HOTEL

Can this trip be saved? Stuck with a $2,430 bill at the Copacabana Palace Hotel and Spa

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The Copacabana Palace Hotel and Spa has a reputation as one of the finest resorts in the southern hemisphere. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced through its Art Deco halls and the Rolling Stones tuned up in its grand salon before their concert on the beach, according to the hotel.

The luxury comes at a price: Room rates start at $623 at this time of year, not including taxes and gratuities.

Aleksandar Milosevic knew the Copacabana wasn’t inexpensive when he checked into the hotel last May, but he also knew he wouldn’t have to pay for it. The Brazilian government was hosting Milosevic for a UN Alliance of Civilizations conference in Rio. The government had chosen the hotel.

Milosevic made sure all of the arrangements were in order when he arrived, and was assured that Brazil was picking up the tab for his room. But when he checked out of the resort, a hotel employee surprised him by showing him a bill for $2,430.

“You have to pay,” the associate told him. “The Brazilian government canceled its sponsorship of your accommodations.”

Then things turned unpleasant. Milosevic asked why he hadn’t been informed of the government’s decision, and according to him, a hotel manager told him it wasn’t obligated to do so. The Copacabana insisted he pay before being allowed to leave.

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Liar, liar! 28 percent of hotel guests admit they stretched the truth for a discount

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If you’ve ever fudged a few facts to get a hotel discount, you’re not alone. Almost 3 in 10 hotel guests admit they stretched the truth to save a few bucks, according to a new survey.

Asked if they’d ever lied to secure a discount, 28 percent said “yes.” A majority — 72 percent — said they’d never misstated a few facts in order to save money.

The survey of more than 800 travelers was conducted last week by readers of this site, Consumer Traveler and members of the Consumer Travel Alliance.

Although the number of hotel guests who say they’ve lied may seem high, it mirrors similar surveys conducted in the past. (I’ve dealt with the subject of guest honesty in previous columns, including this memorable story.)

Of course, not everyone can agree on a definition of lying.

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Weekend survey: Have you ever lied to get a hotel discount?

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Ever told a little white lie to get a few bucks off a hotel room?

Earlier this week, I brought you a stunning confession from a hotel reservationist, admitting that she lied to customers about the best rate. But do hotel guests do the same thing?

If you’ve ever bent a fact or two about your circumstances, claiming you were a government employee or a AAA member or were on your honeymoon, you can anonymously confess your sins in this week’s survey.

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“We have been ripped off”

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Kate Silver didn’t stay at the Hotel Arlecchino in Venice earlier this year, even though she had a confirmation from her online travel agency. Instead, she and her husband, Howard, were “walked” to the Hotel Continental when the Arlecchino was oversold.

Here’s the Arlecchino’s site and here’s the Continental’s site. And I’ll save you the trouble of checking TripAdvisor: 89 percent like Arlecchino; 73 percent recommend the Continental.

So although they aren’t quite the same, they seem to be close enough.

But Silver isn’t happy with her agency, Hotels.com, because for her, the trip was an unqualified disaster.

Question is, how does an online travel agency address a problem like this after the guest has stayed in a hotel?

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When should hotels refund non-refundable rooms? Survey says …

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When it’s unable to operate the property safely. In a multiple-choice survey about hotel  room refundability, 83 percent of readers voted “yes” on that option. There were 678 responses to the poll.

Another 65 percent said rooms should be given their money back when a guest has a verified emergency, such as a death in the family. Roughly half of the respondents said refunds should be given when a guest can’t make it because of an Act of God, like bad weather.

Only seven percent said hotels should never refund a room.

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Revenge of the hotel clerks: 5 things they’ll do to difficult guests

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If you think your hotel clerk is out to get you, you might be right.

Hotel employees are people, too — people under a lot of pressure. And although you might not have noticed it, there’s a price to be paid for the dirt-cheap hotel rates you’ve seen lately. The lodging industry is cutting staff, freezing salaries and eliminating perks for its workers.

Result: Hotel employees are grumpier than ever. It doesn’t take much to set them off, either.

“It can’t be overstated how much power a hotel clerk wields,” says Cyrus Webb, a former hotel employee who has worked at the front desk and managed hotels. “Front-desk employees know what rooms are the best, which have a great view, and which offer extra amenities. On the other hand, they know which rooms would not be at the top of a guest’s list.”

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Hawaii hotel forecloses, taking guest’s $2,541 deposit with it

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hawaii

The foreclosure crisis isn’t just affecting homeowners. It’s also hitting hotel guests.

Take Steven Gibson, for example. He prepaid $2,541 for five weeks at the Hawaiiana Hotel — a retirement gift for himself and his wife. Then the hotel’s bank foreclosed, the property shut down, and the Hawaiiana took all of the Gibson’s money with it.

Now what?

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Whoever wins in tax war, guests will still pay the bill

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hotelNext time you book a hotel room online, consider what happens to the taxes you’ve paid.

Occupancy taxes can take a big bite out of your vacation budget. San Francisco hits its hotel guests with a 14 percent tax. Washington’s is 14.5 percent. Chicago adds 15.4 percent.

Where does all the money go? That’s a question the courts have tried to answer in recent months.

Online travel companies, which make money by negotiating a lower rate with a hotel and then offering it at a higher price to travelers, believe they should pay hotel taxes based on the lower rate they negotiated with the hotel. Some cities disagree, alleging the companies should remit all the taxes they’ve collected — not just a portion.

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