Here are some of the common problems in booking hotels online and suggested solutions or ways to avoid them.
Refunds
The problem: Receiving a refund can be difficult. Agencies tie up the process in red tape, often taking two months or longer to reimburse.
The solution: Spokespeople for the major reservations sites advise customers to keep printouts of the confirmation number and all transactions, as well as familiarize themselves with the refund policies of the agency and hotel where they reserve.
This is key, as eligibility requirements for refunds differ among companies, room categories and particular deals.
If a refund is due, go after it promptly, providing all supporting documents. Even in instances where the refund requirements are not fully met, ask for one. (Bob Diener, president of Hotels.com, said that in some extraordinary circumstances, such as a death or sickness, refund restrictions can be waived.)
In all cases, customers should pin down customer service agents on how long it should take for a refund. If it does not come through by that date, contact the credit card company used for the reservation, which can do much of the legwork.
Customer service
The problem: Customer service staff at online agencies and hotel front desks can be unresponsive, unhelpful, rude or, worse, unreachable.
The solution: For urgent assistance (e.g., you arrive at 10 p.m. and find the hotel has no room), call the Web service's help desk. Unfortunately, in many instances the person working the service desk does little more than repeat vague company positions — and sometimes it takes a while to reach someone. If the first operator (or desk clerk) is not responsive, ask for a supervisor. "People should not be shy about pushing their cases," advises Quikbook President Ray Vastola.
Otherwise, the agencies encourage customers to send questions or problems by e-mail.
Customers should write to the online agency and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Web sites such as www.bizrate.com, www.complaints.com and www.epinions.com offer venues to post complaints about Internet businesses. Simply reading the postings might help you learn from others' mistakes.
Properties/rooms
The problem: The amenities of the room you booked online, and the hotel itself, are substandard.
The solution: If you don't like the room you're assigned, request another one. Pronto. And it never hurts to have a backup hotel in mind, particularly for long trips.
Spokesmen for the online agencies said customer complaints are passed on to hotels. ' Still, it's best to do some research before jumping on the latest Web "hot deal." Read the description of the property thoroughly. See whether a pool, health club or restaurant are on-site and what other attractions are nearby. Peruse the pictures, too, but be wary — photographed the right way, nearly anything can look good.
Also, the rating systems used by most of the online agencies can be helpful.
Secondary sources are usually more objective. Start with guidebooks; the AAA and Mobil guides, which inspect many properties and rate them, are good resources. Fodor's, Frommer's and Lonely Planet often have reliable hotel reviews, too. Check Web sites such as Tripadvisor.com and HotelShark.com, which offer independent reviews by former guests.
Rates
The problem: After booking, customers sometimes find they could have snagged a cheaper room at the same property from another Web site or directly from the hotel.
Such discrepancies are common. On Bizrate.com, six out of 22 reviewers of Hotels.com gave the firm a negative rating, mostly because they found cheaper rates by contacting the hotels or other Web sites. Readers have voiced similar complaints about other online agencies.
"We try to negotiate the lowest possible rate with hotels," said Hotels.com's Diener. "But hotel room prices change constantly, sometimes several times in the course of a day. We cannot keep up with all of them."
The solution: A number of online reservations services offer guarantees that they have the lowest rate available — and will pay the difference if you can prove them wrong.
Always comparison shop before booking. Check directly with the hotel and ask for specials or the cheapest available room. If the hotel is a chain, use both its toll-free number and Web site.
Got chutzpah? Connect with a hotel manager or other person of authority and bargain. The site www.biddingfortravel.com, in which travelers say how much they paid for rooms on Priceline, offers a rough guide of how low www.complaints.com and www.epinions.com offer venues to post complaints about Internet businesses. Simply reading the postings might help you learn from others' mistakes.
Properties/rooms
The problem: The amenities of the room you booked online, and the hotel itself, are substandard.
The solution: If you don't like the room you're assigned, request another one. Pronto. And it never hurts to have a backup hotel in mind, particularly for long trips.
Spokesmen for the online agencies said customer complaints are passed on to hotels. Still, it's best to do some research before jumping on the latest Web "hot deal." Read the description of the property thoroughly. See whether a pool, health club or restaurant are on-site and what other attractions are nearby. Peruse the pictures, too, but be wary — photographed the right way, nearly anything can look good.
Also, the rating systems used by most of the online agencies can be helpful.
Secondary sources are usually more objective. Start with guidebooks; the AAA and Mobil guides, which inspect many properties and rate them, are good resources. Fodor's, Frommer's and Lonely Planet often have reliable hotel reviews, too. Check Web sites such as Tripadvisor.com and HotelShark.com, which offer independent reviews by former guests.
Rates
The problem: After booking, customers sometimes find they could have snagged a cheaper room at the same property from another Web site or directly from the hotel.
Such discrepancies are common. On Bizrate.com, six out of 22 reviewers of Hotels.com gave the firm a negative rating, mostly because they found cheaper rates by contacting the hotels or other Web sites. Readers have voiced similar complaints about other online agencies.
"We try to negotiate the lowest possible rate with hotels," said Hotels.com's Diener. "But hotel room prices change constantly, sometimes several times in the course of a day. We cannot keep up with all of them."
The solution: A number of online reservations services offer guarantees that they have the lowest rate available — and will pay the difference if you can prove them wrong.
Always comparison shop before booking. Check directly with the hotel and ask for specials or the cheapest available room. If the hotel is a chain, use both its toll-free number and Web site.
Got chutzpah? Connect with a hotel manager or other person of authority and bargain. The site www.biddingfortravel.com, in which travelers say how much they paid for rooms on Priceline, offers a rough guide of how low a hotel might go.