Question: I’m not sure how to resolve a hotel problem, and I hope you can help me. My daughter and I had reservations at the Ramada St. Cloud last spring. We had a blizzard and no unnecessary travel was advised. The roads were almost impassable.
We decided to not attempt the drive. I contacted the hotel twice that day to cancel. I spoke with the general manager, and she told me that she could not actually enter a cancellation, but that she would note that I had called to cancel. A weather-related cancellation would “not be a problem,” she told me.
But a few days later, a charge was posted to my credit card account. I tried working directly with the hotel and was treated very rudely. I eventually received a letter from Ramada saying that I had not canceled my reservation, and that my card had been charged.
I disputed the charge with my credit card company, but it sided with the hotel. Any suggestions? — Bonnie Polk, Minneapolis
Answer: Ramada should have canceled your reservation and never charged your credit card, as promised.
Why didn’t it? The standard Ramada refund policy says you have to notify the hotel by 6 p.m. the night before you arrive, or your card will be charged for one night’s stay. There’s no mention of an exception for weather, so it would be up to the hotel to waive its policy when you can’t check in because of a storm.
Phoning the hotel was a good idea, but I would have started with a call to Ramada’s main reservation number. They might have referred you back to the St. Cloud location, but not before making a notation on your record that you were trying to cancel your reservation. That might have been helpful later, when Ramada charged your credit card for a room you didn’t use.
When a manager told you that your reservation couldn’t be canceled in the system, you should have politely asked what you could do to get a cancellation number. Under ideal circumstances, the hotel would send you a cancellation number in writing — either by email or regular mail. That number would have allowed you to win your credit-card dispute, hands down.
If Ramada’s reservation system was out of order (which can happen during a blizzard) then you might have asked the manager to send you an email assuring you that your reservation had been canceled and that you won’t be charged. Again, that’s probably enough to make any card dispute go in your favor.
At the very least, ask for the name, extension and email address of the managers who authorized the cancellation. Note the time of your conversation, too. When the hotel began sending you rude letters, you could have replied with information from those notes. This isn’t as effective as having a cancellation number, but it’s better than nothing.
Ramada should have allowed you to cancel your reservation without any penalties, but I can almost understand why it didn’t. When a storm is bearing in on your hotel and all of your guests are canceling, it’s not always easy to keep track of who you talked to and what you said.
Still, a simple phone call to the manager should have been enough to clear up this misunderstanding. Too bad it wasn’t.
I contacted Ramada on your behalf, and it refunded the charge for your hotel room.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
In addition to using the hotel’s main reservation number, I would consider getting another credit card company. They should have backed you up on this one.
Don’t count on CC companies to “back you.” They are afraid of losing an account and will in most instances side with the hotel. Best bet is to ALWAYS get something in writing from the hotel/motel. As posted, a cancellation number will suffice but to whom you spoke to, time and circumstances, well documented, may be the answer.
Inasmuch as there is no such thing as “customer service” anymore, you should not be surprised at Ramada’s answer. It’s all in making you work for your refund if, indeed, you ever get one. This is from a 37-year business traveler!
Jason Carbolier, Duluth, GA
I have to say, the idea of a hotel charging a cancellation fee when the hotel is not full really pisses me off. A fee should only be charged when the hotel is actually full, except for the rooms held for eventual no-shows.
If the hotel has vacancies (unbooked and unused rooms), then the hotel is collecting a fee, even though there was zero hardship for the hotel. If the hotel is overbooked and they put somebody in the no-show’s room, then they are double-dipping for that room, also a reprehensible practice.
Personally, I usually use my corporate contract rates when travelling (even traveling personally, which is allowed under my company’s contracts), as it guarantees a 6PM day-of-arrival cancellation policy.
SirWired
I guess I won’t be staying at Ramada St. Cloud. Chris is being very generous with the hotel. Forget the self-serving hotel contract for a moment. Any business that values its guest would allow for a cancellation under these circumstances regardless of whether the guest called by 6pm or not.
I’m with Brian. I’d get another credit card.
@Jason.
That’s not how the system works. Bonnie’s credit card company has nothing to fear from Ramada. Her bank is greedy. By siding with Ramada, the bank makes more money than by siding with Bonnie.
What REALLY bothers me about this (and so many others) is that….
Why does it have to be YOU, Elliott, to get this ressolved?
Ramada can’t respond fairly and on a timely basis to Mr. and/or Ms. Travelling Public?
Shame on Ramada for not taking the bull the by the horns and have the Manager of that specific hotel property write a personal apolog. Perhaps that will lead them to better understanding of what customer service is all about!!!
I was coming to Orlando last August, I had a reservation for 4 nights with a well known higher end hotel. Well, one of the hurricanes was forecast to come to Orlando. The Governor had asked people not to come to the Orlando area.
I called the hotel and they REFUSED to waive their cancellation policy. I was charged for one night. It was the Villas at Grand Cypress.
When we went back to Orlando in February, we did not stay at that property. I sent the manager a letter, told him we had come back to Orlando and did not stay at his property because of their attitude, and that I will always dissaude anyone I know from staying at their property.
I urge ALL readers of this blog to NOT stay at the Villas a Grand Cypress – for gosh sakes guys – there was a HURRICANE coming that was in the area for two out of a potential 4 night stay.
The crazy thing is that I asked them to keep the money and give us credit for a rescheduled vacation and they refused that as well.
@Joe Farrell, is “Villas at Grand Cypress” your travel insurance provider?
If not, then you have no beef with them. They simply followed the terms, as agreed.
Roberto – gee – when government officials inform you to not go someplace for public safety reasons, its ok to charge people for a cancellation fee?
It might be permissible under their policies, but it makes no sense from the greater public policy perspective.
You think its ok to take someone’s money who is following the request of government officials and not coming into what could be a disaster area? Ok, fair enough. Nex time I’ll just go and let the government and the property be responsible for my safety instead of doing the intelligent thing and staying away.
As I said, they got my money. I did not sue them or anything like that. But they lost out on the rest of my business, and potential repeat business. As I said, it made no sense from the macro financial issue – it gets them their ounce of flesh now and they lose the pound later. Its bad business. But its their business.
@Roberto
The management’s position is crap. If that is the sort of inflexible, idiotic policies that they’ve implemented, I would stay there for love or money. It would have been one thing is Joe just willy-nilly changed his mind. But any property that expects you to honor your contract during a hurricane should be ashamed.
While I rarely have occasion to stay at a Ramada, after reading this I’ll AVOID RAMADA. Their customer service should have reversed this charge IMMEDIATELY. As much as I travel, I just don’t need these kinds of problems.
@ Roberto
Sounds like you’re an employee of Villas at Grand Cypress. Who else would defend their policies under the circumstances.
Thanks, Joe, for the report; I’ll be sure to take the Villas off my list and pass the info along to friends and family traveling to Orlando.
Just so folks don’t think that I made this up – so that the folks at the Villas can verify my reservations . . . [note also that the review is on TRIPADVISOR! - so all of the property reviews are not glowing endorsements]
Reservation was from August 16-20 2008.
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Fay were in the Orlando area from August 18 & 19.
http://www.wesh.com/weather/17210142/detail.html
So according to these guys, I’m supposed to fly down for one day of a 4 day vacation but then its ok to leave early because there was no hurricane on the FIRST day of our vacation.
The logic, or lack thereof, of such a position just means that sooner or later – these guys will go bankrupt because they will upset enough people with mindless adherence to the rules that they get no repeat business – and NO business survives without repeat business.
Ramada should have refunded the cancellation fee due to emergency. When I worked for a hotel, we would automatically waive or refund fees as long as the guest made the effort to cancel their room, even if it was outside the policy.
Happy guests return to the hotel; angry guests do not. It’s simple.
Regardless, I would highly recommend documenting names, time, dates and other details of communication with hotel associates. You can never be too careful!
I’ll counter the assertion that credit card companies will always side with the hotel. Chase handled two hotel refunds for me (both where I had cancelled early and the hotels charged me anyhow) to my satisfaction.