Q: I’m having a problem getting a simple matter cleared up with Hotels.com. I booked a room at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Panama for two nights and received a confirmation number by e-mail.
When I arrived at the hotel, the staff couldn’t find my reservation. Instead of charging the $140-per-night rate that Hotels.com had confirmed, they charged me $250 a night. It was impossible to reach Hotels.com at the toll-free numbers provided, so we had no choice but to stay at the resort’s rate.
Since that time, I’ve asked for a refund from Hotels.com, but have received nothing but delayed responses and excuses. It’s been four months, and I’m really getting frustrated. Can you please see what you can do?
–Donna Katos, Clearwater, Fla.
A: Gamboa Rainforest Resort should have honored the price it confirmed through Hotels.com. That is, if it actually confirmed the rate in the first place.
Here’s the problem. When you book a reservation online, the actual transaction often happens by fax — a technology that isn’t entirely reliable, especially when the paper runs out. I’m willing to bet that your hotel never received the reservation from Hotels.com, and therefore had nothing it could confirm.
When you arrived at the resort, the staff charged you what appears to be full price for your room. I checked room rates for the time of year you stayed there; ironically, you could have gotten a $25 discount by booking your room online with the hotel (instead of at the front desk) after your first reservation fell through.
I can’t blame the Gamboa Rainforest Resort for charging you the higher rate. Rates are usually set by a hotel’s reservations system, not by the employees who are helping you at the desk, and rooms booked at the last minute are almost always priced higher than those purchased in advance.
But instead of letting this rate discrepancy go, the hotel should have tried to sort things out with Hotels.com. You could have applied a little pressure, too. Had someone reached out to Hotels.com while you were a guest at the resort, I think the problem could have been resolved before you checked out.
Refunds can take three to four billing cycles these days, which can add up to more than four months. I’m reasonably sure that Hotels.com would have given your money back eventually, but I think you’ve been more than patient. A travel company can take your money with the swipe of a credit card. It really shouldn’t take four months to return it.
Next time you make a booking online, consider calling the hotel to confirm your reservation before you arrive. You might also think about consulting a travel agent, who you could have phoned from Panama and who would have made sure that the rate you were originally offered was the one you paid.
I contacted Hotels.com on your behalf, and it apologized for your experience, blaming the lost reservation on a “back-end” issue at the company. It promised a prompt refund of $220, plus a $200 credit.
Sign up for my 
{ 1 trackback }
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
As soon as I read the headline I knew that the booking was through some third party company. I never use these sites and even if I did one should still contact the hotel directly to confirm the reservation.
Bob
I had the exact same thing happen with Hotels.com. I booked a hotel in Tempe, AZ on a last minute basis. When I arrived there was no record anywhere of my reservation. I ended up paying the prevailing rate. When I contacted Hotels.com about the missing reservation they were evasive and obnoxious. They have lost my business and that of any else I tell this story to.
The key to this story is the last line of Sarah’s statement, ” . . they have lost my business . .”. That’s what I also do if/when I encounter a similar situation with a product or service: I don’t do repeat business and I spread the story to whoever will listen. Unfortunately for travelers, hotel rooms and airplane seats are not always easy to find, let alone pay for (with the inexplicable higher costs), so where we take our business to sooner or later will likely present us with the same problem (aka this week’s Ritz Carlton in Naples story). That’s when i don’t have an alternative (start at the beginning again??).
Actually, the key to this story is “hotels.com.” As a twenty-five-year veteran of the hotel industry I can say with one hundred percent certainty that third-party bookings are NEVER secure. That is like painting a sign on your forehead that says “please, ruin my vacation!”
Don’t be cheap. Cough up the extra money and make your reservations directly with the hotel. They will get you the best available rate.