Can a hotel change its price after booking conformation is received?

Question

I booked a hotel online and confirmed my booking, (I have booking conformation e mail) but have just received a call from the reservations team to say that the price I have booked at was incorrect and they want to increase it by $500. Are they allowed to do this? Do I not have a contract with the hotel to provide a room at the agreed price? They have said I can either pay in full the new price or cancel.

Answer 1

I'd raise h**l with the customer service department if it's a major chain.  You should get the original price if you have a confirmation number.

Answer 2

well, most of the time booking online would cost you a lot of problems.

as we all know that rate changes from time to time due to people or travel agencies booking it at the same time and rates online are not updated.. it would take time for the website to update the rates even if you tried to book it and gave u a confirmation #.

so it's better to check with travel agencies or with the hotel, car company or airline directly..

Answer 3

unless its in the small print you shouldnt have to pay extra, if the hotel dont back down, demand a full refund  

Answer 4

It depends where you are located. I doubt that a reservation is a legally binding contract, at least if you're in the US. Hotels overbook on a regular basis and that's legal, so there really is no "contract".

I formerly worked for a travel website and we occasionally posted the wrong price by accident. We chose to absorb the loss and not charge customers in these cases since it was our mistake. However, that was completely voluntary. We could have gone back to the customers and offered them the choice of a price increase or a full refund.

If I were in your situation, I would call them and politely but firmly tell them "I expect you to honor the price. Otherwise, I'll take the refund and do business with another company that has some honesty and integrity." Ask for a manager if necessary. They may back down if you call their bluff. If not, take your business to someone who stands behind their promises.

Answer 5

Well, this is a legal question that only an attorney IN THE LOCATION OF THE INCIDENT can comment on.  Every state has its own laws and even different counties and cities have their own ordinances!

There have been several cases I know of personally where people I am acquainted with have had their online booking not only be not recognized by the business, but, often a charge was debited to their credit card account and yet the reservation was never registered with the business!  In one of those cases, he had to find another hotel to stay in while the credit card was charged for the amount of the hotel he was denied.

I also had problems with online reservations and I will never pay in advance using online resources!  It is just too risky, along with everything else on the internet!

Answer 6

No they can not change it. Its there mistake and if you have recieved your confirmation thats the price you pay. In the UK we have a service called citizens advice bureau which help with problems like this! Look into it yourself, they only want you to cancel because they can get a customer in who will pay 500 dollars more but I say stand you ground and sue them if need be lol!