|
Hotel Secrets
Who doesn’t like to stay at a hotel? It's a nice break from your daily routine and from activities such as making your bed and cleaning your home, and if you’re on vacation, you can take a break from the working world as well. When you make a reservation at a hotel, do you ever wonder if somehow, some way, you’ll be charged for something that you should not be charged for? There are a few little known hotel secrets and procedures that much of the public is not aware of. We hope to enlighten you with this information, and protect you so when it’s time for you to make your next hotel reservation – you’re a bit more prepared.
When you first decide to make a reservation, you should call the hotel directly. Most of the time a hotel’s website will advertise special deals and weekend packages, but many times if you call the hotel directly, you may be able to receive a lower price. Also, if you discuss certain preferences with the hotel agent, know that these are just that – preferences. Things like smoking or non-smoking rooms, rooms with two queen beds, a refrigerator, Internet access, etc. – if these things are important to you, be sure to guarantee them when you speak to the hotel agent.
Another thing that hotels do, is charge a high rate for phone calls from your room. Before you make any calls, check with the front desk to see if they charge for phone calls. The last thing you want, is to be surprised by a huge bill on the day you check out.
We recently learned of another secret that many people do not know – see if the following has ever happened to you…
One family made a reservation at a popular hotel chain – they stayed at this one particular hotel location often, and made use of the hotel’s reward program. A couple of weeks after they made their reservation online, they received an email from the hotel saying that their particular hotel location was closing. The hotel said in their email, “we have every reason to believe that the hotel’s owners will continue to honor your reservation and rate as originally booked.” Although the hotel mentioned new owners, the family needed to make reservations for their upcoming trip at that time, and so they went online to see if there was any information about the closed hotel and what hotel might be opening in its place. They noticed that the hotel reservation was gone from their account, and their was no mention of a new hotel opening in its place. A month later, there was still no news about a new hotel opening in that location, so the family booked a room in another hotel chain nearby, and then joined that rewards program.
The family enjoyed staying at the new hotel, and so decided to make it their new vacation spot. A few months later, they noticed a charge on their bill from a hotel – the same hotel chain as the new hotel they had found. After calling and speaking with a rude manager, the family realized what had happened. Their old hotel chain that had closed, had transferred their original reservation to the new owners. Since they hadn’t shown up for their reservation, they were charged as a “no show.” The family had not received any notice of a new hotel opening on that property, nor was their original reservation in their online account. Not ever encountering this type of situation, they assumed that their reservation was gone. It’s true - if you have a reservation in a hotel and that hotel closes, that hotel will most likely transfer your reservation to the new owners of the existing hotel.
We’re glad to say though, that after numerous attempts to receive their money back, this family was finally able to get their refund. Now they are more knowledgeable about hotel practices :).
So, before you make hotel reservations, be sure to double check your information – know what you’re preferences are, and make sure you convey them to the person you make the reservation with. If your hotel happens to close while you have a reservation, be sure to call that hotel chain’s main number and cancel that reservation. Get a cancellation number just in case your reservation gets transferred anyway, so you can provide it to the new hotel owners when they’ve charged your credit card as a “no show.” Armed with this information, we hope we’ve made you a more knowledgeable traveler, and hopefully, have saved you some money as well.
Related Checklist:
Below are some items you may find useful while staying at a hotel. Use Amazon.com's secure server to order:
Click here to read other articles by My ParenTime's Family Community.
Copyright © My ParenTime's Family Community. This article may not be reproduced without written permission.
|