$115 per Week Alamo Van - BEWARE

[VAgal76]

I just called to make a name change on a reservation. I was advised that they are trying to put people in smaller vehicles and re-working all these reservations. It appears they are not honoring their quotes at all. I am awaiting the return call from the person named "John" that is handling these reservations. I'll let you know the outcome once this "John" returns my call.

 

[MarkinNM]

WOW, sorry to hear that but $115 for a week
That is dirt cheap! Good luck and curious to hear how it works out, good luck

 

[Lewisc]

What discount program did you use to get a weekly rate of $115?

The first thing Alamo can, legitimately, do is treat changes as a cancellation and re booking. I don't think you have a leg to stand on if Alamo won't let you do a name change. I don't think car rental reservations are transferable.

The next thing Alamo can do is cancel reservations if the renter isn't eligible for the discount claimed on the reservation. They don't have to play games finding a good alternative rate. Alamo could cancel the reservation and tell the renter nothing is available or they could offer them a car at rack rate.

Alamo could limit acceptable changes in the pickup and drop off times/dates.

All those options are fair and reasonable.

Alamo is probably reducing the number of vans. Renters could find Alamo out of the vehicle type that was reserved. That isn't fair but the customer may have the choice of accepting a different size vehicle or waiting for a van to show up.

 

[rlduvall]

This is from last week where almost any code would get you a 15 passenger van for $115. on the Alamo website. At that time, most suspected it was a glitch in the system and there was a possibility it would not be honored.

 

[VAgal76]

Others confirmed that there was a glitch in the system, but they were honoring all current reservations. I actually have 2 reservations. They want to change the reservation that I wasn't making any changes to in addition to the second reservation with the name change. I'm eligible for all the contract IDs and coupons that I used. It was their system error and if I don't change anything to my reservation I think they need to honor the originally quoted price. The rep advised that "John" is calling all persons with these reservations to get them into different vehicle sizes and re-working their quotes and I'm guessing at a higher price if they feel they can get away with it. I have a party of 8 so a smaller vehicle isn't going to work. I've printed my confirmation. No rate changes unless I change the date/times. They can change the taxes/fees.

 

[mrebuck]

I also jumped on this deal last week and booked a 15 passenger van for our trip (we also have 8 going 11/27-12/6). I just called to confirm that they are going to honor the rate. The rep I spoke with said they will honor it - he didn't even suggest any changes to a smaller vehicle. I'm going to keep my $325 back-up reservation just in case though.

 

[Lewisc]

A business is allowed to correct obvious pricing errors. $115 weekly rate for a mini-van probably qualifies. Internet sites likes Fat Wallet. Flyertalk and even DIS results in too many bookings of mistake rates for a business to consider eating the loss.

I missed last weeks thread. I didn't realize the OP was talking about a pricing error. I can't believe the OP is trying to change the name on the reservation. Alamo would be crazy to allow any changes, assuming they're considering honoring some of the reservations.

 

[VAgal76]

Lewis - I respect your opinion, but let's put this into perspective. We can't control what their web site does when we put in a valid contract ID and coupon now can we? Yes, the price was crazy low. What do you want people to do? Not reserve a low rate?

I asked if I could change the name and they said ok. I called back to make the change officially and it became a problem. Different rep, different response.

Their printed confirmation states they can't change a reservation rate. If I made any changes (I can see that the name chould could be seen as such)then they can change the rate. I do not see a disclaimer if they find a pricing error they can change the rate. What got me riled up is when they indicated an untouched reservation was not going to be honored. I'm sure they will be calling to get people to change vehicle class type or something, but I stand by their printed confirmation. I don't think they can do a thing if you've used valid Contract ID and coupon codes.

Why am I crazy for trying to hold on to my reservation? I did nothing wrong to make this rate magically appear. I can't anticipate when they have a system error or a sale. Quite frankly, it's not the consumers problem and they should have to eat the cost difference for their own mistakes.

 

[Lewisc]

I meant to edit my post before you replied. I don't blame customers who try to take advantage of pricing mistakes. I don't blame companies that can't afford to "eat" the number of internet motivated purchasers who are able to make a reservation before the mistake is corrected. Sometimes the best thing that a person can do is hope the company corrects the error before too many people take advantage of it. The customer who discovers the error and doesn't post on any interent board has a better shot of keeping the rate then a customer who posts all over the internet. A company may be willing to honor the rate for a dozen customers but not for thousands. I certainly wouldn't give the company an out by asking to change the name.

I think your post is a valuable warning to posters. and I should be thanking you for informing readers and not attacking you.

Read all the fine print in your confirmation. Read whatever terms and conditions on the website referenced in your confirmation. Generally there is at least one sentence that lets the company "correct" pricing errors.

What can/should Alamo do if they don't even own enough 15 passenger vans to handle all the reservations?

I don't know how much of an error is large enough to place all the blame on a customers. A few years ago Disney had a pricing error that let customers book a garden suite at BWI for a ridiculously low price. Disney cancelled those reservations (technically they gave the guest the option of paying the correct rate).

People booking 15 passenger vans should double check insurance. Some personal auto policies and some credit card coverages exclude large vans.

You didn't do anything crazy booking the rate but trying to change the name on the reservation was "looking for trouble".

 

[n2mm]

I booked the same deal for October. We are a party of 6 (includes 2 car seats). I wanted a minivan, but the large van was cheaper. I used a valid code from my Visa. I used the coupon from the same offer, so my code and my coupon are both on the legitimate offer (not a mix and match as some do). I got my rate even lower. I'm paying $99 for a 7 day rental which includes all taxes and fees. I would take a minivan, Sienna, if they offer it. I leave for WDW this Friday for our summer trip, so maybe John will call while we're away.

 

[kim52265]

i too took advantage of this deal and booked 2 vans for my and my brothers family i do not recall giving them any phone number so how are they going to call we would both go down to a full size car but we expect them to honor the price 152 dollars for 9 days is a pretty good deal

 

[jlewisinsyr]

If you read deep into the Website Terms and Conditions in which you booked your rate, you'll find a clause about website errors, including misquotes, etc. If there was an honest error I don't doubt they will be correcting it and cancelling reservations booked under it, and legally they are allowed to.

 

[mousey]

I wouldn't trust Alamo. They don't care if they tick off a customer and loose them forever.

 

[mrebuck]

The rep advised that "John" is calling all persons with these reservations to get them into different vehicle sizes and re-working their quotes.

Has anyone actually gotten a call from "John." I have one of these reservations and, after seeing the thread yesterday, I called Alamo to confirm it will be honored. The rep I spoke with said it would, but I don't know whether he knew what he was talking about - he didn't instill much confidence in me. I have a second reservation with Alamo for a minivan (for 3times the price) as a backup, but I was just reading on Alamo's site that they charge $50 for a no-show on specialty vehicle rentals, and minivans are included in that category. So I don't want to keep that reservation and get charged for it. But I don't want to cancel it without being confident that I'm not going to get charged $1,000 at the counter.

I'm not sure what I can/should do at this point; calling Alamo and getting another random person telling me that the reservation is fine isn't going to make me feel any more confident that it will, in fact, be honored. Any suggestions?

 

[Lewisc]

I wouldn't trust Alamo. They don't care if they tick off a customer and loose them forever.

I agree Alamo isn't known for even good customer service. That said Alamo can afford to lose customers, like most of us who'll only book them when they offer deeply discounted rates. They can certainly afford to lose customers that took advantage of the glitch rate.

I'm not sure what I can/should do at this point; calling Alamo and getting another random person telling me that the reservation is fine isn't going to make me feel any more confident that it will, in fact, be honored. Any suggestions?

I suspect Alamo will contact passengers, maybe only email, and cancel their reservations. If you're staying at a WDW resort make a DME reservation. No problem if you don't use it. Otherwise make a backup reservation, one that doesn't have a cancellation penalty, with a completely different agency (Not Alamo or National) JMO but having a backup reservation with the same agency kind of confirms the fact that you know your "primary" reservation is suspect. Groups that are too large to fit in a min-van may be in trouble. Alamo could "honor the rate" but not have any large vans available. You could be waiting hours and/or fighting with them to get 2 vehicles for the cost you were quoted for one.

jlewisinsyr--I agree Alamo has a right to cancel the reservations, but they really don't have the right to "string along" those customers. Once they've made the decision not to honor the reservations they need to notify them promptly.

 

[brp]

A business is allowed to correct obvious pricing errors. $115 weekly rate for a mini-van probably qualifies. Internet sites likes Fat Wallet. Flyertalk and even DIS results in too many bookings of mistake rates for a business to consider eating the loss.

As Lewisc notes, this sort of thing happens all the time in the airline industry. Something gets loaded in the computer incorrectly. A well-known (in the flyertalk community) example happened a few years ago-JFK to Reykjavik,Iceland for $60. Turns out that they hadn't loaded the fare, only the taxes.

Iceland Air were trying to honor these, at a substantial loss, but they took a hit. It's great if companies honor obvious mistakes, but they do have an out in the fine print, and some choose to (or are forced to, for smaller companies) take it.

Good luck getting this to work out,though

Cheers.

 

[gcindy]

Ok, here is what Alamo gave me regarding these 15 passenger van rentals. I made this reservation last week, and they contacted me a couple of days later.

They got me a minivan rental with two car seats, for 7 days + 3 hours, for $257. The car seats are $100 + tax, by themselves.

Alamo stated that it was a glitch in the system, but they are working with people to get them in other vehicles.

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

I also took the deal for the 15 Passenger van at $162 for Nov 13-24th. Please post your dates on when you are renting. Maybe there are times when they will have to move down the the regular minivan. So far I have not been contacted.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

jlewisinsyr--I agree Alamo has a right to cancel the reservations, but they really don't have the right to "string along" those customers. Once they've made the decision not to honor the reservations they need to notify them promptly.

I don't see really where they are stringing customers along. They are contacting the customers using the methods they have available and trying to do damage control despite the fact they are choosing not to honor the rate. Individual contact is the best method and they are probably going through the reservations in some order that they have a list of. Unfortunately sites like this (and postings) alarm people who may not yet received a call (but most likely will).

Honestly, I think they are doing the next best thing short of just honoring the rate.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I saw the post last week regarding this but it was too late in the day-the deal was gone. I wasn't sure if I would do it anyway with only 3 people going.

To OP regarding making a change to the ressie-I've noticed that any change you make to an existing ressie with Alamo almost always results in a price increase. Even if only changing your arrival time by a few hours. I've learned to book a completely new ressie and then cancel the old one. With the error on your quote I don't see Alamo honoring the deal if you change names. Sorry.

I've been happy w/Alamo for the past years since we started using them. Last year there was a lack of minivans available (11 p.m.) and I asked if they could wash one for me. They said it would take about 1/2 hour as they were doing compacts. I mentioned that they had plenty of the larger minivans (Toyota Sienna) out there and the manager on duty (in the parking structure) quickly offered to let us have one for no additional $$. He signed off on my paperwork and we had no trouble leaving the structure. I'm just hoping the rates will fall. As of now we have a full-size for 11 days for $363. More than I've ever paid before for a minivan (for 10 days). I did notice last Sept. that there were a lot less vehicles in the garage-I've heard the car rental companies are having less vehicles now.