Hotel Grand Openings can SAVE you MONEY!
There is nothing like going on a vacation or business trip, and being the first guests to stay in a new or re-furbished hotel. The smell of a new room, the look of a new lobby, a pool that is un-used, a tread-mill that needs to be broken in, and a staff that will do what ever it takes to make my stay as pleasant as possible. Yup, this is the life.
I think when ever I try to book a vacation or business travel in the future, I will always try and book it at a new hotel. Consider this, in a new hotel or motel if I have a complaint, it is most likely to be quickly resolved. The Management of the establishment is counting on my positive experience to help sell their product in the future. Even if the name of the hotel is well known nationally, it doesn’t matter if the new one in question has a bad reputation write from the beginning.
There is a good chance that booking at a new hotel will also get you showered with gifts and discount coupons you would otherwise not have a chance to receive. You might even be invited to participate in focus groups and receive additional rewards for rating and reviewing the hotel amenities and services. Who knows, you might just discover another way to travel.
Please tell us about any experiences you have had at new hotels, and if you have any problems, feel free to visit www.directcomplaint.com and post your thoughts on our consumer poster board.
Hotel Discounts Abound
According to many experts who track trends in the hotel, motel industry, room rates have dropped from nine to as much as twenty percent in the last year. Many hotels and motels are even offering amenities such as baby sitting services or spa treatments at substantially reduced rates to lure customers into their establishments.
A growing number of hotels are even offering packages that include off site activities such as skiing or water sports to entice us to stay with them even longer. Some hotels and motels are even teaming up with restaurants with in walking distance, and offering two for one breakfast, lunch, and dinner specials. Some of the larger hotels will offer you theater or theme park tickets as an enticement to get you to book with them.
Naturally, picking the place you want to visit is not always easy, but think about trying to go during the off season if possible, you will save even more money. Airlines are even offering better discounts on fly and stay packages, so be sure to check them out if your destination is too far to drive.
Pricing for specials can change from minute to minute, and the so called discount web sites don’t always have the best deals. I suggest that you use all available methods at your disposal to find the best prices. You might even call the hotel directly, and tell them what you found for the lowest price. You never know, they might just offer you a better deal.
Why use a travel agency, if you can do it yourself. Sure, the travel agency can do it all for you, but often, if you have the time to do it yourself, you will save money. If you are willing to share your space with others, you might try checking out youth hostels for something different. They are almost always cheaper, and they are a great way to spend time with other like minded people.
Tell us about the places you have gone, especially if you think it was a fantastic deal. If you have problems with a hotel or motel, visit www.directcomplaint.com, and use the Hotel /Motel complaint form in the Consumer Complaint Center.
Free Food In Your Room!
I just love it when I get into my hotel room, and the refrigerator is stocked with all kinds of goodies. There are so many things to choose from, I especially like the candy bars, and I like the idea of putting little nips in the refrigerator with in reach of small children. I wonder who thought of that great idea.
It’s too bad that the things I love to eat and occasionally drink cost so much money. Why don’t they clearly post the prices, I don’t like seeing an extra $1,000 appear on my credit card. In some hotels, they don’t even post the prices on the food and drink items, so we can really be surprised.
On the other hand, who wants to go out late at night for a box of cracker jacks, a bag of chips, a coke, or a bit of rum to go with the coke? That is what the hotel is counting on; most of the food consumbed is between 9:00 pm and 7:00 am. If I leave in the morning with out stopping at the check out desk, I can be assured that the extra charges will appear on my credit cards next statement.
This raises another question, what if the made decides to tie one on at my expense, how do I prove it. What if they have no money for lunch, and they eat all of the cheese and crackers. With room rates coming down because of the recession, hotels need to find other ways to make up the losses, but at whose expense.
I have an idea, why don’t they just eliminate the room refrigerators all together, or provide me with a key card to open the thing. At least that way, I will know when I am spending my money.
Hotel Complaints Can Be Resolved
Yuck! Hotel Cleanliness and what you can do!
Now that you have gotten your room key, you are ready to pick up your bags and relax in your comfortable, clean room before you begin your vacation, or go off to that important meeting that requires your attendance. Oops, there is a problem with the room, and it is making you a very un-happy camper.
The bathroom is not clean, the beds are not properly made, there is a big stain on the carpeting, or the room smells like their was an all night party in it. Any one of these reasons is enough to ask for another room, or a discount on the room you are presently in. Most people would do nothing because they are too embarrassed to speak up, or because they are in a hurry, and they don’t have the time to do anything about the condition of the room.
Here are a few things you can do that don’t require much time or effort on your part, but will usually get the problem resolved. If your room has a phone, use it. Call the front desk, and immediately tell them about the problem. Ask them how long it will take to get fixed, and let the desk know that you would like a dis-count on your room for the night. If it is late, and there is no maintenance available, request another room, and let the desk clerk know that you would like another room, and that you do not want to be charged anything for the night.
If the fix is a simple one, you should still ask for a discount of at least 25% off of your entire bill. If you need to, ask for the manager, and firmly but always politely state your case, and offer a resolution to your complaint. If your complaint involves something not in your room, like perhaps in the pool or exercise room, or in the children’s play area or dining room, you should speak up.
If the desk clerk or manager won’t help you, call your credit card company and put in a dispute for the charges on your card. You can also ask for the address of the corporate office, and let the manager know that you will be filing a complaint with customer relations.
If you really want to ramp up things, you can file a complaint via www.directcomplaint.com and use the Hotel Motel complaint form in the Consumer Complaint Center.
Making Hotel Reservations is Not Fun!
I can remember when booking a hotel for a vacation was as easy as calling a simple to remember 800 number, booking the accommodations, giving your credit card for a hold only, and that was it. These days, it’s not so easy to book a hotel, or even to figure out how to get the best price. As part of the new world of making reservations, we still have the 800 numbers, but now they have different rates for weekends, high volume dates, room sizes, children or no children, and an assortment of amenities. As if that’s not bad enough, travel agents have other rates, and on line “discount” web sites offer a hoist of so called discounts making it almost impossible to figure out where you can really find the best rates. I am beginning to think, that the industry wants us as consumers to feel confused so that we will just take any price that is offered to us, even if it is the highest rate the hotel offers. Telephone reservations still require a credit card, only now, they actually run the card first, and put a hold on the entire amount of your booking. Some hotels even charge your credit card a cancellation or change fee if you make changes with in five days of your stay.
Booking on line is even worse. Using your credit card on line to book hotel reservations is like giving your money away. The web sites that claim to have the lowest prices have very strict and limited cancellation policies that almost none of us ever read. They add on a bunch of additional charges for “processing, confirmation, taxes, user fees, and transaction fees”. By the time you add up all of the fees, your not really saving much money I have often found that one of the best ways to get a lower hotel price is to call the hotel directly. If it is a national or international chain, don’t use the 800 number, but go directly to the location where you want to stay. Use your smarts, look on line for the lowest price you can find, call the national reservations number to get a quote, and only after you do all of that should you call the local number. Tell them about the lowest price you found, and let them know about any memberships you have like AAA or AARP etc…
Unfortunately, booking a hotel reservation is like booking an airline ticket. I would bet that if you ask the other people standing on line with you at the check in desk, you would find that most if not all of you each paid a different price for the same accommodations on the same night. If you have problems with your hotel reservations or complaints about any hotel stay, check out www.directcomplaint.com and use the Hotel Motel Complaint Form in the consumer complaint center.
Attitude is everything
I think everyone can agree that we all get a sense of anxiety before we call customer service. We all wonder who or if anyone is going to pick up on the other side. I can say that 50% of the time I call customer service; the representative for the company does not speak English, is hard to understand or has a bad attitude. How can the person representing the company understand your problem or concern if they do not fluently speak your language? I’ll tell you how; the script they are told to follow. But, the conversation doesn’t always go as smoothly as planned.
If a company knows the best way to succeed in providing good customer service, they should guarantee their employees will display a positive attitude, concern, empathy and interest in the costumers feelings. Doing this can generate positive customer feedback, even when delivering bad news. From the famous Winston Churchill, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” There are many ways a rep can display positive attitude, for example smiling, it has been proven that smiling when on the telephone or even during an online customer service “chat” sends out positive signals to your customer. The rep should also always learn active listening; hearing should not be confused with listening, by listening this will enhance the customer service contact, they should be displaying that they have listened to you closely; they should give you the proper information to solve your problem. You should all know how a customer service rep should treat you, but if you have experienced bad attitude, no concern or disinterest for the problem you are calling about, than as a consumer the power is in your hands and you should use it!
I think everyone should be convinced that attitude is a big part in solving a problem,
Customer service starts and ends with attitude.
Rising Airline Baggage Fees.
I don’t know about the rest of you out there, but I am sick and tired of airlines continuously finding ways to increase the cost of flying by adding on to user fees, or finding ways to come up with new ones.
It was only a few short years ago that checking in bags was a service, and free. Now, most airlines charge at least $25.00 to check a bag, and even more for international flights. Instead of giving us a discount for checking more then one bag, the charge us even more for a second or third bag. The airlines have decided that this is just one more way they can increase their profits, just like the sir charges for fuel increases.
As for the fuel sir charges, the airlines added them when prices were hovering around $4.00 a gallon, and now that fuel is about $3.00 a gallon, they are raising the fuel sir charges again. I don’t understand the logic.
The silent giant in all of this baggage stuff is the federal government, and the TSA. Since more people have been carrying on bags to avoid the baggage sir charges, the security lines have gotten much longer. It takes more time for the screeners to check all of those big heavy stuffed role on bags then ever before.
The TSA might find it time and cost effective to subsidize the baggage sir charges charged by the airlines. This would also eliminate much of the confusion about what can, and can not be taken on the plane.
Travelers would be able to put questionable items into their checked bags, and not have to give up the perfume, toothpaste, or baby bottles.
Taxes, and sir charges, when does it all stop?
Airlines and Baggage
I was packing my bag for a trip to Florida, when it occurred to me that I had some items that might be broken if they were not wrapped securely.
I decided to repack my bag, carefully placing the wrapped breakables between layers of clothing. I was careful, but guess what; my bag was thrown around by the Delta baggage handlers when it was off loaded. How do I know this? My friend saw my bag tossed out of the plane and fly through the air before it landed not so softly on the hard ground.
At the time, I didn’t have a complaint company like http://www.directcomplaint.com behind me, and the airline refused to admit that they were careless. It took me three months, and at least 20 phone calls before they agreed to send me a check for $400 to compensate me for my broken items.
The airlines want our business, but then when they make mistakes, they won’t take correct measures to make things right. If it were only as easy as getting a voucher for giving up a seat on an over booked flight, we all would be very happy.
Airport Screening and Profiling
How would you feel if you were subjected to profiling because of your race or country of origin every time you flew? If you knew that it was being done to help prevent terrorists from getting on a plane and possibly killing you, would you mind then?
As we know, most, but not all of the terrorism plots we are told about originate from the middle east, Pakistan, Nigeria, and a small hand full of countries in the same region of the world.
Keeping in mind, that terrorists come in all colors, shapes, and sizes, usually speak English, and can be from any socio economic background, should we still profile?
It’s ironic that the countries who we are supporting with money and troops are among the most vocal speaking out against profiling. We are giving up our tax dollars, and more importantly, we are putting lives on the line to help those countries protect their own citizens from terrorism and religious fanatics.
Personally, I support profiling, not because I think it will necessarily save lives, but because it will hopefully keep us all more aware of the sacrifices we make, and the lives we have lost to hold on to the freedom that we enjoy.
If you want to learn more, follow the links.
Airport Security and Full Body Scanners
Full body scanners are quickly coming to an airport near you, but are they safe, too intrusive, and what about the data they collect?
Let’s face it, any time you go through any type of xray machine, you are exposed to a little bit of radiation. According to many experts, the amount of exposure received by a single body scan is about one percent of the exposure we get with a dental xray. If you are a frequent flyer or you just happen to work in the food court on the other side of the screening locations, well then, you might eventually light up in the dark.
What about the intrusive nature of the scanners, is our safety worth a look between our legs? I think it is, but the body scanners can’t do cavity searches, and while on one hand that is a relief, that might be the next place the bad guys, and girls put their weapons of mass destruction. What about the screeners sitting in front of the computer screens, viewing our body shapes more intimately then even our closest friends. What if the screener has a criminal past that was not checked, or an ass fetish, what then.
Perhaps my biggest concern is for the potential storage of my body image for future use. Did you know that most of the body scanners that will be used have the capability to store and distribute the images they collect? The government has said that our body images will never be saved and stored, but that could change at any time. It is possible, that eventually our body images will follow us from airport to airport. Could that mean that in the not to distant future I will be stopped if the recognition software detects a new mole on my back, a tattoo on my leg, or a big pimple on my but? How far will we go to protect our safety, our freedom, and our way of life? I say, bring it on, it’s all fine with me. I will draw the line how ever when the TSA begins requiring all passengers to give a urine sample before going through the body image scanners.
Check out these links to learn more about the scanners, and what the government has to say about their use.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/us/13scanners.html
