The Customer's Not Always Right

By: Ron Burley | Source: AARP.org | August 12, 2009

In several recent columns, I fought on behalf of readers against what I thought were unfair or unreasonable contracts. But not every contract is unfair. Take the case of Darrell, a Nebraskan who wrote me recently that he was unable to win a refund for a $703 hotel stay he had cancelled. He’d found out that the convention he had planned to attend was the same weekend as a family reunion. Professional obligations would have to wait.  

So Darrell called Loews Hotel in Denver to say that he wouldn’t need the room after all. The hotel required at least two days’ notice of a cancellation, and the event was still more than two months away, so Darrell thought he’d have no problem. He was happy until the hotel representative informed him that since he had booked with a travel agency, he’d have to cancel with the agency. Darrell figured he’d have it all straightened out with just one more phone call.

Nope. The service, Hotel-Guides.us, had made Darrell’s reservation under different rules—you guessed it—no refunds or exchanges. Darrell admitted he knew the purchase was final when he booked the stay. (The advice on Hotel-Guides.us to beware non-refundable reservations might lead a customer to believe the Web site offers only refundable bookings, but Darrell wasn’t fooled, and don’t you be.)

Nevertheless, the booking was still more than two months away, and Darrell thought Hotel-Guides.us would have plenty of time to resell it. But that didn’t budge the service. It looked like Darrell would be stuck with $703 worth of Denver hotel rooms that he couldn’t use, and that’s when he wrote to me.

My prognosis for Darrell wasn’t any better. The travel site did clearly post its terms. No-refunds policies are a standard part of the deal with discount-travel sites; they can give you the low price because they can tell the hotel or airline months in advance that the sale is guaranteed. As far as I could tell, Loews and Hotel-Guides.us had both been perfectly fair.

Even so, I thought I’d drop a note to the hotel chain to see if there was anything they could do for Darrell. But when Loews’s Emily Goldfischer, vice president of public relations, called me, she reiterated what Darrell already knew: The room was controlled by the booking agent, not Loews. After talking with Goldfischer, I was ready to close the case. It was an unfortunate situation, not poor customer service; Darrell had been warned.

Sometimes, companies surprise you. The next morning by e-mail, Darrell informed me that Loews had decided to reimburse him for the rooms he no longer needed. That was generous. The hotel had every right to hold on to any money it had received from the booking company, yet here it made an exception.

To avoid getting stuck in the same situation as Darrell, the next time you book a trip, consider booking directly. Travel agents lit up my e-mail the last time I gave this advice, but here I go again. Prove it to yourself by comparison shopping, but I find the best rates and best policies are often available by calling a hotel directly.

And what should you do when a hotel won’t cancel your reservation with two month’s notice? If the hotel and booking agent will agree in writing to the transfer, see about reselling the room yourself by listing it on craigslist.org or eBay. Better to get some money back than lose the entire amount.