Actually, there are plenty of times that company’s do the right things, it just on a site like this, you will not see it that often. That is because Chris helps people who, for what ever reason, need extra help when the company’s are not living up to their end of things.

For example, a company that did something right for me recently was American Airlines (a legacy carrier no-less, lol).

Back in January, I booked two non-refundable, non-transferable, coach tickets for me and my 80 year old grandmother to fly to Wichita, KS for my cousins high school graduation. Well, a few weeks before the trip, she became very ill to the point she was hospitalized for 5 days and then spent the next month in a skilled nursing facility. Because she was in the facility, and under a doctors care, she could not go on the trip.

After trying unsuccessfully to talk to someone in American Airlines Refund department (you can’t do it, the menu just sends you in circles or disconnects you), I e-mailed AA Manager of Customer Relations with my problem of needing to talk to someone in the refund department. Well, instead of passing me off to someone else, he and his team took on my issue.

In the end, AA issued me a transportation voucher, in my name, for the full purchase price of my grandmothers ticket. Did they have to do this, no, not at all. But in the end, they did the right thing. They could have just said sorry, you knew it was a non-refundable, non-transferable, ticket and kept the money and sent me on my way.

I think far too often we only hear about the bad side of company’s, because when they do something right, we are happy & have no reason to complain or contact someone like Chris.

I booked the room while traveling to Marshall, Tx for the funeral. When I got to the hotel, an hour later, I personally decided, as I stood in the lobby, that the place was a dump. I witnessed and smelled it myself.

If what Rebecca is saying is true, how can she be sued for defamation by La Quinta?

“The Hotwire Hot Rate quoted the La Quinta Marshall hotel as having a 2.5 star rating, but this place is a dump. It smells like dog feces, smoke and is mostly filthy. The parking lot does not have adequate security, lighting or locked exterior doors.

“To make matters worse, this hotel does not even have an elevator. My father has horrible arthritis in his knees and ankles, so the fact that this “2.5 star hotel” doesn’t even have an elevator is just unacceptable. I tried to cancel my reservation due to inadequate facilities, but have so far not had any luck. The Hotwire customer service reps say I cannot refund my room. Please help!”

This person books a nonrefundable room and later that day, somehow finds out about the actual condition of the hotel? How? Reading the reviews after booking at a third-party site? Or was there travel to the dog feces smell, climbing the staircase (I assume the dump had one of these) to the dirty room and returning to the burgled car in the unsafe parking lot?
Rebecca should know she can be sued for defamation by LaQuinta. Using the Internet over other methods is no protection.

Here lies the Ninja
RIP
Nobody was faster

@ John, probably 3 floors is the limit for major chains, but frankly, I’d be very surprised to find anything taller than 2 stories with no elevator. It’s hard on the staff to have to go up and down so many stairs all day long. For a mom-and-pop operation, it could be anything.

$32 a night deluxe room at the Westin Times Square in NYC after New Years
$1200 5 day package to Paris including airfare, 4 star hotel and car for 2
$185 round-trip flights to NYC from Dallas
$40 a night suite at the Marriot in Lubbock, Tx during TTU Homecoming

This incident with the La Quinta was the first time I have ever felt the need to complain. Now, I’m not that particular about the conditions of a place as long as the room is clean and relatively odorless, but the hotel in Marshall was a dump. I grew up on a ranch for Pete’s sake, and I can handle my share of bad smells, but a hotel room/lobby/hallway shouldn’t smell like a kennel. I can deal with a crap room, because I’m 27 and usually stay out all night anyway. My parents, however, were going to be in town for two days for a good friend’s funeral, so the last thing they should have to worry about is being stuck in a filthy dump that I trusted Hotwire to choose. When I book hotels on this site, I google hotels in the specified area and can usually guess what place Hotwire will choose. I also did my research on the site about which hotels were in each star rating, and assumed that La Quinta would not be in the 2.5 rating because its logo was in the 2.0. Don’t get me wrong, I have stayed in La Quintas my whole life and have always found them to be up to standard with clean rooms and friendly service. This one in particular was not.

So, long story short, I generally do not have a problem with Hotwire.com or their no refund or exchanges policy. I have usually been thrilled with the deals I get on their site, but this time, I felt like the star rating and the quality of the chosen hotel were deceptive. The representative that handled my request was professional, apologetic and willing to help in any way to resolve the issue and I fully intend on using the site again. I have found too many steals to let this one incident change my overall perception of Hotwire. Not all La Quintas are dumps and not all 2.5 star hotels have bare minimum amenities, but this one in particular should not have been one of Howire’s trusted hotels. In fact, the 2.5 star Holiday Inn Express my parents ended up in was a mile down the road and was brand spanking new, with an elevator. To each their own….

to Mr Elliott: It is great to read all the saviour story on your blog, I have been following every single one since the beginning. I just wonder if we are not located in the states, what should we do?

My wife and I do a lot of travelling. Our ratings (and desire for going back) are based on 1) clean rooms, 2) clean rooms, 3) clean rooms, 4) clean rooms, then 5) price/value. Clean rooms may be found at any star property. Unfortunately, it seems that the lower star properties tend to be more of a crap-shoot than with the higher properties.

As Kristina writes, star ratings have to do with amenities and services. When staying at a 2 star hotel, I still expect a clean room, I just don’t expect a concierge, valet parking, restaurant, gym, pool, business desk, FAX machines in room, turn-down service, etc.

Well, I knew that!

So thank you, all, for making this a worthwhile site to read, not just for the posts, but also the comments. You’re the best.

And now, back to the debate …

I have to respectfully disagree with your post. Hotwire and Priceline serve a segment of the market that you presumably are not part of. That’s why we have both Motel 6 and the Four Season. Different people have different needs and desires.

I personally avoid those sites like the plague. But I understand why others find them very useful.

Why would anyone book on this site anyway?

Why else but price? :)