Monday, January 11, 2010

Hotel Policy at Hotels.com... Watch Out!!!

I ordered a hotel in Amsterdam via Hotels.com. Due to personal matters, I had to cancel the entire trip. I thought: "I'm not leaving before this Friday, so I have plenty of time to cancel it." Well, think again!!!

This morning I called Hotels.com. They told me that I could cancel it, BUT THE HOTEL WOULD STILL CHARGE ME MONEY FOR THE ENTIRE PLANNED DURATION. He asked me if I read the hotel policy, and I was like "shit." I read it, but didn't catch it because a) I didn't think that I would cancel it b) The way I read the policy, made me go: "Nah, nah there must be some sentence error here."

Here's what Bilderberg Hotel Jan Luyken's cancellation policy says:
(...) "cancellations or changes made before 12:00 AM (W. Europe Standard Time) on Jan 14, 2010 are subject to a 7.40 EUR penalty and a 100%% Cost of Stay penalty. Cancellations or changes made after 12:00 AM (W. Europe Standard Time) on Jan 14, 2010 are subject to a 100%% Cost of Stay penalty."

Normal people like me and you would think that if you cancel days or weeks before "deadline," you can get off the hook. That's how it works in normal hotel life. And it should be part of their service!!! I'm kind of angry that they can write policies like that. It felt like a big damn scam to me.

The poor Swedish man in the phone tried to help me out, but I was just frustrated and angry... at myself...

So please read the hotel policies first at Hotels.com and take it seriously!!!

I just lost 1500 kroners (= 250 US dollars)... AAAAARGGGHHH!!!

Amanda the Frustrated

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