Here to help
In early June, room rates at the five-star Plaza Hotel start at about $725 a night. So when Mania Baghdadi found a $119 rate through Booking.com, she pounced on it.
And who wouldn’t? The Plaza, which is managed by Fairmont, is one of Manhattan’s top hotels. A $119 rate is a steal.
And you can probably guess what’s coming next, right?
Read more “A room at the Plaza Hotel for $119 a night? Where do I book?”
I didn’t need the room, so I called a full day before I was supposed to check in to cancel. But a Hyatt representative told me they could not find my reservation and that I would need to call back later in the day to cancel. I called back that afternoon and was transferred to central booking. A representative said they could not process a cancellation for me. So I called the hotel and they agreed to cancel my reservation.
When I tried to book a flight back home this morning, my card was rejected because of insufficient funds. I checked my account and found the Hyatt had charged my card $141.
I immediately called the hotel and they told me that if I did not have a confirmation number there was nothing they could do. I kept calling back until someone in accounting said they would research the issue but no one ever said they would be able to refund my money. Without a cancellation number, they said, I would be considered a “no show.”
Read more “Hyatt charged me for my canceled hotel room and now I’m stuck”
With Superstorm Sandy bearing down on the New York area last fall, Monica Greene sent a concerned email to their Airbnb host in Jersey City. The host told her she could cancel her reservation in light of the looming natural disaster.
What her host didn’t say — but Greene now knows — is that the homeowner intended to keep her money. All of it.
“Our airline gave us full credit on our tickets,” she says. “Airbnb refunded its part of the fee, but she kept $1,500. I am wondering if there is any other recourse for us?”
Read more “Is this enough compensation for my canceled room?”
The two-hour train ride from Arkville, NY to Roxbury runs through some of the most beautiful scenery in New York’s Catskills.
Add a dozen passengers in historically accurate attire, reenacting a 19th century train robbery, and you have all the makings of a fun-filled afternoon.
Read more “Surviving the great train robbery of Arkville”
