Travelers advised to demand hotel room they paid for

Christopher Elliott, the prolific online travel columnist who writes for Tribune Media Services, encourages all those planning on staying at a hotel not to settle for anything less than what they paid for, when it comes to their room. Elliott recently received a complaint from a frustrated traveler who booked a hotel room with a view in Cancun, through Expedia. When the couple arrived at the Royal Hotel, however, they found that they were not given the corner room, which they had asked for, even though they paid a higher rate in order to receive premium accommodation. Expedia advertised that the corner room boasted a “two-sided ocean view,” as well as a dedicated beach cabana for the two occupants.

Upon arrival, however, the guests were disturbed to discover that rather than looking onto a relaxing beach, they simply saw the top of another hotel’s roof from the room’s window. The travelers tried to convince the Royal’s manager to provide them with a refund, since they had paid for a room with an ocean view, but all these efforts were entirely in vain. Expedia also tried to intervene, but to no avail, and when the travelers attempted to post their review on Expedia’s site, the company refused to publish this material.

Elliott looked into the matter as well and was able to get the disgruntled travelers a $378 refund. The travel expert, however, pointed out that it is important that guests be adamant about not settling for a room that is different from what they had requested, or if it lacks some of the extra services that the client had requested. In these cases, the best course of action is to immediately vacate the room and head down to the hotel’s lobby with all suitcases and personal belongings, in order to make it clear to the manager, that the room is unacceptable.

www.expedia.com