Thom123

So i try different online Hotel booking companies all the time. For the first time i thought i would try Skoosh. Never again will i spend my money on them and neither should you unless you want to be disappointed, even if they are cheaper. Every other company i have dealt with online charges me what the Hotel charges and the final bill i get at the end of my stay is exactly what the online company charges me, there is NO difference. Well, Skoosh thought it would be cute to over charge me. Skoosh charges me $125 for a one night stay at a nice Hotel in October 2008. Well when i got there the Hotel staff told me i was way over charged and that the Hotel stay was only going to be $93. They were shocked, i was shocked. After asking Skoosh to please refund the difference of the two amounts, they basically said too bad we can't do that. I gave them ample opportunity to give great customer service and refund the difference, especially since EVERY OTHER online company has the same charges as the final bill as other Hotels i've been to. So this has been a terrible experience with Skoosh and will spread the word as much as i can with as many online review sites as i can. Skoosh, you did the wrong thing, you know it, own up to it, and you know who i am with the amount of info in this complaint. I encourage and hope others will stay far away from Skoosh and also post bad experiences all over the internet. Bad business practice, bad customer service.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Let the buyer beware!

Sorry - I have worked the front desk at a chain hotel for some time, and I can tell you that practically all the booking companies at one time or another will charge a higher price than you could have booked directly. Sometimes it's because you used "affinity group pricing" (AAA, VFW, union, credit union deals) and sometimes it's even higher than the rack rate at the hotel.

I always use the booking companies to give me a list of hotels, then I shop those hotels' own websites to shop the best prices ... sometimes the booking company DOES have the better price.

While this doesn't help you, maybe the next shopper can be saved unnecessary expense.

Do your homework!

John

First time poster!!

Former employee of Skoosh???

LindainOhio

I have booked and cancelled reservations on skoosh. No problem.

The reason to use an online booking agent is because they beat the online hotel rates or they have a better cancellation policy. If every other booking agent charges you what the hotel charges, why do you book with them?

Skoosh is not required to refund your prepaid reservation. Look at their cancellation policy. The hotels I booked through them had a 24 hour cancellation policy. You cannot ask for an adjustment at the front desk or with skoosh customer service. You are not accepting their policy and are being unreasonable.

Depending on when you booked your hotel, rates do change and it's always a good idea to double check rates before your stay. It's very quick to check rates if you do a search on www.kayak.com. You can cancel your reservation and rebook at the lower rate but you are responsible for finding the lower rate. When you book online, you are your own travel agent.

I found skoosh when searching for hotels on www.kayak.com. I did a search to find out more information on them and found an MSNBC article that recommended them.

I did find an error on skoosh though. They offered the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel for $179. I immediately booked 2 rooms. About a week later, I realized that they had booked me in the Banff Springs in Scotland. I cancelled and notified kayak about the error.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience but Skoosh is not to blame.

nytraveler

Unless Skoosh advertises that they always give the best rate - or a money back guarantee - you have no grounds to complain.

When you book a hotel you have the responsibility to check rates and understand what you're getting. You booked at a higher rate - and have no reason to expect them to give you a refund based on their conditions of sale.

NeoPatrick

Thom, what made you come here to complain? If you had come here for advice before, you'd have probably been told not to book that way anyway.

But why would anyone book with a supposed discounter without also checking with the hotel direct first? Anyone who does that, in my opinion, deserves to be ripped off. The first rule of using ANY discount website is to first find out what it would cost to book direct. Skoosh, like all sites, depends on suckers like you to not check out what they should be paying.

This is almost as stupid as going on Priceline and bidding and winning $350 for an interstate 2 star motel and then complaining when you get there that the room only normally costs $79. Duh!

SAnParis2

I've never even heard of skoosh, & I guess I don't need to. Thom needs to look in the mirror on this one. $125 for a nice hotel.....hmmmm I won't get into the definition of 'nice' either. Maybe in Sheboygan ?