Sofitel Manila? Please pay via this link....

[Brizz]

Hi - Just received the following from the Sofitel Manila....allegedly!

***************
Dear Mr. xx_X,

Bonjour Mabuhay from Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila!

Thank you for choosing our property for your accommodation.

In line with the sales condition of your room reservation, kindly see the ONLINE PAYMENT LINK below to fully secure the booking.

Please note that the property did not charge yet the credit card provided upon making the reservation due to the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

ONLINE PAYMENT LINK:

PHP 11,075.92 for Room Charges - xx_xx_xx_ Link deleted You may also copy and paste this into your web browser: Link deleted

Once settled, please let us know in order for us to have it updated in the system.

Please be advised that the booking will automatically be cancelled in case we do not receive payment within 24 hours.

We look forward to welcoming you here in our hotel. If there is anything that I can do to make your stay a lot memorable, do let me know. I will gladly accommodate you.

Thank you!

xx_
Room Reservations Agent
T. +63 (2) 8573 5556
E-mail: [email protected]
Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
www.sofitelmanila.com | all.accor.com
****************

I have emailed the Hotel directly but suspect that this is for real - they have zero chance or me paying via a link in an email however.

Cheers

 

[Ade]

Hi - Just received the following from the Sofitel Manila....

***************
Dear Mr. xx_X,

Bonjour Mabuhay from Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila!

Thank you for choosing our property for your accommodation.

In line with the sales condition of your room reservation, kindly see the ONLINE PAYMENT LINK below to fully secure the booking.

Please note that the property did not charge yet the credit card provided upon making the reservation due to the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

ONLINE PAYMENT LINK:

PHP 11,075.92 for Room Charges - xx_xx_xx_ Link deleted You may also copy and paste this into your web browser: Link deleted

Once settled, please let us know in order for us to have it updated in the system.

Please be advised that the booking will automatically be cancelled in case we do not receive payment within 24 hours.

We look forward to welcoming you here in our hotel. If there is anything that I can do to make your stay a lot memorable, do let me know. I will gladly accommodate you.

Thank you!

xx_
Room Reservations Agent
T. +63 (2) 8573 5556
E-mail: [email protected]
Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
www.sofitelmanila.com | all.accor.com
****************

I have emailed the Hotel directly but suspect that this is for real - they have zero chance or me paying via a link in an email however.

Cheers

yea .... it is a scam.

 

[CaptJCool]

Wow imagine getting an email without ever having a booking, bank account or reservation

But yeah people fall for theses

 

[Brizz]

Oh I have all of the above....

It's the right date, price, hotel....and payment hasn't been taken on the card provided.

I just stared at it thinking who in their right mind would click that link?

 

[Captain Halliday]

I would be very cautious with that property in general.

My experience in June included ongoing refusal to honour published benefits and unexplained charges on the final bill that took some arguing to have removed.

 

[forevadelayed]

Requesting payment upfront might be common practice there. I have seen a similar request for payment upfront from hotels in the Philippines in the last 12 months. It was a much smaller chain and just a motel/not 5 star accommodation. Another Microtel (Wyndham chain) in the same city reserved the booking with a credit card took payment at the time of checkin.
I would suggest calling them explaining you'll pay on arrival/use points etc.

 

[Brizz]

Well the hotel replied (sent directly to the hotel via the email on the Accor site) and advised that this was correct....

*********
"Kindly be advised that the credit card details you have provided upon booking was not charged as we are not allowed to charge your credit card without the actual card and without the presence of the cardholder – this is in accordance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Rest assured that no charges were made to your credit card, we have sent you a link in order for you to settle the payment in advance as part of the Sales Conditions of the booking you have made. Once paid via the payment link, we will take note of the payment details made in your booking and no charges will be collected from you upon check in aside from the Security Deposit which is refundable accordingly at the end of your stay.

We hope this clarifies your concerns. Please do let us know should you have further questions and other concerns."
*********

I booked a non-refundable rate so they should have taken payment up front.

I wont be using the link to pay - this is just the wrong way of proceeding and I am amazed that with the issues around scams that a brand like Accor think this is acceptable (although it is more likely a local decision).

I have reached out to Accor to modify this to a pay on arrival booking at no charge to me.

 

[Brizz]

Here's the reply from Accor.....

*************************
In accordance with the applicable regulations and for the sake of confidentiality and protection of your personal data, we must authenticate you in order to be able to respond to your query. Please reply to this email and provide us with your personal data as it is displayed today on your account. This aims to protect you from malicious request from unauthorized third parties:

1.1. First name:
1.2. Last name:
2. Email address:
3. Membership number:
4. Postal address AND/OR telephone number AND/OR one of the last three stays credited:
*****************

Incredible - I might as well just use the link and pay....

 

[Captain Halliday]

Shocking response.

If you haven’t already paid, is staying somewhere else an option?

 

[I love to travel]

Actually this is becoming quite common in Asia. A few weeks ago Conrad Singapore did it too. I just ignored it. Shangri La also are doing it so it may not be a scam.

 

[lovestotravel]

I've had this before from a Hilton and Conrad....

Not everything is a scam

 

[kyle]

Getting a payment link is not unusual. This happened for my Curio Collection (Hilton) booking in Spain and it's legitimate. (But then this caused the points not to credit, so that's another story)

 

[Brizz]

Yeah its real.

I am just amazed that with scams like this everywhere that an organization would do it this way.

Accor were useless just referring my commentary back to the hotel, who replied with pay' it this way or cancel your booking'.

So yeah - just waiting for them to cancel the booking - it's non-refundable so no way I am doing it myself on the off chance that they then bill the credit card as I have cancelled the booking.

I'll pick another hotel....

 

[I love to travel]

Yeah its real.

I am just amazed that with scams like this everywhere that an organization would do it this way.

Accor were useless just referring my commentary back to the hotel, who replied with pay' it this way or cancel your booking'.

So yeah - just waiting for them to cancel the booking - it's non-refundable so no way I am doing it myself on the off chance that they then bill the credit card as I have cancelled the booking.

I'll pick another hotel....

You might find the cancel is a bluff

 

[Brizz]

Yeah am not booking anything else until I see it’s cancelled.

 

[Scarlett]

If it was me I’d then book the same room, at the same hotel, through Expedia or booking.com and pay through their online systems.

 

[Cynicor]

This is getting very common and I’m not sure why. As mentioned, various hotels in even countries developed banking systems are doing it. Conrad SIN was one, I had it from them pre covid IIRC. Just ignored or refused, I forget which, and sorted when I got there.

Surely if they don’t take payment via the proffered method at time of booking, that is their problem.