The hotel industry is celebrating a big win after the recent introduction of the Stop Online Booking Scams Act of 2016 in the Senate.
HOTEL
If they resell my room, why can’t I get a refund?
Just before Gerald and Byrone LoCasale set sail on an 18-day Princess cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Los Angeles, disaster struck. Byrone LoCasale sustained an injury that required immediate orthopedic surgery. The couple, both frequent Princess customers, reluctantly canceled the trip.
But there was good news. LoCasale, who is retired and lives in Fort Lauderdale, learned that Princess had resold his cabin. Getting credit for the $16,201 they’d spent would be easy, right?
Hey Hotels.com, when were you planning to tell me I needed a visa?
When Jane Torres books a hotel “near” Hong Kong International Airport, Hotels.com omits a key detail. She also needs a visa. Now what?
Is something wrong with Hotwire’s smoking filter?
When Michelle Palenschat books a room through Hotwire, she ends up in a smoking room. Can the company do that? And is it possible to get a refund?
Do Americans really make 15 million “bogus” hotel reservations a year?
At first glance, the results of the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s latest survey look alarming: American travelers make approximately 15 million “bogus” hotel bookings a year — far more than the 2.5 million reservations previously believed to have been made through what the organization calls “rogue” affiliates sites.
What to do about hotel renovation hassles
As hotel renovations go, the one Robert Reich experienced was pretty extreme. The property he’d booked in Baltimore, the Mount Vernon Hotel, was being remodeled and reopening as the Hotel Indigo Baltimore — Mt. Vernon.
Look before you book on Priceline
John Lancer recently placed a bid with Priceline for a room in a specific area of Georgia, but the order that went through didn’t come close to meeting Lancer’s expectations and he requested a refund in order to book the right room. So why did Priceline balk at his request?
Help! My Hotwire hotel is in a dangerous neighborhood
Ashley Norris’ hotel reservation on Hotwire is a surprise — and not a good one. The hotel is in a neighborhood that’s not exactly known for its safety. Can she get a refund?
“They threw five grown women in their pajamas out on the streets of Boston”
Were Chelsea Paterson and her friends “wrongfully evicted” from their room in Boston?
Did the hotel leave five grown women to fend for themselves in their pajamas on the frigid streets of the city? That is the question we are trying to answer in today’s case from the trenches of consumer advocacy.
Not a trick question: When is a suite not a suite?
Hotels use marketing-speak to hype their facilities all the time — the five-star restaurant that only deserves four or the “spa” that’s an old conference room with a treadmill and a few weights. Experienced travelers expect these little white lies.