Issues with Booking.com 'inclusive' rates, taxes and fees [RESOLVED]

[Ausbt]

I've run into an issue with an accommodation provider either misinterpreting Booking.com's rates or the latter not providing enough clarity. I'm anticipating a bit of a fight and I think it really comes down to how this is resolved and what possible avenues exist, if any. Here are the details if anyone has advice:

• Booking.com advertised a 'Pay Later / Free Cancellation' option that I accepted three months ago. Cancellation period just expired, check-in occurs three weeks time
• Rate was AUD$1,113 and USD$799.90 next to a hyperlink "What's included in this price?"
• What's included link lists 1 Room AUD$855 + tax 13.1% AUD$113 + resort fee 15% AUD$145 (yeah, I know. US ski lodge) for a total of AUD$1,113. The USD$799.90 also appears there

Clearly the AUD$1,113 inclusive rate is around USD$799.90 @ a rate of 0.721 so we are on the money here.

So what did the ski lodge do? Well, they charged me USD$1,174.62 inclusive (charge is pending on my Amex now), initially admitted "we entered it incorrectly", offered a food&bev credit of USD$169.62 but still leaving me short USD$202.77

I've emailed the lodge a few times now with screenshots and spreadsheets, but I'm really wondering if Booking.com are going to come to my rescue or not. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Kerrodt]

Lodge a dispute with Amex. Particularly if you have firm evidence of what you locked into and agreed to pay upfront. If you have this information then Amex will get your money back.

I’d do this after the first knockback from the resort/Booking.com. Wouldn’t waste any more effort on fraudulent ski lodges like this outfit.

 

[Pushka]

I've run into an issue with an accommodation provider either misinterpreting Booking.com's rates or the latter not providing enough clarity. I'm anticipating a bit of a fight and I think it really comes down to how this is resolved and what possible avenues exist, if any. Here are the details if anyone has advice:

• Booking.com advertised a 'Pay Later / Free Cancellation' option that I accepted three months ago. Cancellation period just expired, check-in occurs three weeks time
• Rate was AUD$1,113 and USD$799.90 next to a hyperlink "What's included in this price?"
• What's included link lists 1 Room AUD$855 + tax 13.1% AUD$113 + resort fee 15% AUD$145 (yeah, I know. US ski lodge) for a total of AUD$1,113. The USD$799.90 also appears there

Clearly the AUD$1,113 inclusive rate is around USD$799.90 @ a rate of 0.721 so we are on the money here.

So what did the ski lodge do? Well, they charged me USD$1,174.62 inclusive (charge is pending on my Amex now), initially admitted "we entered it incorrectly", offered a food&bev credit of USD$169.62 but still leaving me short USD$202.77

I've emailed the lodge a few times now with screenshots and spreadsheets, but I'm really wondering if Booking.com are going to come to my rescue or not. Any advice appreciated.

I’ve found Booking.com quite responsive. Didn’t you sign something though when you checked in as to the correct amount? Oh wait. This is in advance. I’d contact booking.com. They have called me a couple of times about a booking. And also make sure the lodge isn’t charging some kind of bond.

 

[Ausbt]

I would normally not hesitate to ask Amex for help, but accommodation is in very short supply at this resort - I won't easily replace the booking and it will be many times more expensive. So I'm a captive audience on this one I guess. I don't think they are being fraudulent, my gut feeling is they have made a genuine mistake and it might be related to new booking systems. This lodge hasn't even opened yet after a massive renovation - my booking will be for about their 4th day of re-opening.

Maybe I shouldn't have used the term 'fight'. I think mainly I just need to get as much information as possible to support my argument. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Ausbt]

IOh wait. This is in advance. I’d contact booking.com.

Thanks Pushka. Yep, haven't checked in yet but charges were due a few weeks out. I actually did manage to get through to Booking.com and the agent seemed helpful and also agreed yes the quoted price was inclusive. Booking.com called the lodge while I was on hold but being Friday night in the US, I'll have to cut them some slack on response time. This could end up being a positive story about their service ...well, if it goes my way.

It's been a bit of a week for me with the aggregators, I'm also chasing Agoda over something.

 

[love_the_life]

I've always found booking, com is inclusive of taxes, fees etc but assumed that when it is pay later the amount quoted was in the country's currency so that the amount in $A is really only a guide.

 

[Pushka]

I've always found booking, com is inclusive of taxes, fees etc but assumed that when it is pay later the amount quoted was in the country's currency so that the amount in $A is really only a guide.

Yes, it’s the currency of the place being booked that counts but the hotel used that AUD amount and charged that amount in USD. Similar or something.

 

[Ausbt]

Booking.com and the lodge have been able to sort this one out, so kudos to both parties on this. I've now got an F&B credit of circa USD$300 and if I don't burn through that in a week they will refund the difference. Had I have not made a fuss no doubt would have overpaid in this situation, so once again careful reconciliation of costs is always a good idea. I was surprised at the responsiveness of Booking.com, getting an agent on the phone quickly who called the lodge while I was on hold. That's a thumbs up.

One mildly interesting aspect is the notion of a 'resort fee'. So basically you have a room rate, 13.1% accom tax is applied to that (presume US State-based) and then the 15% resort fee is applied to that total. Gets you wifi, access to pool and spa pools and 'ski valet' which might mean skis are stored close to the lifts, little unsure on that. It also means that different room rates are paying different resort fees. I'm in a relatively cheap room however there are suites that would be 4x the cost. Wifi still runs at the same speed, I'm sure.

 

[Pushka]

Booking.com and the lodge have been able to sort this one out, so kudos to both parties on this. I've now got an F&B credit of circa USD$300 and if I don't burn through that in a week they will refund the difference. Had I have not made a fuss no doubt would have overpaid in this situation, so once again careful reconciliation of costs is always a good idea. I was surprised at the responsiveness of Booking.com, getting an agent on the phone quickly who called the lodge while I was on hold. That's a thumbs up.

One mildly interesting aspect is the notion of a 'resort fee'. So basically you have a room rate, 13.1% accom tax is applied to that (presume US State-based) and then the 15% resort fee is applied to that total. Gets you wifi, access to pool and spa pools and 'ski valet' which might mean skis are stored close to the lifts, little unsure on that. It also means that different room rates are paying different resort fees. I'm in a relatively cheap room however there are suites that would be 4x the cost. Wifi still runs at the same speed, I'm sure.

Good outcome. I use booking.com a lot, it’s my first check point. I would proceed with maybe 80% of the bookings I make with them. I remember one trip they rang me on the slopes of Mt Etna which was a bit of a surprise.

 

[muppet]

Booking.com and the lodge have been able to sort this one out, so kudos to both parties on this. I've now got an F&B credit of circa USD$300 and if I don't burn through that in a week they will refund the difference. Had I have not made a fuss no doubt would have overpaid in this situation, so once again careful reconciliation of costs is always a good idea. I was surprised at the responsiveness of Booking.com, getting an agent on the phone quickly who called the lodge while I was on hold. That's a thumbs up.

One mildly interesting aspect is the notion of a 'resort fee'. So basically you have a room rate, 13.1% accom tax is applied to that (presume US State-based) and then the 15% resort fee is applied to that total. Gets you wifi, access to pool and spa pools and 'ski valet' which might mean skis are stored close to the lifts, little unsure on that. It also means that different room rates are paying different resort fees. I'm in a relatively cheap room however there are suites that would be 4x the cost. Wifi still runs at the same speed, I'm sure.

Aren’t you still $75USD down on the agreed price at booking? Seems you’re very tolerant person.

 

[Ausbt]

Aren’t you still $75USD down on the agreed price at booking?

My apologies muppet, rubbery-figure response from me there. I can see you are a detail person and right on the money. They are actually crediting my F&B tab USD$391 (a $20 bonus?) so you know, it was a decent overcharge in the first place - in fact 48%! So, can I spend through that in six nights? Hmmm, maybe not and they will credit my card back so that's ok. The menu indicates they have Pabst Blue Ribbon tall-boys at the bar at $5 a pop (plus tip, must never forget). Yeah, I'll give it a shake

 

[love_the_life]

Glad it all worked out. I misread your first post so didn’t get the total over payment thing.

 

[bertflyer]

I have always found (thus far) that a phone call to Booking.com has has resolved any issues I have had. Including when I have stuffed up and needed a waiver of their cancellation deadline. I use them 100% for my overseas hotel bookings even when other sites might offer cheaper rates.

 

[N860CR]

For interests sake, when calling booking.com, where are the call centre staff usually located?

I use Expedia most of the time, however hate the thought of having to call them as it’s always a painful experience dealing with the staff in India who clearly hate dealing with western customers.

 

[bertflyer]

I’m pretty sure it is an international call centre but couldn’t tell which country specificically. The attitude has always been ‘let’s see what can be done’ rather than ‘convince me that I should help you’.
Maybe I’ve been lucky every time but I have made >100 hotel bookings with them and have probably called ~10-12 times for help/issues

 

[VPS]

The only time I had a phone call from Booking.com they were in the Netherlands and that was about 18 months ago