Priceline Hotel: Outraged at Marriott Copley Place

[nuna]

Hello!

I'm extremely upset with Marriott Copley Place - Boston,Ma.-and i would very much appreciate your help. I bought through Priceline a room for August 19,2003 until 23 August 2003 which i paid and received a confirmation number.Afterwards i noticed that Marriott charged my credit card for the same dates.I took the following actions:

I faxed the Marriot headquarters and Marriott Copley Place and i included the priceline hotel receipt as proof of payment i also called my credit card company and suspended the payment.

I received yesterday a fax from Marriott Copley Place stating that the payment for the 4 nights is due.They did not responded to my claim just sent the billing statement.

Thank you

Nuna

[nuna]

I'm sorry where it says "I received yesterday a fax from Marriott Copley Place" I meant Visa International.

Nuna

[thereuare]

Please post your winning bid as a separate topic and i will then advise with my thoughts.

[thereuare]

Thank you for posting the winning bid.

Just to get some add'l information, is the hotel charge for the same amount as the Priceline charge, or is it for a dfferent amount:

-if it's much less, then the hotel is probably charging for incidentals/dinners charged to the room (even if you didn't charge anything to the room, the hotel may think you have, and it will need to be handled differently than the above)

-if it's much more, the hotel is likely charging you their own rate for your stay and not associating this with a Priceline reservation

-if it's the same amount, then the hotel doesn't have a record of Priceline paying them and you'll also need to contact Priceline

Report back as to which of the above scenarios and i'll provide more info as they each need to be handled in a different manner.

Regardless of which of the above scenarios is accurate, I'm confident this will get resolved, it's just a clerical matter (on both the hotel's end and your credit card company end... both are being lazy).

When disputing the charge and faxing the credit card company, i would not only fax them the Priceline receipt page but also the credit card bill which shows the Priceline charge (hopefully you used the same credit card company for both but i'd do this even if you didn't).

[nuna]

Thanks for your prompt reply,thereuare.

Scenario 3 is close.Room charges are identical $90.00 per night although the taxes are different.

The total amount of the Marriott Copley Place is: $404.84

The total amount of Priceline is: $417.73

I'm going to include the credit card bill as you suggested.

[Welldone Rumproast]

Hi nuna, sorry to hear about your situation (I had a similar problem with a Westin in Detroit which was just resolved literally this morning).

Over on the FlyerTalk board, a notation has been made of a Marriott e-mail address and also a phone number for problems like yours.

The e-mail address is: [email protected]

The Phone number (corporate office, so weekday business hours only) is 800-638-8108. Press '0' for operator and ask to be transferred to Guest Relations.

The person who posted about the e-mail mentioned that he received a reply on a Saturday, so this *may* mean that they work on weekends :)

This is a guess concerning the credit card notification you mentioned: It's possible that the credit card company was saying that you need to keep your account current while the dispute is being resolved. Some people mistakenly think that their right to dispute incorrect charges allows them to withhold the payment. So the notice from Visa may just be an automatically-generated reminder so that you account does not go into past due status (and incur late fees etc.)

[thereuare]

As always, Welldone Rumproast gives good advice!! :)

If the situation is scenario 3, then it appears that Priceline hasn't paid for the room (or their paying for the room didn't 'link' to your stay/reservation). The difference in taxes is Priceline's fee, as Pricelines figure includes taxes and their fee, while the Marriott's figure only includes taxes.

A brief summary of what happens behind the scenes: you win a bid and Priceline charges your credit card. They hold this money and pay the hotel after you check-in using their own credit card. So it appears that there was a breakdown in the system between Priceline paying the hotel and the hotel recording that it was paid (this could be the fault of either Pricelne or the hotel).

Once again, I wouldn't worry about this because it will get resolved, although how quickly it gets resolved depends upon how much time and effort you want to put into it. I will list everything that i would do in this situation, but you don't need to follow them all (personally, i'd rather put forth the extra effort and get it resolved quickly than wait for somebody else to take care of it).

Here's the list (in order of how i would proceed):

-email the address above that WDR supplied (be sure to include your Priceline confirmation number)

-email Priceline with your reservation confirmation number and tell them that the hotel is claiming that they haven't gotten paid for your stay and has billed your credit card

-call the Marriott number WDR supplied above and explain the situation (if not resolved by Monday)

-call and/or fax your credit card company again, including the bill showing the Priceline charge for this stay

I'm sorry you have to deal with this, but if it's any consolation, it does happen occaisionally and there have been other instances reported (all that i know of have been resolved).

Hope the above info helps, and please keep us updated as to the status of the situation and certainly let us know when it gets resolved.

[nuna]

Hi Welldone Rumproast and Thereuare!

I've already done everything you advised me to except the e-mail to [email protected]'s my next step.

I sent a email to Priceline but so far i haven't received any answer.

Thank you both for your kind words and great help.I'll keep you posted about the situation as soon as i have any news.

Please,forgive my spelling i'm not a native speaker.

Thanks

nuna

[nuna]

Hi thereuare and Welldone Rumproast!

I presume the Marriott Copley ordeal is over.

As i told you i would keep you informed here's the sequel:

Priceline sent me an e-mail telling me that they spoke with M.C.P and informed me that that my cc was taken for payment of incidentals,however it will not be charged for the room and tax;

Received an e-mail from [email protected] telling me that they have forwarded my comments to the hotel's accounting office and have requested that someone from that office researched my concerns and responded directly to me;

Finnally,yesterday,i received an answer from MCP saying that:"A credit of $404.84 has been issued to your credit card for your Priceline reservation.".

Thanks so much thereuare and WDR for taking the time to help me.

Sincerely

nuna

[thereuare]

Glad to hear it was resolved and thanks for following up.