Hudson Goodman Jewelers

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 14, 2014/12/03) */ I have personally reviewed the call recording of this call into our call centerI do want to note that we did actually refund the [redacted] fee as soon as you contacted our customer service department and notified us that you did not understand the service fee at the time your reservation was bookedAfter reviewing your call I believe that our agent did clearly disclose that the fee was a separate charge and was not a part of your room charge though she did use the phrase "so you don't have to pay the whole thing today" which is not a part of our scriptThis agent is no longer with our company or we would clarify that this phrase should not have been used during your call I can assure you that the misunderstanding was in no way intentional and was simply a mistake by the agentWe have already refunded you in full for the booking fee In addition, we have done nothing fraudulent in coming up in independent search results under a search term for hotels near Richland Center, WI because we do actually book for hotels near Richland Center, WIAt no time during the call did the agent imply that we were any specific hotelWe are sorry if there was any confusion - but it was certainly not intentionalWe do offer that service and feel it is perfectly appropriate for us to come up when someone searches for a service that we offer

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/03/24) */
We have reviewed the call into our call center where the club membership was added to a hotel reservation that was made and have determined that our agent did not properly explain the terms of the membershipWe have issue a full refund for all
charges
We take this very seriously and will be handling the matter internally

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2014/11/13) */
We have reviewed recording of the call into our call center when your husband made the reservation and our agent did fully disclose that this was a pre-paid reservation, the amount that would be charged, and the fact that it would show on the
statement as "Internet Hotel Reservations"
The real issue here is that we purchase hotel rooms at a wholesale "travel agency only" rate and then the hotels set the amount that we are to resell them forThe front desk clerk gave you our wholesale receipt by mistake and swiped your card for that amountThe hotel then immediately refunded the amount and charged us as they should have done all alongWe don't have control over the markupIt is the same type of situation as when you purchase anything at retail with a minimum retail priceThe supplier controls what their product can be sold forThey sell their products to dealers for less so that they can be marked upWhat happened at the hotel would be like a clerk at any retail store giving you the receipt showing the wholesale cost for what you purchasedYou wouldn't be eligible to purchase the items at wholesale, but knowing the price that the retailer pays for something would cause discomfort
It is because we understand the discomfort caused by the hotel that we have issued you a refund for the difference between the retail price and the wholesale price of the hotel room
You should see a refund in the amount of *** in your account within 3-business days

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/09/22) */
I don't believe this complaint belongs with our companyI can't find any reservations under this guest's name or email address that were made through our travel agencyAlso, he does not mention our website - only the hotelI believe this
complaint should be redirected to the actual hotel who charged him the cancel fee
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/09/23) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My wife made the reservationHer email is: ***@gmail.com Confirmed Reservation Notification Confirmation Number = XXXXXXXX
This business is a scamThe hefty cancelation fee was being charged by hotels-rates.com
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2014/10/01) */
The confirmation number helped quite a bit in researching this matterThis reservation was actually booked through the Hotels-Rates.com call center, however it is a *** reservationAll policies and charges were made by *** and this complaint should be directed to them as wellOur only charge to the guest was our *** non-refundable booking feeOur agency has no authority over the cancel policy or possible refund for this reservation
The guest has never contacted us and the Customer Service toll free number provided in the e-mail confirmation to this guest, upon booking the reservation, belongs to *** Therefore, the call made into customer service when she spoke with *** in Connecticut, was made to *** not our agencyWe do not have any call centers in Connecticut
However, in way of documentation and to hopefully expedite this matter, I can provide information to address the customer's complaint
This reservation was booked when his wife called into our call center on 9/16/All details of the reservation were fully disclosed prior to the agent requesting any personal information to make the reservationThis included the cancellation policy which was read verbatim on the phone call - as confirmed by me personally when I reviewed the recording of her reservation:
For The Room Type You've Selected, You Can Cancel Your Reservation For A Full Refund Up Until Noon On Monday, September 15th (Local Hotel Time)If You Decide To Cancel Your Reservation Anytime Between Noon On Monday, September 15th And Noon On Thursday, September 18th (Local Hotel Time), The Hotel Requires Payment For The First Night's StayYou Will Be Charged For The First Night's Stay Including Taxes And FeesAny Remaining Amount Will Be Refunded To YouRefunds Or Cancellations Are Not Available After Noon Local Hotel Time On Your Day Of Arrival (Thursday, September 18th)
After reading this cancellation policy and the amounts she would be charged, the agent asked her if she agreed to the termsShe stated that she did and then repeated the amount that would be charged indicating that she was listening during that portion of the call
This same information was included in the e-mail confirmation received by the customer within minutes of making the reservation and a copy of the actual e-mail has been provided in this response
According to the customer's complaint, they called TravelWeb's customer service within hours of booking (on 9/16) which was clearly within the range of "Between Noon On Monday, September 15th And Noon On Thursday, September 18th (Local Hotel Time)"
Therefore, *** was well within their right to charge for the first night of the reservationThe customer did not meet the requirements of the cancel policy and was charged according the policy agreed to at the time of booking
If your office needs to take further action or needs further information regarding this complaint, you will need to contact Priceline as we have no access to their records or authority over their decisionsThey simply use our system to book some reservations through and are not a part of our company
This is a copy of the email sent to the guest along with the date/timestamp:
09/16/02:12:PM
Thank you for choosing Hotels-Rates.com! Your reservation has been confirmed
Reservation Details:
Confirmation Number: XXXXXXXX
Itinerary Number: XXXXXXXXXXX
Guest Name: *** ***
Property Name: *** *** Los Angeles - Downey
Property Address: *** *** *** Downey, CA, US,
Property Phone: (XXX) XXX-XXXX
Arrival Date: Thursday, September 18,
Departure Date: Saturday, September 20,
Room Description: Room Suite-King Bed-Nonsmoking Comp Cooked To Order Brkfst-Evening Reception Hi Speed Inet Avail-Sofabed-Microwave-Refrig
Rate Description: Websaver - Full Pre-Payment Required Upon Booking
Number of Adults:
Number of Children:
Number of Rooms:
Nightly Rates:(Excludes Hotel Taxes & Fees)
09/18/$ *** American Dollars
09/19/$ *** American Dollars
Total Rate Charged Including Taxes & Fees: USD ***
*This amount will be charged to your credit card at the time of booking
Cancellation Policy & Information:
Cancellation Policy: For The Room Type You've Selected, You Can Cancel Your Reservation For A Full Refund Up Until Noon On Monday, September 15th (Local Hotel Time)If You Decide To Cancel Your Reservation Anytime Between Noon On Monday, September 15th And Noon On Thursday, September 18th (Local Hotel Time), The Hotel Requires Payment For The First Night's StayYou Will Be Charged For The First Night's Stay Including Taxes And FeesAny Remaining Amount Will Be Refunded To YouRefunds Or Cancellations Are Not Available After Noon Local Hotel Time On Your Day Of Arrival (Thursday, September 18th)
In order to cancel this reservation, please use one of the following methods:
(Preferred Method) Use the on-lineReservation Retrieval/Cancellation page located at https://secure.hotels-rates.com/reservations.aspFollow all steps until you receive a cancellation number
Contact our customer service department at X-XXX-XXX-XXXX
E-Mail our customer service department(***@ihsadvantage.com)Please provide all reservation information in the emailPlease be advised that cancellation requests sent via email are not guaranteed unless you receive a cancellation notification email
Service Fee:
USD ***
A USD *** NON-REFUNDABLE SERVICE FEE WILL BE CHARGED AT TIME OF BOOKINGNOT INCLUDED IN TOTALRATE
*As stated on the website prior to making a reservation, this is a non-refundable service fee applied at the time of bookingFor any questions regarding this fee, please contact us at X-XXX-XXX-XXXX
Miscellaneous:
All customer preferences and comments are forwarded to the hotel with the reservation, but are not guaranteed until check-in
Thank you again for making your reservation with Hotels-Rates.com

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/01/09) */
While I can certainly understand MrBurrell's frustration with the situation, it is unfortunately completely within the hotel's right to charge for the first night of his stay - whether he used it or notWhen he made his reservation on
11/29/at 4:43pm (CST) the cancellation policy for the reservation he was making was read to him as:
You May Cancel Your Reservation For A Full Refund Minus A USD *** Cancellation Fee If Cancelled Prior To 11/27/12:Pm (Central Time)Any Cancellation Made After This Time Is Nonrefundable
So, at the time he made his reservation, his entire stay was completely non-refundableIt would have actually been completely within our right to keep the entire amountHowever, we did try to work with the hotel to see if we could convince them to waive the no-show fee for the first nightThey refused - which is within their right as well
It is a common misconception that cancel policies should be related to the time at which you make the reservationIn fact, cancellation policies have nothing to do with when you make the reservation or how long you've had the reservation and everything to do with how far out from the day / time of arrival that you are booking forIf you are very near to the arrival date the cancel policies become very strictIf you are very far from the arrival date, they have a better chance to re-sell the room and therefore the cancel policy is often very lenientThis is not a rule that we made, it is simply the way it works in the industry
We did receive a call from the hotel asking us to refund him for the 2nd night as they were charging him directly for the night of the 30thThis is the refund that he has received and mentioned in his complaintAt no time was he told that he would be receiving a full refundWe have reviewed the recordings of his calls into our customer service centerOn the call he references where he was told when to expect his refund, only night was ever referencedHe never asked about a full refundOur agent saw the night refund and told him when to expect that refund
Unfortunately this is out of our controlWe aren't able to refund for a night if the hotel is going to be charging us for that nightThis wasn't a mistake on our part at allMrBurrell simply made a reservation that was non-refundable at the time he made it
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/01/13) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not except anything they said completely changing the policy after the face get you no where I was not told any thing about their policy to begin with that is a lie.all they wanted from me was my credit cardI called on November 29th to make reservations for Nov 29th and 30th at 4:43pm I called back lesson good at this one at 6pm I talk to the same gentleman he told me he did not know how to give me credit he said I will talk to my manager in the morning about this so of course if he waited the next day to tell his manager it would have been after midnight who should this fault the hotel or internet hotel reservation I would say internet hotel reservation because the man working did not no how to do his job do I have to pay for this mistake they made no I will take it further if I have to they will not get by with this I am sorrythey can come up with all the excuses they want look at the truthI need the $*** more than they by rights and by their on policy I should receive the *** refund I will not pay for some one else mistake that is a promise
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2015/01/23) */
They also said if I cancel before 11/27/That is IMPOSSIBLE at that time I didn't know HOTEL RESERVATION I didn't know any thing about that company because I didn't call until 11/29/How could I have canceled on the 27th Of November I hadn't made the reservations yetOn the 29th November is the first time I called Hotel reservation.something with that picture!!!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/01/30) */
I have issued a refund in the amount of $*** today to MrBurrellI have personally reviewed all of his calls into our customer service center and his original booking callThe facts of this dispute are that he made a reservation that was completely non-refundable from the moment he made itAfter listening to all calls it is clear to me that he doesn't understand that the primary issue is that his reservation - regardless of whether he used all nights or not - was not eligible for a refund at all according to the cancellation policyCertain exceptions can be made if the hotel agrees to refund us, however, the hotel is completely within their right to hold both us and the guest to the booked cancellation policy
In reviewing our booking call with MrBurrell I did determine that our booking agent did correctly explain the cancellation policy to himThe exact statement was "Your cancellation policy has already expired, but I'm required to read you the cancellation policy verbatim anywayYour cancellation policy is 'You May Cancel Your Reservation For A Full Refund Minus A $*** Cancellation Fee If Cancelled Prior To 11/27/12:Pm (Central Time)Any Cancellation Made After This Time Is Nonrefundable.'"
So, when he made the reservation, it was reasonable for us to assume that he understood it wouldn't be eligible for any refund - regardless of whether he used all nights or notHowever, when he called into our customer service department to cancel the night of the 29th, he mistook our willingness to help try to get the hotel to refund him as meaning that he shouldn't have to pay for that nightOur willingness to try to get the hotel to agree to refund - outside of their policy - is simply a service that we offer to try and get the best for our customersThe hotel is completely within their right to hold to their cancel policy
I decided to refund MrBurrell - even though we are still paying for that night - only because our agents were not successful in getting him to understand his cancellation policyThe problem wasn't with the hotel, the whole situation existed because he wasn't due a refund and we did not adequately communicate that to himHad that initial fact been made more clear, the entire situation could have been avoidedHe was confused by our attempts to help him into thinking that he didn't owe that nightI will be reviewing this with all agents involved in his reservation to make sure that it doesn't happen again

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 14, 2014/12/03) */
I have personally reviewed the call recording of this call into our call center. I do want to note that we did actually refund the [redacted] fee as soon as you contacted our customer service department and notified us that you did not understand...

the service fee at the time your reservation was booked. After reviewing your call I believe that our agent did clearly disclose that the fee was a separate charge and was not a part of your room charge though she did use the phrase "so you don't have to pay the whole thing today" which is not a part of our script. This agent is no longer with our company or we would clarify that this phrase should not have been used during your call.
I can assure you that the misunderstanding was in no way intentional and was simply a mistake by the agent. We have already refunded you in full for the booking fee.
In addition, we have done nothing fraudulent in coming up in independent search results under a search term for hotels near Richland Center, WI because we do actually book for hotels near Richland Center, WI. At no time during the call did the agent imply that we were any specific hotel. We are sorry if there was any confusion - but it was certainly not intentional. We do offer that service and feel it is perfectly appropriate for us to come up when someone searches for a service that we offer.