MelJ

i returned yesterday from a 10 day trip to California with a bunch of girlfriends. I booked several hotels in advance via Travelocity, so they were paid in full when booked.

In Monterey, we had booked two nights at a hotel that offered beachside rooms, great pictures, etc. When we arrived we were given a "pet friendly" room on the garden side and it stunk! Two of the girls are allergic to pets. I called Travelocity immediately and, after about an hour of trying to get the foreign agent to understand me, they spoke to the front desk and returned to say that they could "cancel for us, but no refund--for either nights." Why? Because we had to give 24-hours notice to cancel. HUH???? What happened to the "we'll make it right, blah, blah, blah stuff?" I finally got a supervisor (I think) on the line. Also foreign, I had trouble understanding him, but he basically told me the same thing. I reminded him that the hotel had, in effect, voided our contract by placing us in a pet-friendly room and he agreed to talk to the front desk again and call me back. He never called back. We moved to another hotel. The next day I got an email from Travelocity asking me to rate their "customer service." Of course, I haven't answered. I plan to make more phone calls.

We had another lousy hotel in Napa, but I'm not even going to bring that up to Travelocity. It was a dump and we agreed to just eat the money and move on.

Any suggestions for how to get this first hotel situation straightened out?

Thanks!

irishswampyankee

Notify your credit card company to dispute payment. Then call Travelocity and insist on talking with someone who speaks English and has the authority to help you. Don't worry about being PC. In the future, consider just using secondary booking companies to search options and make final reservations with hotels directly.

janisj

Travelocity didn't put you in that room -- Travelocity simply booked you into the hotel.

I would not have even bothered calling Travelocity -- I would have gone to the hotel manager and stood there until a solution was agreed upon. Unless it was booked solid they probably would have moved you. Not quite sure what your beef is w/ travelocity (and why are you booking a hotel through them anyway?? Booking directly w/ hotel websites normally gets you as good or better rates)

Not sure I can see why a cc dispute is realistic. Did your travelocity booking specifically state no pets?

Gretchen

I like the credit card idea.

Keith

Actually, part of the time Travelocity has a deal that beats what you can get booking directly. I check both and go with the better deal.

janisj

"I like the credit card idea."

OK -- maybe I'm missing something, but what did Travelocity not provide that was paid for? A cc dispute isn't for when someone just doesn't like a particular room . . .

tom42

>

The hotel "offered" beachside rooms but did you book that category of room? If so, I would have gone to the front desk of the hotel to complain and insist on a room in the category booked (or higher, if no room was available in your category).

I don't really get why your initial action was to call Travelocity and have them speak to the front desk. Why wouldn't you do that directly?

tom42

>

That is not always the case. There have been a number of times where I've gotten a better rate going through hotels.com, expedia, travelocity, etc.

janisj

"That is not always the case. There have been a number of times where I've gotten a better rate going through hotels.com, expedia, travelocity, etc."

Sure -- but usually when I get a great deal w/ one of the booking sites -I call the hotel and they match it or even beat it. Not always, but most of the time.

But I do know 100% for sure if I don't like a room, my first action is to speak to the front desk/manager - not a call center in India.

MelJ

First, of course I spoke to the front desk first and, of course, I insisted that we did not want a pet-friendly room. I was told that the hotel was completely booked up with an annual Nascar event and all the beachside rooms were reserved a year in advance (are, in fact, reserved year-to-year by this group. I didn't mention this in my original post because I thought it was a given that one would work first with the hotel, hence my title that this was a Travelocity complaint.

Next: No, the confirmation did not say "beachside," so I didn't dispute this. What I disputed was the pet-friendly.

Why did I then call Travelocity? Because their slogan is that "We'll look out for you before and during your trip.
Everything about your booking will be right, or we'll work with our partners to make it right." The pet-friendly room was NOT right.

Why did I book through Travelocity? (for Janisj): Why not? They guarantee to beat all prices and it's nice to use a one-stop place to book if you're doing several nights in different places.

sf7307

MelJ, I'm not arguing about using Travelocity (I've done so myself) or about whether you spoke to the front desk first (it does seem illogical that you would not have done so), but I do wonder whether your reservation was for a "pet-free" room. If it were not, I'm not sure you have a legitimate complaint. I also hate the idea of staying in rooms that have housed dogs, but I don't always remember to check first. If I don't, though, isn't that on me?

november_moon

Unfortunately, I don't know that you have a case either. You booked a room through Travelocity at a particular hotel, you got a room at that hotel, and a room in the category you booked. I don't see how Travelocity is at fault here because you didn't want a pet-friendly room. As for the hotel, if they were booked up, then they were booked up. Where else were they supposed to put you?

I don't like rooms where people smoke, so I always try to find completely non-smoking hotels. If I were allergic to cigarette smoke, then I would definitely go with non-smoking hotels. Same goes when someone is allergic to dogs - have to make sure to stay in hotels that don't allow pets. When people have particular medical conditions, they have the responsibility to make the proper arrangements to accomodate their conditions.

janisj

Sorry -- I took your post as it was written: "I called Travelocity immediately " So assumed that is what you did first.

Anyway, if there are ANY specific requirements/deal breakers whether is it pet friendly, non-pet friendly, handicap accessible, ocean view, separate beds, whatever -- it is best to book w/ the hotel directly. Not sure what Travelocity did wrong here . . .

NewbE

IMO, the only legitimate beef the OP has with Travelocity is that their slogan is hyperbole: there are, in fact, situations they can't fix, and this is one of them. You got a room in the category you paid for, the original contract having no specific guarantee that the room would not be pet-friendly or anything else. You asked the hotel to make you happy, but they couldn't, or wouldn't. The terms of your agreements with both the hotel and Travelocity were honored; this is one of those times when you were going to be unhappy whether you booked through the hotel or through Travelocity. The OP did nothing wrong, no one did anything wrong, this was just bad luck.

MelJ

I think the answers here are, for the most part, spot on. I guess I made the mistake of not requesting a room where pets had never been. Since I've recently traveled with my two dogs I should have thought about that (which I've never, ever thought of before). I guess that's another category that should be screened by the purchaser before booking. So I'll eat this one, too.

But, I must say, Travelocity didn't cite any of this as a reason not to honor our request to cancel. They simply said we hadn't canceled 24 hours in advance of arrival. By the way, they wouldn't let us cancel the second night at this time, either.

Live, learn and ask the right questions, I guess...

Brian_in_Charlotte

NewbE nailed it. Travelocity is asking for disgruntled customers like the OP for heavily advertising that they can and will fix any problem with a hotel.

MFNYC

In this situation I would have also complained to all parties involved. We've had times when they put us in smoking room when we requested otherwise. They always give the line "we are booked", but if persistent enough, a room miraculously may become available.

One lesson learned here, whether you book through Travelocity, Expedia, or the hotel itself, carefully check reviews before booking. Also, if a hotel is pet-friendly, make sure to request a non-pet room. If it isn't an option when you book (like non-smoking), call the hotel after making the reservation and put in any requests that you may have. Even better, do it by email so you have a paper trail that you can bring along.

NewbE

I am almost certain I would not have done that, either--wouldn't have occurred to me, although I, too, have traveled with pets. I recently prepaid for a room -- not through Travelocity -- and while I did call ahead to ask for a king bed and non-smoking room, I wasn't guaranteed these and was worried they wouldn't come through. They did, but if they hand't, I would not have had much recourse. It's frustrating when things go wrong you can't fix, especially in the course of a much-anticipated and expensive trip. Here's to hoping this was your one lightning strike, MelJ