Pardon me, while I vent!!!

[Magix]

Okay, so I booked myself a room online at the Amerihost Inn - Fontana back in September for the Champ Car race weekend 10/31-11/2 (the race is at California Speedway). They sent me a confirmation email and everything. Today, I get a phone call from them telling me they had a systems problem and my reservation was never transmitted to the hotel, so I don't have a room and they're booked solid. They tell me a nearby hotel has rooms available for $2 more per night. I call and the rooms are $12 more per night. I call Amerihost back and they tell me they'll call and get the lower rate for me. They call me back - "Oh, that rate they gave you was the lowest they have." Nice. Amerihost tells me they would make up the difference for me if it was their fault, but it's not (!!!!!!!!!!). Some other company operates their website, so it's that company's fault, not Amerihost's (!!!!!!!!!!). Needless to say, I'm exceedingly peeved! Supposedly some guy in charge of sales is going to give me a call to talk this over - of course this happened at about 11:00 am and he hasn't called me yet (it's now 4:15pm). Just amazing. Absolutely horrible, awful, terrible guest service!! I can guarantee their corporate offices will hear about this - as will everyone on every web forum I'm a part of - as will the vintage racing club I work with that booked that dang hotel solid one weekend this year and is due to do it twice next year!! Stupid Amerihost! Urrrgggghhh!!

*VENT COMPLETED - THANK YOU - GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS*

 

[Disney845]

Wow, I am very sorry that this has happened to you. I hope that the "in charge" guy calls you back, and you two can come to some mutual solution. I think I would be disinclined to agree that it wasn't "their" fault if you booked directly through Amerihost's site, even if they have another company running the site for them (is that what you were saying?). Hope this doesn't affect your weekend away!

 

[Pam]

Do you have a copy of the email confirmation? If so, print out several copies of it and fire one off immediately to the hotel's manager and also let it be known that you have been waiting for a return phone call for over 5.5 hours.

Regardless of what they say - this is an error on their part - and it is their responsibility to fix it - and pay for the difference in the rooms in you have to go to another hotel. And - hotels almost always have at least one room held back - for *just in case* circumstances - I would ask them to double check their ocmputer again.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

It is their fault. I am sure they pay the website operator, they don't work for free. As such this makes them an agent of the company thereby making the company liable for any glitches in the site.

You have a right to recover from them, they can then recover from the website operators.

I would point this out and relay that a complaint with the AG Cosumer Affairs office may be your recourse. I would stress you believe this is a tactic to dump lower rate rooms in an effort to charge a higher price to another more desperate renter.

Good luck

 

[aunt lissa]

Gee...I always thought "their fault" meant it wasn't in any way shape or form "your fault"....Don't know what I was thinking!! Point is that you didn't do anything at fault here to lose the reservation..and so there for it's their fault..if they deal w/ another company that is their fault not yours you aren't dealing w/ them!! I think I'd argue that point out w/ them when and if that guy ever calls back.

I will be waiting on an update to find out what happened!!

 

[Magix]

Thanks guys! You've made some very good arguments that I'll be adding to my own. Never did receive a call from the sales guy today. Not to worry, I'll be calling him tomorrow!! If he doesn't do something to help, then I'll be sending a lovely little message off to their corporate offices.

They messed with the wrong pirate this time!

 

[Cinders]

Call the hotel directly and see if they have any cancellations. When the Brickyard was in Indy some of the hotels said they were full but really werent.....they had just held back extra rooms for each of the racing teams.

 

[KathyFP]

I hope that you are able to get things worked out.

 

[Magix]

Thanks to a very kind poster at another forum, I was directed to Hotwire, where I booked a nicer hotel for $30 a night less than the stupid Amerihost. I also have a reservation at the local Motel 6, just in case. As soon as I've confirmed with the hotel I booked through Hotwire, I'll cancel Motel 6.

There's no way I'm ever going to stay at an Amerihost again. Too bad... it was a decent place when I stayed there once before. But, I'm never going to give them a chance to do this to me again.

 

[Magix]

Well, okay... In the interest of fairness, I must update this situation. I FINALLY received a call today from the sales manager of the Amerihost. He apologized for the problem and for what I was told by the front desk woman (who said that Amerihost wasn't at fault in this situation). He told me they were dealing with about 40 people whose rooms had not been booked because of this glitch with their website. I told him I understood that things like this happen, but that I was still going to write to corporate headquarters. He offered me a room at a nice local hotel with Amerihost paying the difference, which is what he was offering to everyone effected by this problem. I told him I'd already booked a good place through Hotwire at $30 a night cheaper. He asked if I'd be in the area again soon and I told him I'd be there three times next year for various auto races. When I mentioned the name of the vintage racing club I work with, which uses the Amerihost at race headquarters when we're in the area (meaning we book the place solid), he told me he'd give me a free room for both of the racing weekends I'd be there with that group next year.

All in all, I think this guy did a nice job of guest recovery. I feel much better about Amerihost than I did last week. I guess I don't have to take them off my hotel list entirely - I'll just be sure to book by phone next time!!!