Sandra

Well a slightly argumentative man called from Hotel Blvd-still refusing to apologize for their mistake. Telling me all the how us americans are such problems and that I am ruining him by posting the story on travel boards and why should he help me or correct his mistake , he did this all while he was yelling at me thru a very bad internet phone conection. As his serivce is only as good as his word......( which is so far not something to make unrefundable reservations on) i will be happy to email a copy of there actually confirmation to any one interested..

Ed

This is a cautionary tale for everyone who thinks it might be a good idea to book hotels through a hotel booking service. <BR> <BR>I've yet to find a reason why booking directly with the hotel is not better than booking through a third party. <BR> <BR>Not all services are crooked, or incompetent, just some. Which ones? And why do you need them? <BR> <BR>twenj

Mariarosa

Hi Sandra! Am I reading your post correctly - they are not letting you cancel the reservation even though when you were making it the price was different? If so, you should be able to dispute it with your credit card.

Fred

&lt;&lt;I've yet to find a reason why booking directly with the hotel is not better than booking through a third party. &gt;&gt; <BR> <BR>I agree......and if you book through an agency, I suggest calling the hotel immediately to confirm the reservation. Every now and then someone shows up, agency confirmation in hand, and there's no room for them. For more Paris information e-mail me – [email protected]

topper

for once fred makes sense

L

Sometimes one is forced to go though a booking service ... I experienced this last year when booking a hotel I knew in Rome ... they advised me to go through a Leonardi hotel booking service. I am making plans now for Paris, and we booked directly with the hotel. And they FAX'ed their confirmation to us, no problem. While on the net, I found booking services charging $26 for what I was able to do via FAX and e-mail. It is outrageous when boooking services treat customers the way Sandra is being treated. I would keep spreading the word about them if I were you. Ciao

Surlok

Sandra, <BR> <BR>Was this a pre-paid reservation? If so, how did you pay? By credit card? <BR> <BR>If you prepaid the booking, and used your credit card to do so, I believe ( I'm Brazilian, so American or International rules might differ), that by sending a fax to the credit card administration, you would be entitled to a refund, because what happened to you, in my view, is fraud. You booked a room for a determined rate, and had the booking made at a higher rate. Unless there was, at some point, something that could be considered a consent by you, upon acknowledgment of the higher rate, you're entitled to have the transaction invalidated, and the amount paid refunded. <BR> <BR>Anyway, I'll check HB rules on their web site, and will be back to you later. <BR> <BR>Surlok

surlok

Sandra, <BR> <BR>This is what HB states on its FAQ about cancelation policies: <BR> <BR>"Our cancellation policy depends on whether or not we require payment in advance for your stay. If not, you can cancel up to 21 days of your arrival date without any penalty; if you cancel between 21 and 7 days of your arrival date we charge FRF 100; if you cancel within 7 days of your arrival the cancellation fee is the equivalent of the cost of the first night of your stay. If you are asked to pay in advance for your stay, the cancellation policy changes depending on the hotel requested but we will inform you of the relevant cancellation policy before you reserve. <BR>Please note that prepayment is not required for the majority of hotels on our site." <BR> <BR>So, unless your stay starts in 7 days or less, and if you're really unhappy with the final rate you got, for the sake of your peace of mind, I advise you to book another hotel, preferably directly with the hotel, and cancel this reservation, even if it meeans paying a 100 FF fee. It's about 13 dollars, and I don't think it's worth of the trouble you'd be going through to cancel without any penalty. <BR> <BR>If your stay begins before this time frame, I don't think you'll have the time to book another hotel, and I don't think you could force HB to refund you the price difference. But then, whenever a booking is made within such a short notice, we are subjected to this sort of things. <BR> <BR>Otherwise, if you used the credit card to book, and it was a pre paid booking, being the hotel cancelation policy different, you can still contact your credit card administration, and try to get this payment canceled. <BR> <BR>Noneless, once you agreed with their terms ( and they are clearly stated on this FAQ), you accepted their rules. <BR> <BR>The final lesson is: ''Read the FAQ before you book, and if you don't agree with them, use another way to book". <BR> <BR>Surlok