DLH - Lesson Learned - BRING YOUR CONFIRMATION WITH YOU!!!

[jlima]

Just got back from 2 nights at DLH. I booked on the Internet and got a $202/night rate that included a $50 gift card, for a standard room. I printed the confirmation email but didn't bring it with me . . . big mistake! When I checked in the rate they had was $389! I said that wasn't what I was quoted when I made the reservation; and, of course, the clerk who checked me in asked if I had the confirmation with me. I called my credit card company when I got to our room; and discovered I was charged the higher rate for the one night deposit when I made the reservation. (We were upgraded to a DTD view in the Dreams tower - more on that later).

On Saturday morning I went to the business center to print the email (& had to pay $1.50 per page); and I discovered that I had received two emails when I made the original reservation April 15 - and the second one had the higher rate - but they both had the same confirmation number! I printed both of them and brought them to the front desk. The clerk look at them; and said because they upgraded our room to a DTD view, I would have to pay the higher rate!

By now I was having visions of just charging everything to my credit card and contesting the charges and faxing the credit card company the confirmation with the $202 rate, because that would have stopped this nonsense in its tracks, but I didn't want almost $400 charged to my cc that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. So, I asked her to find a supervisor; and she left, came back after about 10 minutes, and said they would honor the lower rate. She asked my permission to make copies of the confirmations, so they could research what went wrong on their end (WHY - they sent them to me in the first place!).

I had never stayed in the Dreams tower before - LOVE the location! Just hope the next time doesn't have all the room rate drama that this trip had.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I'm glad they were able to kinda "fix" things for you!!!

I know that when we booked thru Disney Travel for the DLH, the confirmation page makes for some good reading..... you reserve at a certain rate, but that rate isn't confirmed (I think that's how I read it), because they only charge your card for one nights stay as a deposit. Room rates can change without notice..... don't know if they played into the rate change or not. I would think if you reserved for a certain price....that should be what you pay.

Of course with the 3 resort hotels they also charge you the resort fees & taxes on top of the quoted price. It can add up quick!!!

I hope your stay was magical anyway!!! We stayed in the Dream's tower with the DTD view & loved our room!!!

 

[pixiewings71]

I had the same type of problem but with a different hotel. We stayed at a Days Inn on Sat. nite, I forgot to print the confirmation, DBF said "no problem, we've never had a problem we won't one this time" well, we did....they did not have our ressie in their system!!!!! Not at all! We even called the 1800 Days Inn number and they had our ressie but the hotel did not, luckily the guy was really nice and he let me use his computer to print our confirmation, he called the manager down and we printed the confirmation for him, the manager did honor the price we had booked at but they didn't have the room we originally booked available so we were upgraded, from 2 doubles to 3 queens! lol I guess it was that kind of weekend!!

OP, I'm glad you got it fixed but sorry you had to stress over it until the next day!

 

[AlexMouse]

SEE! That's why I ALWAYS book my hotels through hotels.com now and PAY IN ADVANCE at the time of booking! Then there is no way they can change the rate after!

I have never had any issues doing it this way, and it's actually rather nice to not have to worry about paying anything for the hotel (other than your incidentals) on the trip!

Perhaps a story for another time, but I had a similar experience during a vacation to Universal Orlando. The reservation was booked at one price, and turned out to be something totally different. Since we had worked our budget around the original price, we found ourselves a bit strapped for cash on our vacation. I will never do that again!

 

[Leofoenget]

I have a folder and I ALWAYS slip the reservation confirmation papers into a plastic sheet protector and take everything with me. It;s on my "HOT" list of things to take. Tickets, Reservation confirmation papers, children etc.... I can't imagine NOT taking that with me??

 

[DizMe]

OP, did they send you a confirmation letter as well? I have always gotten a letter in the regular mail as confirmation. That's a good time to check the rate. I always call at least once before the trip, too, and as you said, it's always a good idea to bring your written confirmation with you! Glad things turned out well! I discovered just what you did--ask for a supervisor. Talking to a clerk usually won't get you very far.

I'm glad they were able to kinda "fix" things for you!!!

I know that when we booked thru Disney Travel for the DLH, the confirmation page makes for some good reading..... you reserve at a certain rate, but that rate isn't confirmed (I think that's how I read it), because they only charge your card for one nights stay as a deposit. Room rates can change without notice..... don't know if they played into the rate change or not. I would think if you reserved for a certain price....that should be what you pay.

Of course with the 3 resort hotels they also charge you the resort fees & taxes on top of the quoted price. It can add up quick!!!

I hope your stay was magical anyway!!! We stayed in the Dream's tower with the DTD view & loved our room!!!

There are some definite advantages to packages (anything booked through WDTC), but one of the downsides is the fact that your rates are not locked in until the package is paid in full. You also have to pay in full (I think it's a month) ahead of your trip. In some situations that's good, but not everyone likes to pay ahead. With a room reservation through the hotel, the rate is locked in (short of a glitch such as the OP mentions!) even though the total bill isn't paid until checkout. Just something to think about if you need a room or room/tickets only. You can reserve the tickets with your room and lock in the price. It's handy if you plan to go in October, say, and think the ticket prices will go up in September. I think you might have to pay for the ticket portion at check-in. I'm not sure about that, though.

 

[mechurchlady]

Even for Motel 6 I have copies of all emails and a list of all confirmation numbers that I carry on me.

 

[teatime]

I have a folder and I ALWAYS slip the reservation confirmation papers into a plastic sheet protector and take everything with me. It;s on my "HOT" list of things to take. Tickets, Reservation confirmation papers, children etc.... I can't imagine NOT taking that with me??

Same here, I also use a vinal pouch and its in my back pack the day my trip is planned. in goes my fligh reservations, motel reservations, gift cards etc. Its in my back pack that I take with me on every trip and I know its safe and I will not forget anything.

 

[DizMe]

Same here, I also use a vinal pouch and its in my back pack the day my trip is planned. in goes my fligh reservations, motel reservations, gift cards etc. Its in my back pack that I take with me on every trip and I know its safe and I will not forget anything.

Me too!! My biggest fear is losing my folder!! I keep it in the file cabinet next to my computer until I pack, and then it goes in a special pocket of my suitcase. My dh thinks I'm...well, a bit anal, but it has certainly come in handy more than once. Unfortunately, in spite of my best efforts, I always manage to misplace something or temporarily lose it, which generally means that I've overlooked it because I've brought too many pieces of info This always sends me into a panic. I swear I did not used to be like this. I don't know why it kicked in and sometimes I kind of miss my go-with-the-flow, whatever-will-be days

 

[Burnt Toast]

Question now is (and you said "more about this later), but did you call and upgrade to a DTD-view room? Of course the rate will change then, they don't offer free upgrades over the phone unless it's a hotel unscheduled rehab or some other issue.

 

[jlima]

OP, did they send you a confirmation letter as well? I have always gotten a letter in the regular mail as confirmation.

The front desk clerk on Sat said the 2nd email I received looked like the document that normally was mailed, when one made a reservation over the phone. The first email that confirmed the lower rate looked totally different.

 

[jlima]

Question now is (and you said "more about this later), but did you call and upgrade to a DTD-view room? Of course the rate will change then, they don't offer free upgrades over the phone unless it's a hotel unscheduled rehab or some other issue.

No; I made the reservation on the internet and was expecting what I paid for - a standard room on a low floor with no view. But after I gave my cc & id when I checked in, that clerk said, "We've upgraded you to a DTD view room" and then described the room I was getting. It was a room with two queen beds, a day bed, and it connected to a smaller rooms that I believe is called a "Mickey room" - it had 2 Mickey twin beds, a Mickey TV, Mickey phone, wallpaper, shower curtain, faucet handles, etc. I thought that they must not be sold out if someone with the rate I paid could get an upgrade; which I thought was really cool . . . until she showed me the rate card & asked me to sign it.

What was weird was when we got to the room, the Mickey room was pitch black - there were no lamps, light fixtures or ceiling fixtures of any kind in the room; and the remote for the TV only had one battery. The bellman who brought our bags said the room should have had two Mickey lamps. We called housekeeping and the first guy that came brought batteries; and just wanted to move a lamp from the queen-bedded room into the Mickey room. I asked him not to do that, because I really wanted to see what the room was supposed to look like with the right fixtures! I called housekeeping a 2nd time and a supervisor came with the lamps; she said there had been an "accident" earlier in our room (why would housekeeping release the room after it was cleaned, without any light fixtures?) but they were able to take lamps out of a Mickey room on another floor that was out of order . The lamp between the beds was a Mickey figure that pulled a string that turned on a lamp and it talked; and the lamp on the top of the armoir was a white metal can with Mickey painted on the front.

Our kids really liked the room; there was Mickey DVD player also. DS15 said the mattress was hard tho. Would have been perfect for two toddlers.