloping the property to include condos and some hotel rooms. This has been a sort of flagship hotel for Sheraton for a long time. My first stay there was in 1984, most recent in 2001, and recent comments by guests have been positive, so it's not like they are totally walking away from this location.

Good information -- so perhaps the place will be kept up and the service will not suffer, so as not to alienate Starwood customers. I certainly hope so. -- if in fact we end up staying here. Jury's still out.

 

Blue Heron, not being in the industry, I didn't realize that a transition is in fact a demolition. I thought it was the transition of the property from one owner to another. I still can't help but feel some concern over what type of experience the very last customers before a demolition would get. As for whether or not the date will push again...I'm sure that happens, but you can't count on that, because at some point inevitably the actual date DOES arrive, and if it's already been pushed, it seems that we're just that much closer to the final real event. I certainly wouldn't want to bank on it pushing again.

 

Lou33, I too found the fraud story rather odd. In any event, there's no reason why they wouldn't have gotten their money back no matter who stole their card. Having been through the whole cc fraud thing myself several times, I do know that for a fact. However, I do find it credible that they wouldn't give the cardholder the names of the passengers in the fraudulently purchased plane tickets. I once had a whole bunch of fraudulent online purchases made to my card, and I had an idea of who might have done it, but I couldn't get the name out of either the cc company or the merchants.

[mj cruiser]

I actually used priceline to book that exact same hotel this past February.When we went there they mentioned they were going to sell it and build condos. The whole area has amazing condos up and down the beach. The pool was great! They had two sides to their hotel the priceline side and the more expensive side. The priceline side had smaller rooms but for the price it was fine. Hopefully priceline can move you!

[Leejnd4]

Well, here's their response:

 

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding the upcoming closure of the hotel for your reservation at the Sheraton Bal Harbour Resort in Bal Harbour, FL for Request Number 32690857112.

 

Ms. Clark, we thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We were not aware that this hotel will be closing. However, we have contacted the hotel and we have been assured that your reservation is secure and that you will enjoy the full level of service that this hotel has always offered. The hotel has informed us that the hotel will be fully staffed and that all amenities and services are available. As such, your reservations remain restricted and cannot be changed or cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause, but again, we expect that you will not experience any difficulties with this reservation.

 

We're sorry we didn't provide you the answers you were looking for and we thank you for your time."

 

 

Gee, I guess they appreciate me telling THEM that one of the hotels they sell is closing down! Anyway, oh well...we'll see.

[signman]

LeeAnne, Here's hoping you have a great stay. I hope you'll tell us all about it when you return.

[Schplinky]

I don't see how this is Priceline's fault or even that there is a problem? If the hotel is telling them that they have rooms available and that they will be fully staffed, what could Priceline do any differently than sell the rooms? You had a valid concern and it's been addressed but as long as they give you a room in a hotel that meets the criteria for resort, there is no issue. It's not Priceline's hotel, they simply sell rooms from their suppliers (the hotels and chains) and this one has claimed to have space and has assured them that it will be staffed. Priceline is v good at post-stay customer service and if you feel that you experienced less than satisfactory service, you should let them know.

 

Great price, by the way.

[Leejnd4]

I don't see how this is Priceline's fault or even that there is a problem? If the hotel is telling them that they have rooms available and that they will be fully staffed, what could Priceline do any differently than sell the rooms? You had a valid concern and it's been addressed but as long as they give you a room in a hotel that meets the criteria for resort, there is no issue. It's not Priceline's hotel, they simply sell rooms from their suppliers (the hotels and chains) and this one has claimed to have space and has assured them that it will be staffed. Priceline is v good at post-stay customer service and if you feel that you experienced less than satisfactory service, you should let them know.

 

Great price, by the way.

I didn't say it was Priceline's "fault". I did say that there is a problem -- that the hotel they sold me is being demolished only days after I stay there. I detailed my concerns, which I believe are quite valid. I think anyone who found themselves in a similar situation and WASN'T concerned would be rather naive. As I explained, I just find it unlikely that the hotel will be kept up to it's usual standards when it's about to be destroyed...especially in terms of maintenance. I.e. why spend the money to do a necessary polish on the marble floors when they're going to be torn out in days? And when you have a hotel full of employees who are going to be out of a job in a couple days, can you really expect them to be operating at their best? These are just examples of my concerns.

 

I bid on a resort level hotel because that's the type of property I want to stay at. I would happily have paid more -- I was prepared to continue to increase my bid until I got the property I wanted. I knew which properties Priceline was selling at that level, and I would have been satisfied with any of them. Regardless of how much I paid, I am expecting a place and level of service that one would find at resort properties, and I am concerned that this place won't deliver.

 

I understand that the hotel said they'll be fully operational...of course they're going to say that, they want to squeeze every last drop of money out while they can. But I'm skeptical. I'm sure Priceline gives good customer service, but I still feel that in this case they are not adequately addressing my valid concerns.

 

The proof will be in the pudding. I'll report back how it went after my cruise.

[Schplinky]

 

The proof will be in the pudding. I'll report back how it went after my cruise.

 

I hope you do report back and that you have a good time. Hopefully, the people who are still there are transferring to new properties and will want to be performing well. I know that when we used to close "bookstores" we let the lacklustre staff go first and by the time the store was nearly closed, only the keepers were left. Hopefully, this will be your experience.

[Leejnd4]

Thanks for your good wishes. While I too hope the "lackluster" staff is gone, I do hope they are working with a full staff, and not just a skeleton crew! That's also one of my concerns.

 

One thing I'm curious about is if they are demolishing the pools as well as the hotel. I've read that the pools are really phenomenal. If they are keeping the pools for the condos, then I assume they'll be kept up. If not, then I would have additional concerns that they might have fallen into disrepair by the time we're there.

 

But I'm really hoping that my report will be filled with glowing reviews of how great our stay was! If so, Sheraton will have created a customer for life. :)

[Schplinky]

It's sad but my guess is they will demolish the pools. Maybe you will be one of the last to enjoy them. It seems like everyone wants "new" now.

 

Have fun. I love the Sheraton brand. We stayed at the Sheraton in DT Miami last year and it, too, was converted to a condo afterward (or torn down to make room for one) and I can tell you that we didn't feel any differently as guests. We did have a nightmare getting a non-smoking room that was not recentyly smoked in. There was a big music convention and all the rooms smelled like they'd been used for smoking lounges!

 

We love Sheratons and the comfort of their Super Sleeper beds.

[Jason's Storm]

I would say, go and enjoy your stay. If it is closed when you go, call and complain (that day) to Priceline. Keep going up the chain until you get an answer you want. That secondary hotel, don't have a CC guarentee on it, unless it has a late cancel on it. If all else fails, call on Chris Elliot.;)

 

~JS