520

I DID put the recipient's account numbe; I didn't put the SM invoice number, which the SM Accounts department has already responded to me to say that it was okay not to have the invoice number on the transfer.

520

I see that I wrote SM account number in my previous post. The consequences of writing in the wee hours
It was the INVOICE number(--she repeated.)

rhkkmk

i can just see a us presidential motorcade in yangon..

FromDC

So glad it worked out...SM was top notch when we used them in July

wintersp

I hear you Bob!

Better yet, imagine them walking the sidewalks without lookiing down every minute. And then there is the 'group' in horse carts in Bagan. Seriously, I doubt if they do anything but get out of the luxury vehicles and walk to the front door.

Elainee

Did you directly email BOB? They seem like a very nice and well organized business and they might be helpful. You might also call them as soon as your arrive in Burma. Good luck!

NLspirit

FilmWill and Hanuman ... Advice well taken. Many thanks! However ... NOT good news. I contacted our hotels and BoB in Burma for confirmation over the weekend. One hotel confirmed our reservation and also said that it was a good idea to check with our hotels directly because of problems since the recent huge interest in tourism.

The BAD news ... I also received another response saying that our reservation for 4 nights at Inle Lake had not been confirmed by SM and there was no reservation. This hotel said they had contacted them in August to confirm. My correspondence with SM on August 30 says they still hadn't received a response from the hotel indicating availability.

I replied to the Inle hotel, indicated we had responded immediately to SM in early September at their request to confirm the room and had made our deposit. I also copied my email confirmation details from SM and then contacted SM advising them what had transpired and asking what they intended to do. ASAP.

I truly didn't expect any of this to happen. Needless to say I'm upset but staying optimistic it will be resolved. Of all our 4 week travel plans in SE Asia this was the one hotel reservation we were most interested in.

I still haven't heard from the third hotel or from BoB. In 35 plus years of travel this is the first time I've ever had a problem with hotel reservations. I guess my lucky streak is in jeopardy. I'll be in touch with updates.

Hanuman

NL - sorry to hear that but at least you will have the chance to try and correct the problems before you get there.

Good luck!

Kathie

Do let us know how things develop. I hope it all works out for you.

NLspirit

Kathie & Hanuman. Thank you for your kind words. We're still in shock and hoping things will work out. However in the absence of confirmed and satisfactory accommodations in Burma, (especially Inle and still no word from the other hotel), it's likely we'll request a refund and reconsider our vacation plans to SE Asia before other payment deadlines approach. Even then we will have lost significant $ amounts. But we're remaining hopeful that we'll receive positive news soon. I also hope others on this forum will have contacted their agents for confirmation too. Please check in again ... I'll update as I hear something significant.

Smeagol

I really do have all my fingers crossed, so sorry to hear your troubles please keep us posted. It really is a cautionary tale as I have used SM before and they were fantastic and we are considering Myanmar Nov 13 but am already reconsidering whether I should use SM!!!

Kathie

Remember that you dealing with a country that has very basic and often unreliable infrastructure. It strikes me that even within-country communications have bogged down. I know that Santa Maria will do everything they can to make things right for you. Hang in there - we're cheering for you to get things resolved.

filmwill

Ditto. I hope it all works out for you. God knows how I felt when I was looking at just missing out on a tour--forget an unconfirmed hotel!

Speaking of: I've written all of ours and so far only heard back confirmation from Tharabar Gate. I suspect the others are just caught up in the usual Burma email vaccuum. I'll keep resending and hopefully we'll be all set on the hotel front.

Good luck, NLspirit!

520

On November 9th, I was on the line for over an hour with the 800 number for GMH to confirm our reservation with The Strand, but finally gave up. I e-mailed Din at SM on the 9th to confirm our BOB reservations and our hotel reservations--and haven't heard back yet. I had asked him about something else about The Strand, the previous week, and he had e-mailed me immediately that The Strand was confirmed. We booked a B & B in Inle Lake ourselves, The Princess Garden Hotel, and they confirmed back in July--but I think I'll call them tonight to reconfirm. Haven't tried Tharabar Gate or Rupar Mandalar, Mandalay hotel. Our Pandaw Cruise is, of course, confirmed....

And all our flights are confirmed.

Guess I'll call the other hotels tonight....

Hanuman

Wow so far 3 out 3 SM customers who will be traveling soon are having reservation troubles! At least filmwill has resolved his BoB problem and I hope both NL and 520 will be able to sort out theirs as well. Imagine if you guys didn't check and to arrive in Myanmar without a hotel reserved!

520

I wouldn't say I'm having reservation problems, Hanuman. As far as I know I'm confirmed on everything--I do know my flights are confirmed, The Strand is confirmed. I have an itinerary from April saying that everything is confirmed, and I booked the B & B in Inle Lake myself because they don't deal with travel agents, and they confirmed in July. BOB was confirmed by SM when I paid the first half of the trip in early May. The only reason I'm expressing concern is because of the experience Will has reported. And, of course, hearing about Smeagol's experience is disturbing.

From everything I've read, I think all travel agents, hotels, and probably everything else that applies to foreigners is overwhelmed and just not up to coping with what is, for them, a huge increase in tourism and business people wanting accommodations and immediate responses in a country. This in a country barely equipped to take care of the number of travellers that had been visiting until now.

I'll report back after contacting the other hotels AND SM.

520

My reservations are confirmed at Tharabar Gate and at The Strand; from everything I'ver read about the Rupar Mandar, it's not that filled--EVEN with the hordes descending, so I don't think I'm going to call. The only thing I don't have confirmed, then, is BOB and I haven't been able to get through to SM this evening--but given the terrific experiences I've had with SM throughout the process of planning our trip and that many others on this forum have had with SM until now-with these two recent exceptions--I feel pretty comfortable about things.

Hanuman

520, I think I misread your comment when you wrote <i>" I was on the line for over an hour with the 800 number for GMH to confirm our reservation with The Strand, but finally gave up."</i> I thought you meant that your reservation with the Strand was not there. Glad all is in order!

520

Hanuman, "on the line" is idiomatic; it would have been more precise to say I was waiting on the phone...but, happily, reservation is there and it was much easier to get through to The Strand by dialing them directly than by trying to get through on the GMH 800 number.


And, yes, I'm glad that all is in order, too! (I haven't confirmed BOB and may keep trying to reach SM, but not tonight.

NLspirit

Good news. This morning I received replies from both the hotel in Bagan and BoB .... all is well and our reservations have been confirmed. Both responses were very friendly and personal ... a pleasant departure from the form response one sometimes gets.

I still haven't received a reply from SM or from the Inle hotel where the reservation problem exists so I'm hopeful they're both working on a solution. If internal communications systems are being compromised, as Kathie has suggested may have happened, it's possible it created havoc with the initial reservation process. I'm not sure this can be resolved easily if the hotel is fully booked but given my experience with SM I do think they will try to resolve the situation soon.

I'm still optimistic my long time dream of visiting Burma will be realized. And my friends will be happy that I'll stop talking about it! (Just kidding of course.) They'll just have to put up with the stories I'll bring back! Many thanks again to everyone ... I really appreciate your encouragement and support. I'll post updates as they occur.