Can this trip be saved? They didn’t have my smoking room, so who pays to fix it?

Like 21 percent of other Americans, Larry Vail smokes. Having a room where he can light up is important when he travels, so when he booked his accommodations at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa through Bookit.com, he made sure it was a designated smoking room.

“This was our fifth trip to Jamaica and we have always reserved a smoking room without any problem,” he says.

Not this time.

Even though the all-inclusive resort offers smoking rooms online, and even though Bookit.com says he had one, he didn’t get one when he checked in.

Upon arrival, we were taken to our room where I later realized we had no ashtrays. I phoned the front desk to request an ashtray at which time I was rudely informed that we were in a non-smoking facility.

This is not what we signed up for and not what we were paying for. There was absolutely no mention of this being a non-smoking facility in the offer on Bookit.com’s website. If there had been, we never would have even considered staying there.

Vail asked if the Sunset Jamaica Grande had a sister property where smoking was allowed. It didn’t. He called Bookit.com, but couldn’t get through (apparently, he didn’t have the right calling card).

So he took matters into his own hands.

Frustrated, we went back to our room and called a resort we had stayed at on a previous visit and booked our remaining four nights of vacation there.

However, we had to make arrangements to get there. We arranged a ride back to the airport, which is a two-hour trip, and from there the other resort arranged the ride to them, which was another two-hour trip. We woke early the next morning, checked out and started our journey.

Vail is upset about the experience. He lost an entire day of his vacation because of the room mix-up, which he blames on Bookit.com. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

“After returning home and receiving our credit card bill, we found that the they had billed us for the full five nights [at the Sunset Jamaica Grande] at a cost of $1,243,” he says.

Vail paid $248 for his first night, but left the balance unpaid on his credit card. Bookit.com sent him a pro forma response to his dispute, asking him to state his reasons for denying the rest of the money. When the company dragged its feet, he threatened to formally dispute the rest with his credit card. In response, Bookit.com sent him an email that accused him of trying to “double dip” on his bill.

“How rude,” says Vail.

I turned to our credit card company to dispute these charges of $944. Bookit.com issued a credit in the amount of $450.

When I called them again to ask why we only received a $450 credit in lieu of the $944, I was told it was due to “cancellation charges”.

Wait! There would not be any cancellation charges had Bookit.com done due diligence in their handling of our business as their booking partner. I told them this was their oversight and they did not agree.

Finally, Bookit.com made him another offer: A refund of another $225 if he agreed to a “non-disclosure and acceptance” clause stating total confidentiality in the matter.

No way, he said.

Since then, Bookit.com has sent him terms and conditions that say the room type isn’t guaranteed and that it’s up to the hotel to honor a request for a smoking room. But Vail says it’s the first time he’s seen the fine print, and had he known a smoking room wouldn’t be guaranteed, he’d have never made the reservation.

This has turned out to be a really bad deal for all involved. Can you please help us recover our losses? I still believe this is a complete oversight by Bookit.com and their lodging partner, but we should not have to pay for their mistakes. It has already cost us more than enough.

I have to admit my bias: I don’t think people should smoke in their hotel rooms — ever. But if a hotel offers smoking rooms, then they should honor that promise.

No, my issues are that 1) Vail has already recovered a lot of the money in this dispute and 2) the online agency doesn’t guarantee it room types.

From the Bookit.com terms:

We do not guarantee the accuracy of the ratings and make no guarantee about the availability of specific products and services that may be offered. We strongly recommend that prior to any booking each user do their own independent review of any hotel, resort, or activity offered on our Website.

I’m put off by the apparent attitude of the resort and the online agency. That whole business with the non-disclosure was too much. Should I help Vail get the rest of his money back?

What do you think? A survey of nearly 700 readers this morning found that a majority (74 percent) want me to mediate this case.

(Photo: AM agill/Flickr Creative Commons)

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  • Bill

    Normally, I do not show much patience for people wanting to smoke. HOWEVER, in this case, it was apparently a non smoking facility (as I beleive all hotels should be), but the booking engine at least led him to believe he had the possibility of a smoking room. In truth, he did not, bookit misrepresented the product, and should be held completely liable.

    This is probably the only time I’ve ever defended a smoker..but there is a sense of right and wrong here.

  • http://www.roamingtales.com Caitlin @ Roaming Tales

    @Brian C “Seriously, all you people that voted “YES”…if Mr Vail had booked a room with a “King Bed” and was told there would be 1 King bed and when he got there, there was 2 queen beds ”

    What about if he asked for 2 queen beds and was given 1 king bed? Not much good when there are three people in your party, is it?

  • Carver

    @Brian C

    I think you missed the point. The travel site offered a choice that is NEVER available. Knowing that a certain room type is potentially available if not guaranteed, you are perhaps willing to take the risk. However, if the room type simply doesn’t exist, the booking site robbed you of the ability to find other accomodations.

  • naoma

    I do not think this requires “mediation.” I hate, despise,
    detest SMOKING. I do not permit anyone to smoke in
    my home or car. I would be very angry if I went to a
    room that allowed smoking.

  • Mike Z

    @naoma, you just don’t get the point of what everyone is saying. This is not about how bad or smelly smoking is. It is about a website allowing a customer to request what type of room he wanted, yet on the property there was never that type of room.

    Lets just say you paid $200 for a suite in vegas, only to find out that the hotel doesn’t even have suites. You would expect your $200 back now wouldn’t you? (and if you wanted a suite you would go to a hotel that had them and expect a refund on your unused portion of the stay)

  • Brian C

    @ Caitlan

    “Wat about if he asked for 2 queen beds and was given 1 king bed? Not much good when there are three people in your party, is it?”

    It doesn’t matter, these are requested items. Not an automatic approval. You call ahead and see if inventory is available, especially if two beds (or smoking) is that important to you.

  • Josh

    @Brian — while many hotels have a “standard room” or similar terminology where bed type is not guaranteed and clearly stated as such, you can almost always make a real reservation for a room with a specific bed type that’s guaranteed (at least as much as the rest of the reservation is guaranteed).

    And again, the hotel’s recourse if they can’t fulfill the reservation as booked is to cancel the booking and refund any prepaid amounts; that’s all the OP is asking for.

    I can guarantee that if I show up with my 4-person family on a prepaid reservation where I’ve clearly indicated 2 queen beds and 4 people, and they don’t have such available, I will not be paying if we have to leave.

  • Michelle

    I vote yes..this guy paid for a room and amenities (if you can call an ashtray an amenity) he had no chance of receiving. Bookit should have just paid the guy back, not offered him a portion with a hush clause. Now they will probably end up paying this guy back and having there name associated with bad customer service.

    Personally I think this guy over reacted- just go smoke outside -but if it meant that much to him he is entitled to what he purchased. I hope this guy does get his money back because he is going to need it paying for all those medical bills for COPD and CHF.

  • http://jetiquette.org Margery

    This issue spotlights one of my pet peeves. Hotels routinely ask customers to specify room type during the reservation process. It is just as routine for customers to be told, on check in, that the room type they reserved is not available. Is this really rocket science? Obviously the reservation process is not keyed to an inventory control, and in this day and age — why not? If you read any customer review site it is clear that this issue is one of the top complaints. Hotels do themselves no favor by making customers think they have a choice in reserving the room they want, when, in truth, it all depends on inventory (and luck) at the time of check-in.

  • Jennifer

    Like many others, this is the first time I have defended a smoker. This was not a case where a smoking room was unavailable at the property so the management put the guest in a non-smoking room. The property was entirely non-smoking. Bookit should verify these basic property features before offering the property. It’s like one poster said, you book oceanfront and end up downtown.

    @naoma- would you be so willing to dismiss this guy’s complaint if you were given a smoking room when you booked a non-smoking room? What if, even more analogous, you booked a hotel where all of the rooms were smoking? I would bet you would be very unhappy. The guy was trying to do the right thing by booking a smoking room. The fact that he went through all of these hoops just to be able to smoke indoors proves once again how addictive cigarettes are.

    The fact that these third party booking engines cannot guarantee room type is the major reason I avoid them. I have used them a couple times in the past when I have gotten a phenomenal deal and checked the hotel out before clicking the “book it” button.

  • Annette

    Here’s the key phrase for me:

    “Even though the all-inclusive resort offers smoking rooms online”

    That doesn’t say Bookit offers smoking rooms online, it says the RESORT offers smoking rooms online. Now unless that’s an error on Chris’ part, this is what it means:
    - The resort listed itself as having smoking rooms, which Bookit then loaded into their system.

    Now it is true that pretty much no one will absolutely guarantee as room request, and smoking or non is a request. But if the resort itself presented itself as having smoking rooms and they don’t, then I’d say that’s fraudulent advertising.

  • David Z

    Hotels do themselves no favor by making customers think they have a choice in reserving the room they want, when, in truth, it all depends on inventory (and luck) at the time of check-in.

    +1

  • Mel

    Chris…since the voters have chosen :) Will you be mediating and will you update the page with the resolution if you do?

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    I think that Bookit.com will continue to have problems until they redo their website. I went to their website and I couldn’t find a way to select a non-smoking room or a smoking room. There was a parameter to select a hotel that was smoke-free (2 hotels out of 100 hotels in the search that I did) but I couldn’t find a way to select a non-smoking room or a smoking room.

    Also, I think that they should have a disclosure on the webpages throughout the reservation stating that room types, etc. are NOT guaranteed instead of having a link on the webpage which most people are NOT going to click to see the terms and conditions.

    To me, I think that it makes sense to deal directly with a hotel (website, off-site reservation center, on-site reservation desk, manager, etc.) or a brick & mortar travel agent for a reservation especially if you have special needs (i.e. a smoking room, a non-smoking room, a crib in the room, a roll away in the room, etc.).

  • DeVon

    Chris,
    I somehow missed the fact the facility was completely nonsmoking. In that instant, he should be entitled to a refund.

  • Mary Graham

    All I can do is reserve it. You are a non-smoker, you would NEVER book a smoking room or even stay at a smoking resort. You book on-line and all is well, just the way you like it, it says so right there on the screen!. You arrive and see people smoking and your room stinks of nasty smoke. You complain, the response? Too bad, we don’t guarantee anything and the entire resort allows smoking everywhere and in all the rooms. But, but, cigarette but! Is that right?

  • Frankie Lee

    Looks like another way to scam people.. Mediate it!

  • Head

    I like very much your blog/site. Is very complete and accurate. Congratulations! p.s. STOP smoking…is harmful!

  • http://www.onlinehotelsbooking.org/ Alice Jordan

    You should always be aware of the type of room you are going to book. Confirm with the hotel authorities about the room you reserved to avoid any problem.

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