beware of hoteldiscounts.com
 

Beware of this site. I made reservations on line for a hotel in NY and got an e-mail confirmation about an hour later. A week later and a day before I was leaving, I called the hotel to confirm my reservations and lo and behold, they didn't have any under my name. So I called hoteldiscounts.com and they tell me that my credit card was voided because of some silly reason. Asked why then did they send an e-mail confirmation or better yet, why they didn't send another e-mail to the contrary given that they have my e-mail address, they said, that is not their job. What??!!! Beware!!

I had the same thing happen to me...except that it was a hotel in San Francisco...thank goodness the hotel had ONE bedroom left....ONE! Don't use this service by any means!!!!!

I have used them on several occasions and have yet to have any problems!

This happend to me twice in a 3 month period. Their excuses are unacceptable so I don't use them anymore. I find other websites to be just as good though admittedly the offerings aren't as plentiful. It's a perfectly good website it's just that they don't and won't accept any responsibility for mess-ups. And that is not right.

I used them to book a hotel in Aruba for one night.When we got to Aruba, they wouldn't honor the rate that I found with this website and instead charged us with their regular rates. So now, I'd rather book with the hotel directly to avoid problems like this.

Ugh, my bad experience with them just resurfaced after reading Tina's posting. I too found a great rate for a Boston hotel I needed for the ff day. Not only did the hotel not honor the px I thought was entitled to, they also told me hoteldiscounts does the exact same "strategy" all the time. Makes one wonder why they have remained in business this long.

And if you didn't know, hoteldiscounts.com = hotels.com

I have used them too, but it seems like I was lucky that I did not experience any problems. They certainly had the best price at the time. <BR><BR>They were even running a promotion where a rebate was given after you booked and stayed at the hotel. It was about $20 rebate for our 3 night stay in NYC. I was skeptical that I'd see a cheque (because of the process they used), but a few weeks later it arrived in the mail.<BR><BR>I know on their confirmations, they ask you to call them about any reservation questions as the hotels do not have individual guests names in advance...something to do with the rooms being under a block booking, which is why they can offer reduced rates (they buy a block of rooms at a time).<BR><BR>In the future, I'd use them again but having heard the issues raised here I would confirm my reservations with them.

Thanks everyone!<BR>Just erased them from my "bookmarks"

And they have the most imcompetent "customer care" specialists. Last fall, I called them to confirm three reservations I made. The first wasn't confirmed (made my heart skip a beat)but the second two were. So I hang up and called again and spoke to a different "specialist" and true enough, she confirmed all three. More training please or you'll lose your patrons.

LOL. That last response was funny. That happens with fedex too. U do get different answers if you hang up and call again.

Karen, do you know FedEx is buying UPS? The new company will be called FedUP!

The problem of confirmed rates given by internet agencies not being honoured when you check in is not confined to hoteldiscounts.com. I had exactly the same probelm with travelocity, and their customer service people have a most efficient strategy for dealing with complaints: they just don't respond to emails! I would second the advice of the poster above who said something like, use these agents to check hotel names and locations, and then ring the hotel yourself. I never had a problem with that method.

Call the hotel you're interested in staying at, and tell them the rate you've been quoted by hotels.com. Ask them if they can match this rate, making a note to tell them that you don't care to book through hotels.com because of their reputation for poor customer service. <BR><BR>Even if you don't get the rate you want, at least you will be notifying the hotel that you do not like hotels.com. The only way to fight poor customer service is to nip it in the bud. If hotels don't use hotels.com, they'll either have to improve or will go out of business.

No wonder you had a problem with Travelocity, their hotel bookings are performed thru Hotel Reservations Network, the people behind hoteldiscount.com and hotel.com. Cheaptickets also uses the service of HRN.

Beware also of PlacesToStay.com as they are just another front for HRN but there is nothing disclosing this on their website.<BR><BR>I've had numerous problems and after discussing each incident with the hotels in question, I'm convinced that HRN was the problem, not the hotel. Further, their customer service staff are inept and rude. Will not have anything to do with this company.<BR><BR>They book you into a smoking room rather than reveal no non-smoking room is available.<BR><BR>If they have a contract w/ the hotel, the rooms given are the inferior rooms - my London hotel room was a basement level room!<BR><BR>My upcoming anniversary in Santa Fe was nearly ruined by this company first booking me a duplicate res and double charging, then cancelling both rooms when I asked this to be corrected.<BR><BR>They too, do not answer email complaints and when you call them they are just plain rude.

Now I am concerned too! I booked one night in Baltimore and one night in Annapolis for this fall- the Baltimore trip I am not as concerned about- I have already been charged and although it did notseem to matter in the cases stated above, I have a confirmation number- but in Annapolis, I could not get a room through the hotel - in April they wre booked for September - I did through Hotel discounters - what do I need to do now to make sure I have a room??? (This charge I have not seen on my credit card!)

Chances are that the "confirmation number" that you have is based on the discounter, not from the hotel. Call the hotel directly, and just ask if they have a room reserved for your name and nights. If not, book one and challenge the cc charge from the booking company if and when it shows up.

I have used this site several times with no problems. But I always call the hotel after receiving hoteldiscounts email confirmation to check that they have my reservation. Get the cheap deal and have peace of mind.

Between the trolls and the flames, sometimes I think this message board is not worth the angst. Then a thread like this comes up and keeps me going. Thanks for the heads up, everyone.<BR><BR>I use Travelocity when I must have a specific need, and Priceline when I'm more flexible. But confirming directly with the hotel in every case is a must. If they don't have your information, you're in trouble.

Re-read Suzy's post above. That confirmation number is NOT from the hotel. <BR><BR>It's always wise to check your reservation with the hotel, because the discounters (incestuous group, aren't they?) are known for spotty service.

Always call the hotel and confirm that your name is registered. Your confirmation # from hoteldiscounts.com means nothing to them so don't even think of using that in case you're not registered. I have used them about 4 times and have never registered on line. I always call the 800# and get down the full name of the person (& location)who helped me and I ask them specifically to "fax" the details to the hotel manually, as opposed to an e-mail from them to the hotel. My sister-in-law works at a hotel and she tells me to do all these as that website has a pretty wacky way of doing things. They always get guests who have hissy fits when they check in and find out that they are not registered. Why? Because they didn't bother confirming before they checked in.

Good God!! All that work for a low-priced ticket? How much does one really save when one goes this route? Is it really worth the aggravation? <BR><BR>