Oyster.com changed my price days after booking

[horseshowmom]

Most companies have google alerts enabled on keywords relating to their company, including their company name. Some of the bigger ones even have people in-house or retained to regularly comb the internet for mentions of the company. Any good PR person is on top of this. It's not creepy, it's good business practice. And stalking is a strong word...

OT, but just curious, do you happen to own a palomino pinto?

 

[jsksjs]

Could be a chance that the post created was by a different person, not that company. ANYONE can create an account and make their username what they want it to be. You never know!

 

[pintamino]

OT, but just curious, do you happen to own a palomino pinto?

I used to own both a palomino and a pinto had to sell them when I came to college

 

[horseshowmom]

I used to own both a palomino and a pinto had to sell them when I came to college

Oh. I'm sorry! Our boys are in temporary retirement right now, but DD finishes in May and will start working them again. One of ours is APHA also registered as a Pinto. I love Palominos!

Back to your regularly scheduled thread now!

 

[Tina]

And quite frankly, considering the sizes of hotel rooms in NYC it would not surprise me in the least if two beds costs a lot more than one. A single king bed takes up less floor space than two double beds. In NY, more space = more $$.

Interesting thought. I have not encountered that in any of the hotels I've booked in NYC. Although I tend to stick with chains (Marriott, Westin, Hilton). I find that in most cases, the King bed is the one that costs more (Disney is an example of this) as some hotels consider the rooms with king beds to be an upgrade.

 

[KevGuy]

Oyster should eat the difference and some humble pie imo. They are not as big as a lot of the other sites listed in this thread and doing stuff like this will certainly keep them from becoming that large. I can't believe this happens that often and Oyster in the name of customer service as that is the name of the game given the amount of players to go to out there, should do whatever they can to correct the situation and save their reputation. As it is several people have already said in this thread they would not use that site after hearing this, and word spreads like wildfire on the internet these days with thing like facebook etc. But perhaps they could care less and think there are plenty of other fish out in the sea...

 

[msmayor]

Interesting thought. I have not encountered that in any of the hotels I've booked in NYC. Although I tend to stick with chains (Marriott, Westin, Hilton). I find that in most cases, the King bed is the one that costs more (Disney is an example of this) as some hotels consider the rooms with king beds to be an upgrade.

I don't disagree with that statement...but you just never know when it comes to NY hotels.

In addition, I wonder if the OP wanted two beds because there are more than 2 people occupying each room. Do NY hotels sometimes charge for people over and above 2 to a room? Normally a king-bedded room is only going to have 2, but with 2 doubles you could conceivably have 4.

Just a thought...

 

[Leajess99]

From Priceline's Terms and Conditions:




From Expedia's Terms and Conditions:



I guess those of you who won't use Oyster won't use any on-line service then.

But Oyster does NOT have that posted under their terms of service. I would NEVER use Oyster after this either. I go into booking with priceline, expedia, orbitz, etc knowing their terms of service have this in them. Of course I find it easier to book with the hotel and if I find the price cheaper I use the price guarantee and get it that way. Heck it saved me a ton last year year plus an additional 25% off so I got a 2 bedroom suite at a Residence Inn for $74 plus tax. It was a very nice room too.

 

[msmayor]

But Oyster does NOT have that posted under their terms of service. I would NEVER use Oyster after this either. I go into booking with priceline, expedia, orbitz, etc knowing their terms of service have this in them. Of course I find it easier to book with the hotel and if I find the price cheaper I use the price guarantee and get it that way. Heck it saved me a ton last year year plus an additional 25% off so I got a 2 bedroom suite at a Residence Inn for $74 plus tax. It was a very nice room too.

Actually, it does...

Limitation of Liability. In no event will Oyster.com be liable for (I) any incidental, consequential, or indirect damages (including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, business interruption, loss of programs or information, and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use the service, or any information, or transactions provided on the service, or downloaded from the service, or any delay of such information or service. Even if Oyster.com or its authorized representatives have been advised of the possibility of such damages, or (II) any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies in the service and/or materials or information downloaded through the service. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitations may not apply to you. In such states, Oyster.com liability is limited to the greatest extend permitted by law.

Errors and omissions....that includes pricing errors.

Darn near every single website that offers things for sale has it.

 

[DVCBELLE]

Several things:

1.

I get a call from Oyster saying they had put the code for 2 beds in the computer wrong..that they accidentally charged me the rate for a king bed. Said it was their fault but I had to pay another $125 per room for the double beds!

This doesn't sound like mistaken info from the carrier - it sounds like info THEY input was incorrect. IMO - if you mess up like that it is up to you to make it right. The $125 they are going after for what appears to be their own mistake - bought them negative press on a message board - which they obviously care about.

2. It is my experience that king beds usually cost more than doubles so it seems odd that the double costs more in this case - OP - I would leave reservation as is and call the hotel first and see if they will let you have a double if it is available upon check-in - or is a king bed completely unacceptable?

3. I think it is creepy that Oyster registered on here to reply to the complaint. I know it is good business sense to monitor what is being said about you online but if I were them - if I were not going to eat the cost to make the customer happy since it appears it was Oyster's mistake and not the carriers - I would have instead sent an email offering to split the cost. This offer or eating the cost would have bought them a little good press.

 

[undertheradar]

Strangest thing here is that we have a response from the company that was complained about, but nothing further from the OP. Pricing mistakes do happen all of the time. What is your state law with regards to items scanning at the wrong price in store? While some stores will honor the incorrect price, some stores will give you the item at no cost and others will refuse to sell you the item. Now we don't know if the $125.00 per room, the OP booked 2 rooms, is per night or for the whole stay.
As for somebody impersonating the company by registering on a website, why would they list the policy and contact information? I don't see this as a standard practice.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I see that someone has posted Priceline's policy on this. However, they did standy by a pricing error they made in my favor once.

They even quoted me their policy to let me know they were aware they didn't HAVE to but wanted me to be a happy customer.

I also think maybe the hotel in question wasn't near being sold out and it was last minute that led them to decide to do this for me.

 

[msmayor]

I see that someone has posted Priceline's policy on this. However, they did standy by a pricing error they made in my favor once.

They even quoted me their policy to let me know they were aware they didn't HAVE to but wanted me to be a happy customer.

I also think maybe the hotel in question wasn't near being sold out and it was last minute that led them to decide to do this for me.

I'm sure companies handle situations like that on a case-by-case basis. What's important to remember is that their policy didn't require them to, and if they choose to stand by their Terms and Conditions a consumer shouldn't be so outraged at their behavior.

 

[juliebean]

So "Big Brother" - yikes! We had a similar problem with booking our DW trip through the disney website - they would not honor the dates on the invoice I received, even when the CS rep said it took them half an hour to figure out what the mistake was... Still not happy with disney!

I guess it comes down to once you find a provider that is good and backs up their quotes, stick with them!

Oh - I think NYC hotels are a little different than the typical. They are so tiny that many are allowed only 2 person occupancy because of square footage/fire regs. So, a room for 4 people is almost always bigger and more expensive, unlike most hotels where the rooms are very similar in size regardless of bed types....

 

[kaytieeldr]

I get a call from Oyster saying they had put the code for 2 beds in the computer wrong..that they accidentally charged me the rate for a king bed. Said it was their fault but I had to pay another $125 per room for the double beds!

This doesn't sound like mistaken info from the carrier - it sounds like info THEY input was incorrect. IMO - if you mess up like that it is up to you to make it right. The $125 they are going after for what appears to be their own mistake - bought them negative press on a message board - which they obviously care about.

It's not a matter of 'sounds like' or 'doesn't sound like. Oyster.com did put the room rate code in wrong and admitted it in their contact with the OP.

3. I think it is creepy that Oyster registered on here to reply to the complaint.

Not at all. Plenty of companies do it.

 

[cm8]

I agree with the PP-- glad Oyster came forward, but the resolutions would NOT be suitable for me as a customer. I've learned enough to know that I will never use them. Thank you for this thread.

OP, I would look elsewhere if Oyster isn't able to do better!

I understand what the issue is, but is this not the same thing that WDWR has the power to do as well? If there was no clause acknowledging that this in fact could happen, I would be very upset and take my business else where. I would also add to my "do not call" list. OP, good luck in getting this resolved

 

[DVCBELLE]

It's not a matter of 'sounds like' or 'doesn't sound like. Oyster.com did put the room rate code in wrong and admitted it in their contact with the OP.

Not at all. Plenty of companies do it.

Just b/c lots of companies do it - doesn't make it any less creepy!!!