Booking online
By dreamertink
@dfollin (24172)
United States
August 14, 2009 2:26pm CST
A number of people have told me to book my hotel room online that it is cheaper.I have looked online and found some where the rates are lower.But,I have found that most of the online are where you have to put your credit information in the page and they go ahead and book you and pay for a room in a hotel.This way I do not know if it is an appropiate accomodations for my family or not.
I was at a local hotel waiting to ask the desk clerk and question.A family was in front of me that had made a reservation thru Travelocity and they had booked a room with a two double beds and that is not what they got a single room.The hotel had no double rooms available.The clerk proceeded to call other local hotels to find a double room for this family and they were told that they had to have their credit card to pay.The man told the clerk that he had already paid and that he did not have the money for another room.The clerk told him that he was sorry that he would have to pay again and get a refund from Travelocity.
Has this ever happened to you? What did you do?
I was at a local hotel waiting to ask the desk clerk and question.A family was in front of me that had made a reservation thru Travelocity and they had booked a room with a two double beds and that is not what they got a single room.The hotel had no double rooms available.The clerk proceeded to call other local hotels to find a double room for this family and they were told that they had to have their credit card to pay.The man told the clerk that he had already paid and that he did not have the money for another room.The clerk told him that he was sorry that he would have to pay again and get a refund from Travelocity.
Has this ever happened to you? What did you do?4 people like this
14 responses
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
14 Aug 09
I book hotels and air travel online all the time and thankfully I've never had to seek a refund so far. Hotels don't generally charge your card until you actually check out after your stay and they usually just run a dummy transaction to make sure you card is valid. What I do normally is book online and then call the hotel to reconfirm my booking and requirements. This process hasn't failed me yet! 
1 person likes this
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
14 Aug 09
I am sorry to hear about the man and his family's experience expecting a double room and getting a single room. Booking in advance it is often not possible to be sure of standards or suitability. I am an independent traveler. Typically I don't choose or pay for accommodation until I arrive. I only book a couple of nights if I fly into a place late at night. I couldn't find anywhere to stay in the Blue Mountains at Easter. All the backpacker hostels were full so I stayed at a pub that had rooms upstairs. I like to stay in locally owned guest houses and unusual accommodation like tree houses and beach huts.
1 person likes this
@dfollin (24172)
• United States
15 Aug 09
People really rent out tree houses and beach huts? I didn't know that.These people drove from a few states away from what I understand.They apparently only could get the great price if they paid in advance and they were told that their reservation was made for a double room.At an Extended Stay America we stayed at there were people who had made a reservation directly with the hotel and when they got there,there wasn't even a room there for them.A few people had checked in also and the rooms were dirty!
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
14 Aug 09
No this has never happened to me, but i am always leery of doing to many things over the internet...Just like that guy, they can do you any way they want if you are not there to see, so i wish i could help you but this has never happened to me...
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
16 Aug 09
no,but i've worked for hotels and i can tell you always check your reservations before you leave-front desk thinks nothing of giving away certain types of rooms to "higher tier" customers over ones on the call-ins.
they should have been able to offer that family some rollaway beds though.
even if they are out a good hotel can rent or locate some.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
14 Aug 09
I have booked hotels and hostels online a couple of times, but I have never paid for the room before I got there. When my husband and I were staying at some hostels we had a pay a small amount of money when we made the reservation, but we didn't pay the rest of the money till we got there. Even when I have made a reservation online, I always write down the names and phonenumbers of other hotels or hostels, just in case something happens. That way I know that I can find another place if the hotel has made a mistake etc.
1 person likes this
@his0yir (258)
•
17 Aug 09
I always book my hotel rooms online as they tend to be 30 to 50% cheaper than window price at high street. Besides, if I do it through cashback sites it saves me few more quids.
I understand the risk of online booking, blunder happens. But I am sure it may happen as well if you book with travel agent or even directly with hotel itself. Giving credit card details can be a concern. It is better to look around on the Internet for a trusty booking site before paying money.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
15 Aug 09
No this has never happened to me and this is one of the reasons why I refrain from online transactions until absolute necessary. I like to deal with real people when I am booking tickets and hotels. There’s no way I can verify if what I am booking is really there…you know they just post the pixes of different hotel rooms, all very nice and well decorated but no guarantee if that is exactly what you will get! And I don’t find them cheap or a bargain at all… the tariff is fixed so you cant negotiated whereas if you actually land up at the hotel you can negotiate a lot. Even a regular travel agent will give you a better bargain. Also the choices are limited…only the expensive and starred hotels have their own website link, most budget hotels do not have an elaborate website or contact details…so you are completely dependent on the site, which I don’t like. I have a regular trusted travel agent who does all my bookings for me free, he takes his commission from the hotel, of course.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
15 Aug 09
Wow. That is terrible. I have never had this happen to me before. I would be leary to use these kinds of sites because of that. I hope he gets his money back. I have heard that you can get good deals but what a hassle.
@prashanthalva (2272)
• India
15 Aug 09
Some People Are So Busy, Booking Online Does Work For them .. But, I Think For A Family it is Better to go With A Reputed travel Agent .. They Will Know The Best place for A Family according to your Budget .. It is Better, Though you May End Up Paying A Few Dollars More .. Thank You ..
@lazeebee (5461)
• Malaysia
15 Aug 09
We have often booked our rooms online, and they usually asked for a deposit (about 10% of the room rate) in advance. The balance is paid at the hotel, usually in local currency. So far we have not encountered inconveniences as the man you mentioned (fortunately. My husband usually print a copy of the booking confirmation, with the details of the room eg. double room and so on. We would bring this along with us, just in case.
@bingchen (1119)
• China
15 Aug 09
i don't like to share the booking online,i found that reading online make me feel tired,especally affect my eyes,i use my computer to do something,this make me uncomfortable at computer,my muscule is not so good,so i like to read the book,not
online,maybe i can read it from online is very convinient,but i have not this habit to do it.
@thhoon72 (1009)
• Singapore
15 Aug 09
Hello there, I have tried booking hotel rooms and airline tickets a few times online. So far, I did not experience any problem. Maybe, I am lucky. But I did hear from my friends about some problems they faced when booking online. Mostly are related to hotel bookings like the rooms allocated to them did not match what they requested online. I booked my rooms through asiarooms.com which I find it quite reliable. Cheers =))
@virusxtreme24 (805)
•
15 Aug 09
This has never happened to me before, as I believe it is a very rare instance. However, if I were to look for a hotel room, I would go ahead and book a reservation through Travelocity.
