We were making a trip to another city for a funeral, and our dogs were accompanying us. I used a website entitled DogFriendlyHotels. I chose a "name brand" hotel, and received an e-mail confirmation, which I printed and took along.
Upon arriving at the hotel, I was informed the hotel was not and had never been dog-friendly in any way. The desk clerk called the 800# on my reservation sheet, told them the property was not dog-friendly. When the website asked if the hotel would be charging for the room reservation, the desk clerk told the representative he didn't feel the hotel would. The website representative asked when he could call and speak with a hotel management person to confirm there would be no charge. The desk clerk told him to call the next morning.
I then asked to speak with the website representative. I asked him what I should do, as we needed a place to stay. He asked me to hold the line while he tried to find me a motel. I did this for the next 1.5 hours, as he kept coming up with solutions that included $35-$100 per dog. (There are 2, a Golden Retriever and an English Setter... Very well-traveled and behaved) I was not prepared to pay that additional amount; and the website refused to pay it.
I asked to speak with a supervisor, was disconnected, called back, started the process all over, and after another 30 mins of frustration, finally spoke to a supervisor. The supervisor told me if the hotel charged anything, the website would place that charge on my credit card. He also told me the entire problem was my fault, as I should have called the property after making my reservation, to confirm the hotel was dog-friendly. I asked the supervisor where that instruction appeared on either the website or the confirmation e-mail... It doesn't!
Finally I hung-up on the rude supervisor, found a dog-friendly, no-charge hotel on my own, and had a very satisfactory room.
The next morning I checked my credit card on-line. Sure enough there was an $183.00 charge for the 2 night reservation.
I then called my credit card to place a complaint on the charge, and faxed them a copy of my confirmation e-mail, which had all policy information on it.
After returning home a couple of days later, I called the hotel property and was told Dog Friendly never called them to see if they would charge for the cancelation, but they had decided on there own there would be no charge. I spoke with a manager.
After waiting another week, I checked, and the credit card still had the $183. Charge on it. I called the credit card company again to inform them of the latest things I had done and what I had been told by the hotel assistant manager. They asked me to call DogFriendly and ask them if they had contacted the hotel the day after our reservation, to find out if the hotel was charging them for the reservation.
I called DogFriendly, they told me "unfortunately the hotel had charged them the full price" and that is why it was on my credit card. After more discussion, since I knew the hotel had decided NOT to charge, the customer service representative asked for me to hold while he called the hotel.
He came back on the line, 5 minutes later, to tell me it was "taking longer than usual to contact the hotel" and would I hold for another 4 or 5 minutes. Five minutes later he came on again and stated he would credit my card for the $183., minus a $25, cancelation fee. I expressed my frustration at being charged anything.
My credit card company has offered to "eat" the $25. Cancelation fee, which is very nice of them, but they really shouldn't have to... We didn't cancel the reservation.
I have yet to see the credit card show the refund, but there is always hope!
0 comments