Comments on: Two bills, one room — and zero options http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/two-bills-one-room-and-zero-options/ Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott's site. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Carver Farrow http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/two-bills-one-room-and-zero-options/comment-page-1/#comment-14520 Carver Farrow Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:21:33 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=5207#comment-14520 @Josh, Then you won't be staying at any hotels. Hotels consider the guest to be ultimately responsible for the room that they occupy. They consider it a courtesy to bill third parties including your employer, the airline company that gave you a travel voucher, and even your credit card. If they don't get paid they come after you. When you check in, you agree that you are ultimately responsible, and your signature is right next to the agreement. Now, I agree that's billing months later, especially without contacting the guest, is bad form, but appears to be the industry norm. @Josh, Then you won’t be staying at any hotels. Hotels consider the guest to be ultimately responsible for the room that they occupy. They consider it a courtesy to bill third parties including your employer, the airline company that gave you a travel voucher, and even your credit card. If they don’t get paid they come after you. When you check in, you agree that you are ultimately responsible, and your signature is right next to the agreement.

Now, I agree that’s billing months later, especially without contacting the guest, is bad form, but appears to be the industry norm.

]]> By: Josh http://www.elliott.org/the-troubleshooter/two-bills-one-room-and-zero-options/comment-page-1/#comment-14512 Josh Fri, 12 Sep 2008 05:30:02 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=5207#comment-14512 It seems to me that the hotel was very wrong here (possibly fraudulent). I can see charging extra for a wrecked room, minibar, other charges, etc, but that should be within one day of checking out, if not at checkout. The hotel has a responsibility and ability to balance its accounts. There seems to be no possible justification for adding charges "a few months later"; that should be an immediate slam dunk charge reversal from the credit card company. Either hotwire hadn't paid (and the hotel should have denied checkin in that case) or it had; the hotels bookkeeping backlog isn't the customer's issue. I for one would avoid any hotel that did that... It seems to me that the hotel was very wrong here (possibly fraudulent). I can see charging extra for a wrecked room, minibar, other charges, etc, but that should be within one day of checking out, if not at checkout. The hotel has a responsibility and ability to balance its accounts. There seems to be no possible justification for adding charges “a few months later”; that should be an immediate slam dunk charge reversal from the credit card company. Either hotwire hadn’t paid (and the hotel should have denied checkin in that case) or it had; the hotels bookkeeping backlog isn’t the customer’s issue. I for one would avoid any hotel that did that…

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