Avoiding hotel checkout hassles/errors
 

When I went to check out of a hotel recently, I was asked to pay a higher daily rate than I had been quoted over the phone for all but the first night. I was also charged for parking, even though I had been told it would be free when I made my reservation. The total difference was almost $150 for a six night stay. I had the name of the reservation clerk but nothing in writing. He no longer worked at the hotel, it turned out.
In this case, I was lucky enough to get the rates reduced to what I had been quoted.
My question is: Does this happen often, and should we all be asking for written/e-mail confirmation of rates to prevent such problems.

mscarls, most hotels will e-mail you confirmation now (and I always write down the confirmation number & rate details when I'm on the phone reserving.) Then when I'm checking in, I confirm the rates for the entire stay before I give them my credit card for imprinting. Yep, always best to get it all in writing........

We travel frequently, and what I do is send e-mails outlining the cost of everything that will be incurred during my stay and ask for a confirmation that those figures are correct.

Once I receive that, it goes in with my tickets and passport, and when I check in, I pull it out and confirm. (Or, if I'm in a laid back frame of mind, I don't confirm it, but if there's a problem during check out, then out comes the ammo.)

I don't ever throw any kind of fit (I reserve glacial looks and terse language for truly bad situations), but I politely insist that I receive the deal I was quoted until I get what I was promised.

A friendly and non-confrontational, "hmmm, that's not what X said the cost would be," has always worked for me."

Always, always get it in writing!

I've never made a hotel reservation that I didn't get in writing. I thought that was standard practice. I don't stay at cheap motels or anything, though, they might not do that, but any moderate hotel in a major city I've stayed at has done that (or even small cities). I think reputable and professional hotels do that. I think I have asked if a confirmation would be mailed to me at times, and it was, but every time I've asked they said they were going to send it anyway, it was standard procedure.

I've never had a hotel change a rate on me.

I always carry my email confirmation with rate included with me. Plus, all of the hotels I have ever stayed at showed me my rate during check IN and asked me to initial it.