AKA White House District

This letter is being sent in response to the claim from [redacted] for a refund of her cancellation fee in the amount of S[redacted] booked her arrival and departure dates for her stay; an email confirmation advising arrival and departure dates was generated automatically upon bookingThe cancellation policy is stated clearly on the confirmation, as is the check in time (see attached) [redacted] then called on August 14, at 7:31pm and reached the call center, first stating that she wanted to amend the departure dateThe call center agent referred [redacted] to AKA to amend the departure date [redacted] also inquired as to the cancellation policy at that time and the call center agent confirmed that cancellations after three days prior would be charged 50% of the stay [redacted] ***'s attempt to cancel her reservation was within the hour window which resulted in her being charged 50% of the stay, plus taxPlease let me know if you need any additional information.Very truly yours,Robert *G [redacted] Executive Vice President

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I have asked the hotel to cancel the reservation, for which the doctor's note was not neededAnybody can cancel the reservation at any timeThe fact that the hotel held the room is not my faultThe doctor's note needed only for a reimbursement/partial reimbursement/credit/By definition, the medical emergency is exactly that - emergencyMy mother was in ICU for three days, on Jan she got worseIn the middle of emergency situation I should not worry about sending a note for a reimbursement/creditIt should be done after the emergency is over, which I didAnd I even did a curtesy to the hotel by calling them to cancel the reservation in the middle of emergency, so they can re-book the roomEven airlines had no problem with receiving a doctor's note about emergency after the travel, and issued a creditThat's the nature of emergency, you can do very little, if anything, in the middle of it!
Regards,
*** ***

The complaint asks for reimbursement of a non-refundable reservation. Our Cancellation Policy clearly states: “Reservation is non-refundable. No refunds will be given for cancellations or changes…… No refunds will be issued.” This was agreed to by the guest at the time
of bookingWhen the guest called on Tuesday, she inquired about a refund or partial refund and was told that she had booked a non-refundable reservation. She explained the situation with her mother and mentioned sending a doctor’s note, but none was received and no further communication was made by the guest, so the suite was held and not re-booked or re-sold. If the customer had provided the doctor’s note on that day as promised, the GM was willing to offer a credit for the reservation to be used for a future stay. At no time was a refund ever promised to the guest

This letter is being sent in response to the claim from [redacted] for a refund of her cancellation fee in the amount of S764.29.[redacted] booked her arrival and departure dates for her stay; an email confirmation advising arrival and departure dates was generated automatically upon...

booking. The cancellation policy is stated clearly on the confirmation, as is the check in time (see attached). [redacted] then called on August 14, 2016 at 7:31pm and reached the call center, first stating that she wanted to amend the departure date. The call center agent referred [redacted] to AKA to amend the departure date. [redacted] also inquired as to the cancellation policy at that time and the call center agent confirmed that cancellations after three days prior would be charged 50% of the stay. [redacted]'s attempt to cancel her reservation was within the 72 hour window which resulted in her being charged 50% of the stay, plus tax. Please let me know if you need any additional information.Very truly yours,Robert *. G[redacted] Executive Vice President

Review: We stayed at the AKA White House for 9 nights, all at the rate of $275-295 per night until the last night of our stay, Monday, August 4. For that night, AKA charged us the exorbitant rate of $605.00 for the night (although we were in exactly the same apartment). The only difference was that the [redacted] Summit was beginning on that very day, leading us to conclude that the rate change was an attempt to unfairly take advantage of this global meeting. We have contacted both the AKA White House and [redacted].com in an attempt to resolve this matter. [redacted].com told us that AKA sets the daily rate.Desired Settlement: We wish to have our credit card credited with the difference between the regular rate vs the $605 price gouging rate (a credit in the amount of $330 minus any required taxes).

Business

Response:

August 20, 2014Dear [redacted]:This letter is being sent in response to the claim from [redacted] that she was overcharged her for her last day of her stay by AKA White House.When making the reservation on Booking.com on May 29, 2014, [redacted] first entered her desired dates pf travel and received a "price for 8 nights" which was quoted as $2,300. On June 29, 2014, [redacted] revised her reservation to add and additional night and was quoted as $2905 for; the extended stay (see attached). [redacted]'s agreed to the proposed price for her 9-day stay that was offered by [redacted].com; this was confirmed by [redacted]'s proceeding to provide a valid credit card for the reservationIt is normal and customary in the lodging industry to increase the daily rate during a time when there is a high demand - such as the [redacted] Summit (or a popular holiday, say, Thanksgiving or Christmas) - in fact, every hotel in the area was demanding a similar rate during the [redacted] Summit (and all were sold out).It was crystal clear at the time of booking that the cost of the reservation for 9 days was $2,905, and [redacted] was amenable to the price and had agreed to pay that amountPlease let me know if you have any additional information.Very truly yours,Robert G.Executive Vice President

Business

Response:

Check Message tab or see attached.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because hijacking the room rate and increasing it by 300% for the last night of our stay is an outrageous and unacceptable business practice which takes unfair advantage of guests staying at the AKA White House.

Regards,

Review: I booked a room with this establishment that listed the room I booked as having two king size beds on its website. I even expressed at the time of my [redacted] that the room must be as described. I even took a picture of that [redacted]. When I arrived for my visit in June I was given a King and a Full size bed. When I brought this to the establishments attention, an employee named "Zoya" told me that there was no guarantee and to take it or leave it. Management was unavailable to talk about this issue. I have filed a complaint with my [redacted] credit card about this issue which is still in limbo. However, since my stay management has admitted fault by updating the [redacted] information on their website to state that the room contains a queen and king size bed. I was clearly a victim of bait and switch. The room I got during my stay was not what I was paid for or advertised. Management has been quick to fix the issue on the website without rectifying the situation with me. I don't feel I should have to pay for services/goods I did not receive.Desired Settlement: I wish for the credit card charge for that week to be returned to my [redacted] card. This has been an ongoing complaint with AKA the White House since June with no resolution and I'm tired of this company admitting fault without correcting the issue.

Business

Response:

September 18, 2014Dear [redacted]:This letter is being sent in response to the claim from [redacted] that she was dissatisfied with the quality of her room.[redacted] booked a prepaid, non-refundable reservation via [redacted].com on April 21, 2014. [redacted] claims that she made a reservation for a two-bedroom suite with two king beds; however, none of our two-bedroom suites have two king beds – all two-bedroom suites contain one king and one queen bed. [redacted] was provided with the exact accommodations at the time of [redacted], and she confirmed with [redacted].com, thus securing the reservation. It was clear at the time of [redacted] that our two-bedroom suite contained one king bed and one queen bed.After her stay ended, [redacted] attempted to dispute the charges with her credit card company several times. Each time, [redacted] determined that our services were rendered as per our commitment and found the charges to be valid.Please let me know if you need any additional information.Very truly yours,Robert. GExecutive Vice President