Qantas Hotel Fail

[daturtle]

Morning All,

Not 100% sure this is the right place to put this, as I will be looking for the frequent flyer complaints to resolve it, but moderator please place where appropriate.

The weekend just gone, I took a trip down to Adelaide to watch the Clipsal 500. I booked via the Qantas Hotel reservations a place in Mawson Lakes, near the train to get into the city back at the start of January. Got my receipt, all good. Arrive at the hotel on Friday afternoon and find that they do not have me on their booking list. Nor have they received anything from Qantas regarding my booking. They 100% booked solid and all are confirmed. So myself and the receptionist proceed to spend about 2 hours on the phone with the call centre (not in Australia, starts with I and rhymes with arrhythmia) at which point I am told that they have found me a hotel room that is cheaper so I will get a small refund. Unfortunately, the room is located in Murray Bridge, about 80km from the city and an exceptionally expensive taxi ride. I tell them this is not a valid solution and ask to the speak with the manager. At which point I am told they can't help me and he is processing a refund good-bye. Luckily the receptionist at the hotel was able to find somewhere to store me for the night and then they had availability (the wonders of being polite to staff). This whole debacle has left me quite infuriated with Qantas, and I'm wondering what - if any - courses of action I can take to get some sort of compensation for this whole thing. I'm only PS, but as Virgin has just started daily flights into Mt Isa, I'm very seriously considering completely cancelling my QFF account and never flying with them again. I was thinking of demanding a comp upgrade to but I have a feeling I'm going to be dealing with Virgin in the future. Thoughts?

Thanks, Andrew.

 

[bablong]

I had the same experience at Christmas this year. I had booked an apartment on the water in Mandurah for a family get away on the Qantas website. Two days before we were due to check in, I received an email saying that the booking had been cancelled and a full refund provided. I rang the call center and complained. As with your experience, it was an overseas call center They found me somewhere else however, it was not of the same standard as I had booked so I didn't proceed with it. Asked to speak to manager and got same response you did. Being fed up, I rang the Platinum line and was told that Qantas sub-contracts this service to another provider and they have no control over these types of issues. I told the Platinum line person that as far as I was concerned, if Qantas sells me accommodation on their website then I hold Qantas liable for any issues. The call center person (who I must say was lovely and helpful) said they would register a complaint and get back to me. I also registered a complaint on the web site. To date, 3 months later, I've heard nothing. I will never book accommodation through Qantas' web site again.

 

[puppysparkes]

I had the same experience at Christmas this year. I had booked an apartment on the water in Mandurah for a family get away on the Qantas website. Two days before we were due to check in, I received an email saying that the booking had been cancelled and a full refund provided. I rang the call center and complained. As with your experience, it was an overseas call center They found me somewhere else however, it was not of the same standard as I had booked so I didn't proceed with it. Asked to speak to manager and got same response you did. Being fed up, I rang the Platinum line and was told that Qantas sub-contracts this service to another provider and they have no control over these types of issues. I told the Platinum line person that as far as I was concerned, if Qantas sells me accommodation on their website then I hold Qantas liable for any issues. The call center person (who I must say was lovely and helpful) said they would register a complaint and get back to me. I also registered a complaint on the web site. To date, 3 months later, I've heard nothing. I will never book accommodation through Qantas' web site again.

Only other alternative is to make the booking and contact the hotel directly for confirmation.

 

[Hvr]

So I guess I should ignore the Qantas hotel sale email I just received?

 

[Ricardo]

So I guess I should ignore the Qantas hotel sale email I just received?

Ditto ....

 

[harvyk]

So I guess I should ignore the Qantas hotel sale email I just received?

By the sounds of it yes...
If it was me, I would write QF a letter explaining what happened, why it was unacceptable, and what recourse you would like (be reasonable, round the world F flights for you and 10 mates probably won't happen, a J dom flight somewhere probably would). Also give them a time frame to respond with (eg 2 weeks for initial response, 4 weeks to have the matter resolved) otherwise you'll go to the office of fair trading.

Another angle to take is this is also good fodder for places like news.com.au, so let QF know that you'd have no problems also sending a copy of such things to such sites if you are unhappy with their response (if you don't mind getting a little more dirty in how you handle things)

 

[Mrmaxwell]

I thought outsourcing was the answer to everything?

 

[daturtle]

I thought outsourcing was the answer to everything?

Didn't know Alan Joyce checked this forum!

 

[Keelan]

I have booked through Qantas Hotels on 3 occasions. Once in Melbourne, once in Palm Cove and once in Hong Kong. Never once had an issue (those these were with large hotel groups, it sounds like the examples above may have been smaller independent hotels? Sorry to hear of those problems however, as would be a mighty pain in the ####. Also, the time I called the call center regarding a booking I got an Australian.

 

[Ricardo]

Didn't know Alan Joyce checked this forum!

A good manager (or CEO in this case) should consider all feedback....

I mean the profit last half was up if I recall ....

 

[daturtle]

I have booked through Qantas Hotels on 3 occasions. Once in Melbourne, once in Palm Cove and once in Hong Kong. Never once had an issue (those these were with large hotel groups, it sounds like the examples above may have been smaller independent hotels? Sorry to hear of those problems however, as would be a mighty pain in the ####. Also, the time I called the call center regarding a booking I got an Australian.

I have used their bookings service probably 10 or 15 times now and this is the first time I've had an issue. For some reason the email they sent for my paticular booking never made it through for whatever reason, while they had sent two other booking emails a couple of days either side which came through without a problem. This isn't what worries me, I understand technical issues come up from time to time. It was more their complete reluctance to offer a solution (80km from where you were planning to stay is NOT a solution) and then expecting me to foot the difference for any discrepency should I find somewhere that had a room for me.

 

[eastwest101]

Yes I have used them over the years without a problem, as have many others, it may be an isolated example or maybe daturtle is the first of many possible victims in the future of a recently outsourced/changed Qantas Hotel business. Will keep an eye on them or may just avoid until its confirmed or denied by Qantas.


Good advice from harveyk as well - come back and let us know what the further response is from Qantas daturtle or bablong...

 

[cmon0005]

I used QF Hotels back in Sept for a trip to AKL.
I had to cancel the booking on the day of arrival due to LAN's flight cancellation SYD-AKL, and after a quick call to the QF hotels guy on the phone he spoke to the hotel and they agreed not to charge me a cancellation fee if I rebooked again when my rescheduled LAN booking leaves a week later.
I had to pay in full for the rebooking and I got a refund on my CC a few days later, very impressed considering the booking was non-refundable.
In that respect I would use them again, 1000 points took about a month to come through.

 

[bablong]

I had also used them many times before the booking in questions was screwed up. I am a realist. I understand problems occur but it is the way that organisations respond to problems that really show whether they have a good customer service ethic or not. My issue was that Qantas was hiding behind its subcontractor and that my complaint has never been responded to nor even acknowledged. While I agree that a letter would probably get a response, I not in it for any compensation or reward. I just want to know that someone is listening so that the problem is fixed. I will not book with them again until they can tell me that this problem has been fixed. Until then I will book straight with the hotel even though this means missing out on points or even a good discount.

 

[Shelf]

OP - You made a very good decision to stand your ground (as anyone who has visited Murray Bridge will attest to).

 

[daturtle]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was lucky it was the hotel receptionist who helped me out, I had no idea where it was until she said it was so far out of town. Big up to the Mawson Lakes Hotel as well, very nice place.

I'm going to go along the lines of writing to them and requesting a response. I am only a small fish and spend about $10k a year in flights with them so it won't be a big dent, but hopefully they'll come around. Thinking I'll see if they can comp me up to QP or Gold status for 12 months and that would keep me around. Is it best to write a formal letter or an email? Also, does anyone have the best contact details for either? I've heard of complaints such as bablongs going on for a very long time indeed and I would prefer a timely response. Maybe if anyone has someone bablong could call too?

Would be nice if QFF staff were actively involved in this forum - the same way the internet and telcos are with Whirlpool. Thanks again for the help, will keep everyone updated.

 

[mannej]

Have you PM'd RedRoo? He is the QF rep on the forum and should be able to help direct your feedback

 

[shearsense]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was lucky it was the hotel receptionist who helped me out, I had no idea where it was until she said it was so far out of town. Big up to the Mawson Lakes Hotel as well, very nice place.
.

For a hotel at suburban Mawson Lakes to say another hotel is a [relatively] long way from the city REALLY does mean it is a long way! But good to see they flagged the issue with you

 

[harvyk]

Thinking I'll see if they can comp me up to QP or Gold status for 12 months and that would keep me around. Is it best to write a formal letter or an email?

SG or QP membership would be a big ask, and unlikely to happen (as it would mean an ongoing commitment for QF for a year). A free flight somewhere or a one time entry to the QP is probably the best you could hope for.

Also formal letter is always the way to go.

 

[daturtle]

A return flight from Mt Isa to BNE is between $600-$800 for a disc econ seat on sale, so will just have to see what they say.