APH discount question

[jillk]

If I book HRH now for standard rates (late June), and they come out with APH discount at some point, can I still get the discounted rate? Will I have to cancel and re-book? Thanks.

 

[paracelsus]

If you book now at rack rate, you won't have to re-book when APH rates become available. Just call HRH and have them change your existing reservation to the APH rate.

 

[damo]

There really is no difference. If you book now they will still cancel and rebook your vacation if you change rates. Booking now only guarantees that you get the rate you are booking at now for the dates you are booking now. If you try to add dates or take off dates, it can only be done if the new dates are available in the computer -- regardless of what you have booked. It is a very stupid system.

 

[Bluer101]

There really is no difference. If you book now they will still cancel and rebook your vacation if you change rates. Booking now only guarantees that you get the rate you are booking at now for the dates you are booking now. If you try to add dates or take off dates, it can only be done if the new dates are available in the computer -- regardless of what you have booked. It is a very stupid system.

They only do this when the rate changes. This is because the special rates, APH, FLO, AAA, etc. have a certain amount of rooms for those rates. So they remove you from the current rate to open up for someone else. I have tried to book a special rate and miss it by one day saying there is no rooms available. But if you use rack rate they are available. I think this is how they keep track. Sure they could just flip flop the two but it seems they don't.

Now you can add on more days to your same rate reservation if they are available, without a new reservation or deposit.

 

[damo]

They only do this when the rate changes. This is because the special rates, APH, FLO, AAA, etc. have a certain amount of rooms for those rates. So they remove you from the current rate to open up for someone else. I have tried to book a special rate and miss it by one day saying there is no rooms available. But if you use rack rate they are available. I think this is how they keep track. Sure they could just flip flop the two but it seems they don't.

Now you can add on more days to your same rate reservation if they are available, without a new reservation or deposit.

I tried to drop one night from my reservation and was told I could not do it without changing my rate to what was available in the system. I had 3 nights booked at the APH rate. I just wanted the first two nights and drop off the last night. There was no minimum night requirement. There were no AP rates left in the system. The only way they would change my dates was if I booked something that was in the system -- there were no standard rooms left and I would have had to take a totally different category of room at a different rate. I already had the rooms I wanted booked, just an extra night and they would not adjust it without charging me the higher rate room which the rooms were now available for.

Basically I was told that to change a reservation, their system cancels your present reservation and makes a new one. So even if you want to drop a day, if what you want isn't available in the system, you cannot change it even though you already have it booked. It is weird.

So reserving a room now at rack rate just guarantees that you have a room at rack rate for the dates you book. If you have no intention on paying rack rate if that is all that is available, then there is no sense in booking.

 

[Bluer101]

I tried to drop one night from my reservation and was told I could not do it without changing my rate to what was available in the system. I had 3 nights booked at the APH rate. I just wanted the first two nights and drop off the last night. There was no minimum night requirement. There were no AP rates left in the system. The only way they would change my dates was if I booked something that was in the system -- there were no standard rooms left and I would have had to take a totally different category of room at a different rate. I already had the rooms I wanted booked, just an extra night and they would not adjust it without charging me the higher rate room which the rooms were now available for.

Basically I was told that to change a reservation, their system cancels your present reservation and makes a new one. So even if you want to drop a day, if what you want isn't available in the system, you cannot change it even though you already have it booked. It is weird.

Maybe it was because there was no more APH rates in the system. So they would be stuck with one night at APH rate. I know it sounds stupid but thats how they might treat it.

Today I just added another day to our May trip (FLO rate) without cancelling anything. I asked before we started anything. I asked if I would have to cancel then rebook. Then have the deposit refunded then charged again. I was told no, she just looked up the reservation and asked if I wanted the day before or after. Then looked it up, said the day is still available, gave me the price of the night (still FLO rate), then added it. She then asked if I would like an email with the extra night showing. She sent it right away and it still has the same reservation number too.

In the past when I book a rack rate far in advanced then change as the rate drops, then they cancel and refund. Then they rebook and charge again for the new reservation. I have not tried to add or subtract close to the time of vacation.

Yes, maybe their booking process is weird by the way they treat the different rates.

 

[Bluer101]

So reserving a room now at rack rate just guarantees that you have a room at rack rate for the dates you book. If you have no intention on paying rack rate if that is all that is available, then there is no sense in booking.

This is very true if you have no problem paying the price. We book just to save a spot in case other rates don't come out.

 

[damo]

Maybe it was because there was no more APH rates in the system. So they would be stuck with one night at APH rate. I know it sounds stupid but thats how they might treat it.

Today I just added another day to our May trip (FLO rate) without cancelling anything. I asked before we started anything. I asked if I would have to cancel then rebook. Then have the deposit refunded then charged again. I was told no, she just looked up the reservation and asked if I wanted the day before or after. Then looked it up, said the day is still available, gave me the price of the night (still FLO rate), then added it. She then asked if I would like an email with the extra night showing. She sent it right away and it still has the same reservation number too.

In the past when I book a rack rate far in advanced then change as the rate drops, then they cancel and refund. Then they rebook and charge again for the new reservation. I have not tried to add or subtract close to the time of vacation.

Yes, maybe their booking process is weird by the way they treat the different rates.

Perhaps my last booking agent was an idiot. I had never encountered this issue before but there have been a few people who have posted lately that they had the same problem as I have had.

It seems that if you want to add or remove a day, it is an easy process as long as all of the days that you want are still in the system as available. As soon as one of the days of your stay is no longer in the system as available, it becomes an issue, even though you already may have them booked.

In my case, the computer was showing the day I wanted to add as available but the days that I already had as not available. So when I went to add the day it wasn't possible since there was no availability for the entire stay in the computer. In your case, all the days of your trip may have still been available in the system.

 

[Bluer101]

Perhaps my last booking agent was an idiot. I had never encountered this issue before but there have been a few people who have posted lately that they had the same problem as I have had.

It seems that if you want to add or remove a day, it is an easy process as long as all of the days that you want are still in the system as available. As soon as one of the days of your stay is no longer in the system as available, it becomes an issue, even though you already may have them booked.

In my case, the computer was showing the day I wanted to add as available but the days that I already had as not available. So when I went to add the day it wasn't possible since there was no availability for the entire stay in the computer. In your case, all the days of your trip may have still been available in the system.

You are probably right about my dates still being open. That's why I added it as soon as possible. Either way the system to us is messed up but I hope it means something to them.