Jeri Kellerman’s visit to Washington does not go as planned. There’s a power outage at her hotel, and she spends the night in darkness and freezing cold. Now she’s only being offered 50 percent off her room. Is she owed more?
HOLIDAY INN
Meryl Lee Seewald thought she was booking just one night at the Holiday Inn Miami International Airport. Instead, she booked eight.
When Nula Fales’ granddaughters are charged for an extra room, she appeals to her online travel agent for help. But it won’t return her money, even though she didn’t mean to reserve two rooms. Is she out of luck?
When the power went out in Jeri Kellerman’s hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express in Poulsbo, Wash., she and her husband spent the night in pitch black and freezing cold.
If you thought hotels just stock the minibar in your room with overpriced bottles of Fiji in order to line their pockets, think again. Sure, at $6 or more per container, it’s liquid gold — but it could also prevent all of your guests from getting sick when the tap water is no longer safe to drink.
Gary Benedik was driving through Memphis recently when he decided to stop for the night. He made a reservation at a Holiday Inn, but discovered a short while later that the hotel was too far out of the way. But by then it was too late: he’d already been charged for the room.
He books a refundable rate at the Holiday Inn, but when Harvey Kaplan’s hotel changes its name and his card is charged early, it refuses to adjust his rate to a cheaper, prepaid price. Now his charge card has sided with the property. Is he stuck with the bill?
Kristin Budden’s hotel promises her a refund for her nonrefundable hotel room after a hurricane strikes. But months later, there’s no sign of the money and the hotel has gone into radio silence. Should she kiss the money goodbye?
Gabriel Medina can’t reach his hotel in New Orleans because there’s a police barricade in front of it. A manager promises to “help” him cancel the reservation, but three days later, his credit card is charged $113. Now his credit card has sided with the hotel. Is there anything else he can do?
Next time you cancel a hotel room, get a number. Otherwise you might have to pay for your reservation, whether you show up or not. Cancellation numbers, like reservation numbers, are verifications of a transaction. They’re useful not only for the hotel, but also for your credit card company in the event of a dispute.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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