The Pacific Inn

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/07/21) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted] GM
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@thepacificinn.com
Reservation booked by [redacted] on 7/2/15 at 4:39pm for a one night stay arriving on 7/2/15.
A confirmation email...

reflecting these details was sent to the guest at 4:47pm on 7/2/15 to [redacted]@hotmail.com.
Listed on the confirmation email it states "Cancellation Policy - Please cancel 24 hours in advance to avoid a "No Show" charge equal to one night's room and tax.
[redacted] booked a reservation for a one night stay knowing that in booking a same day reservation it was confirmed, and that a fee would be charged if she cancelled.
She called around 10:37pm to cancel the reservation and was charged according to The Pacific Inn's cancellation policy.
The Pacific Inn was sold out the evening 7/2/15 and other individuals were turned away because a room was being held for her.
The following day [redacted] called to speak with a Manager to dispute this charge. She was sent another copy of the hotel's cancellation policy and was informed that she would be unable to refund the fee charged.
By giving the hotel her Credit Card to secure the room, she at that point entered into a contract, a confirmation email was sent less than 10 minutes after her reservation was made outlining our cancellation policy, and lastly [redacted] called after 10pm to inform the property she would not be coming in.
All of the information listed above is documented and reports with can be sent in separately if requested.
In regards to getting a runaround from my staff in regards to who and how to contact the General Manager is not acceptable. I have taken action to ensure this does not happen again. While I would have been more than happy to discuss this situation in more detail at the time, I do stand behind our company's policy and will not be able to make an exception in this situation due to the circumstances listed above.
If you have any further questions in regards to this matter please feel free to contact me, Shari Marcoux, directly at XXX-XXX-XXXX ext. 105 or by email at [redacted]@thepacificinn.com.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 11, 2015/07/22) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
As I stated before, I did not receive a confirmation email from the company as promised after the reservation was made. I was advised by staff that sometimes the email takes a while to show which is why I didn't call them back to inquire about it when I did not receive it right away especially due to the fact that my intention was to check in anyway. Had I known my training the next day was going to be cancelled I would have never made the reservation in the beginning. That was out of my control.
It was mentioned I gave them a credit card which entered me into a contract. That was NEVER mentioned. I was told I could not book the reservation without a credit card to hold the room. I asked if they could hold the room until I arrived and I was specifically told no that they could not book my reservation without a credit card number.
When I called them to cancel around 8:30, I was told that I needed to cancel within 24 hours I advised staff that I had just booked the reservation the same day and was not aware that my training was going to be cancelled.
They allege they sent me the information of their cancellation policy which to this day I still have NOT received.
This hotel was highly recommended by my training coordinator which is why I booked my reservation through them. Unfortunately, I was not afforded the opportunity to give a 24 hour notice to cancel because the reservation was booked and cancelled within hours of each other.
They are being unfair and unreasonable in this situation and I refuse to pay for a service I did NOT receive. The hotel didn't want to resolve this issue, I was discourged from disputing the matter, and the hotel did not offer to issue a credit for a future visit/stay. It has been my experience when faced with having to cancel with other hotels that every hotel cancels the reservation with no problem. I have never had this much resistance with a vendor. However, most honest and credible hotels usually issue the customer a credit back and aren't so unreasonable.
In reading the response from the hotel, I guess the staff was correct in advising me it would be useless disputing the charges. Definitely good to know and information to report back to my training coordinator for the future.
I too stand firm on my decision to dispute these charges.