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Monday, August 11, 2008
INTERNET BUYER BEWARE!!!!
I feel I have a responsibility to my readers to tell them of my experience and WARN them about booking a stay at the Hotel Mascagni in Rome. I wrote about my trip to Rome and my anticipation in staying in this hotel (see the post here) This Hotel came recommended to me by a client and, although I was satisfied with my stay, I am extremely unsatisfied with the way they handled my booking and their discounting of room rates via the Internet . I booked this Hotel online 3 weeks prior to my arrival In Rome and two nights before I was set to arrive I went online to send an email to the Hotel to confirm my reservation, and to my surprise I found that the room rate had been discounted ENORMOUSLY!!! In my email to the Hotel I brought this to their attention and requested the new "lowest available price". This request was ignored by the Hotel in their email reservation confirmation back to me. When I checked into the Hotel, I again enquired about the lower rate posted on the Internet, and I was told to talk to the Manager the next morning. Well for the next three mornings the Manager was not available and finally upon check-out I again requested to speak to Mr. or Ms. Manager, but this time I clarified it by saying that I would not finalize my bill WITHOUT speaking to Mr. or Ms. Manager. Miraculously Mr. Manager appeared. When I requested the lower Internet pricing that was available before the time of my check-in, I was told it was not available..... It seems that they have RULES (that are curiously not posted on their web-site), and as I apparently did not know "THE RULES", I was out of luck and out of pocket. I was told that THE RULES are:- "I should have canceled my reservation for the higher rate on-line and re-booked at the lower rate on-line"! This would have put me,the customer, in a precarious position of traveling to a foreign country and not knowing for sure if I would indeed be able to re-book my room. I expressed my dissatisfaction with this Unwritten and therefore Secret RULE, but was met with a blank stare and silence!! It was like I was being dismissed by Meryl Streep in the movie: The Devil Wears Prada" with a curt "That's All"!
So I would like to duly warn all of you readers of my Blog:
" BEWARE OF UNSATISFACTORY INTERNET BOOKING PROTOCOL for the HOTEL MASCAGNI ROME"
In North America I am used to booking rooms online and being guaranteed the "best available rate". But dear reader, please beware that this does not Apply for the Hotel Mascagni in Rome.
Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design.
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