Wow! La Posada Hotel, Winslow AZ -- no refunds 7 weeks out because of cancellations bleeding them dry

[clifffaith]

We do Sedona-Santa Fe-Scottsdale every year. Usually all Diamond Resorts timeshares, this time using Worldmark in Santa Fe. Cliff objected to my "compact" one bedroom Santa Fe reservation, so I changed to a standard one bedroom, but had to waitlist May 5. Ten days to two weeks ago I made a reservation at La Posada for the 5th & 6th, figuring we'd do Meteor Crater, Painted Desert and Petrified Forest before moving on to Scottsdale. I love La Posada! Great restaurant, wonderful giftshop, interesting restoration story (was a Harvey House hotel). We stayed there for our 30th anniversary, and usually stop to eat on the way from SF to Scottsdale. So my waitlist in SF came in for the 5th, so assuming we are even going on our trip at all, I decided to cancel our hotel reservations today. No can do. Gift certificate only that can be used in the future. They've had 100 cancellations today alone (and I had to leave a message for them to call me back). So I raised a mildly firm stink about living in Los Angeles, moving to San Diego, 82 year old husband and I'd like my money back please. Thank you very much. Gift certificate is instead on the way and general manager will call me in the next week. I feel for them, on the other hand I don't really like them living off my $287 payment in full.

 

[Tank]

Did you pay the cheaper rate or the more expensive rate that allows one to cancel?

Is the hotel open or shut down?

 

[clifffaith]

Picked a room type and made a reservation on their website. Don't know whether they are staying open or not, and seven weeks in advance I'm sure they don't know if they'll be open either. This is a boutique hotel, not a Marriott.

 

[WalnutBaron]

Sorry to hear about this, but the travel industry is bleeding like no other right now. It's very possible that the hotel will not survive the virus. Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and the fact that it's not part of the Marriott chain means there is no strong financial backing.

 

[Luanne]

I found this on their website:
Reservations are Non Refundable
If your travel plans change, your reservation can be moved to any date without penalty given 48 hours advance notice.
If you are unsure when you are able to reschedule your visit, we will give you a credit for a future stay.

So, did they require payment in full when you made the reservation? This is on their reservation page. It does contradict this from their website about hotel policies. You might be able to use it to further your attempt for a refund.

Making, Confirming, & Canceling Reservations
To reseve your room call us at 928.289.4366. We also welcome tour groups, but you must reserve well in advance. The total room fee will be taken as a deposit in advance to confirm your reservation. If you would like to cancel, you must do so 7 days prior your arrival date to receive a full refund of your deposit.

We stayed there a few years back on one of our trips to Las Vegas, Nevada. Love the hotel and the restaurant. The owner, who refurnished the hotel, just finished refurbishing another Harvey Hotel in Las Vegas, NM.

@WalnutBaron the owner has pretty deep pockets, or at least good backing. Besides these two former Harvey House hotels he also refurbished the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, NM and also has a proposal in for a large chunk of land the city of Santa Fe owns that housed a non defunct college.

 

[VacationForever]

It sounds like you had paid ahead and pre-pay rate is usually non-refundable.

 

[clifffaith]

It sounds like you had paid ahead and pre-pay rate is usually non-refundable.

Wasn't a "rate" it was the "price".

 

[VacationForever]

Wasn't a "rate" it was the "price".

But if you paid then, it is most likely a non-refundable price, rate, whatever. The point is if your card gets charged then it is usually non-refundable.

 

[jonmaiman]

Did you receive a confirmation email or an old fashion confirmation letter via US Mail? Assuming you did, what are the terms and conditions listed in the confirmation? If it said non-refundable and you didn't notice, that is unfortunate but you are still on the hook for it. If the confirmation had a cancellation policy including refunds that you are complying with, than push back harder on them.

--Jon

 

[clifffaith]

But if you paid then, it is most likely a non-refundable price, rate, whatever. The point is if your card gets charged then it is usually non-refundable.

My printout says full refund up to 7 days before start of reservation.

 

[Luanne]

Wasn't a "rate" it was the "price".

As I just posted, this is on their website. Do you remember seeing it when you made the reservation? I'm assuming you did pre pay.

Reservations are Non Refundable
If your travel plans change, your reservation can be moved to any date without penalty given 48 hours advance notice.
If you are unsure when you are able to reschedule your visit, we will give you a credit for a future stay.

 

[Luanne]

My printout says full refund up to 7 days before start of reservation.

And this is the policy that still shows on their website. That's in addition to the Non-refundable notice they have on the reservation page.

Sounds like "if" they updated their policy to one of no refunds they didn't update the website. I know I would never make a hotel reservation ahead of time that could not be cancelled. I think you have a good case to push back since you have the 7 day cancellation policy in hand.

 

[isisdave]

And, since you have documentation in hand, you could take it up with your credit card company if it's not too old. You could fax a copy to the hotel and mention this plan.

I am thinking the hotel doesn't actually have the money to refund right now.

I wonder if you could offer the stay or the certificate here on TUG's last minute deals.

 

[clifffaith]

And this is the policy that still shows on their website. That's in addition to the Non-refundable notice they have on the reservation page.

Sounds like "if" they updated their policy to one of no refunds they didn't update the website. I know I would never make a hotel reservation ahead of time that could not be cancelled. I think you have a good case to push back since you have the 7 day cancellation policy in hand.

I agree, I wouldn't make a "regular" reservation that couldn't be cancelled. A few years ago we made a summer Grand Tetons cabin reservation, knowing it was non-refundable and knowing it had to be done 9 months in advance or there would be no availability. Ended up cancelling when we realized I couldn't walk well enough to make the trip. Repeated the non-refundable process the next year, and made the trip.

 

[clifffaith]

Called Chase credit, phone message indicated long wait times and suggested going online. Couldn't find a way to report a dispute online, Googled it, and sure enough the menu is now missing the "dispute charge" function so it can't be done online. Sat on hold while I did stuff at my desk, then bailed at 1hr 17min. Bill isn't due until April 7th, so I'll try again at the end of the month, and then if I still can't get through I'll pay by snail mail, short paying the charge and enclosing a copy of the hotel confirmation specifying full refund if cancelled before 7 days from check in.

 

[Luanne]

Called Chase credit, phone message indicated long wait times and suggested going online. Couldn't find a way to report a dispute online, Googled it, and sure enough the menu is now missing the "dispute charge" function so it can't be done online. Sat on hold while I did stuff at my desk, then bailed at 1hr 17min. Bill isn't due until April 7th, so I'll try again at the end of the month, and then if I still can't get through I'll pay by snail mail, short paying the charge and enclosing a copy of the hotel confirmation specifying full refund if cancelled before 7 days from check in.

Interesting that the dispute function isn't there. I'm going to go into my Chase account and see if I can find it.

Okay, found it. Click the arrow to the right of the charge you want to dispute. A screen will come up with more details. There is a link there to "Dispute Transaction". Click on that and you can put your charge into dispute.

 

[clifffaith]

I'll look again tomorrow when I'm back at my desk, thanks!

 

[Luanne]

@clifffaith Were you able to put your charge in dispute?

 

[clifffaith]

@clifffaith Were you able to put your charge in dispute?

Yes, I finally got it done online yesterday, although they didn't ask for any explanation or documentation. So we'll see what comes of that. La Posada did leave a message today while we were out standing in line at six different grocery stores getting my parents set up to survive for the next 7-10 days. At this point thinking not to return the call; I'm not interested in being cajoled to accept a gift certificate, and I've already disputed the charge with my CC so don't see the point.

 

[Luanne]

Yes, I finally got it done online yesterday, although they didn't ask for any explanation or documentation. So we'll see what comes of that. La Posada did leave a message today while we were out standing in line at six different grocery stores getting my parents set up to survive for the next 7-10 days. At this point thinking not to return the call; I'm not interested in being cajoled to accept a gift certificate, and I've already disputed the charge with my CC so don't see the point.

Chase may come back later and ask for more information. I thought they usually asked for a description, but maybe they just want you to select how much of the amount you're putting in dispute and the reason. Good luck!

 

[Timeshare Von]

Sorry to hear about this, but the travel industry is bleeding like no other right now. It's very possible that the hotel will not survive the virus. Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and the fact that it's not part of the Marriott chain means there is no strong financial backing.

I don't know about "the travel industry is bleeding like no other right now."

Our bowling industry is comprised of primarily family owned businesses. Likewise for restaurants & bars. Here in Wisconsin, with mandatory shutdown since Tuesday, they are hemmoraging like no other! At least the hotels and others in the travel industry can remain open if it is reasonable to do so.

I have my own nightmare I'm dealing with out in Colorado. I was going to go to Denver for an industry conference & trade show. Prior to the "work" part of the trip, I scheduled 4 days of R&R for Rocky Mountain National Park. (I posted about that here on TUG as well.)

With the trade show cancelled, it is highly probably the entire conference will soon cancel. So as I worked to cancel all of my reservations (two hotels, car rental and airline) the hotel for my R&R part of my 10 day trip, refused to issue a refund of my one night's "non-refundable" deposit. I argued a bit with her saying this far out, if they are still open, she will surely be able to resale the room nights. She argued a bit and then offered a cancellation less a rather steep cancellation fee. She proceeded to lecture me that as a small business owner, she needed to keep all money she has and that I needed to understand how bad this is on her and her business.

I get it! I work with and for small business owners who may not survive this without some assistance from the government . . . or at least lienent lenders holding loans.

The entire situation sucks. I know. I wish this wasn't our new normal . . . for at least the foreseeable future.

 

[clifffaith]

Just got an email with a confirmation # for the cancellation. Cliff asked "how did you make that happen?" I don't know -- because I bitched on the phone last week (firmly & nicely), because I disputed with my cc, because I didn't call the General Manager back when she called and she gave up on me? Who knows. I am now a happy stay-at-homer.

 

[Luanne]

Just got an email with a confirmation # for the cancellation. Cliff asked "how did you make that happen?" I don't know -- because I bitched on the phone last week (firmly & nicely), because I disputed with my cc, because I didn't call the General Manager back when she called and she gave up on me? Who knows. I am now a happy stay-at-homer.

Okay, you got a confirmation number for the cancellation. Did you also get confirmation that you would get a refund?

 

[clifffaith]

Okay, you got a confirmation number for the cancellation. Did you also get confirmation that you would get a refund?

Of course!