I will be staying at Hotel Felix in two weeks and I'm already dreading my stay! They were just so rude to me on the phone, and they made me very aware that b/c I'm a Hotwire customer I'm a second rate customer. I made a mistake I'll never make again: I booked a room at Hotel Felix through Hotwire. If you're clever with Hotwire, you can pretty much figure out which hotel you'll get during the booking process. I was initially very excited to land a room at the Hotel Felix ... then I called them and it was all downhill from there.
I've been a big fan of Hotwire for years: I like an adventure (never know exactly where you'll stay until your credit card is already charged) and in these times we all needs to save a few bucks on a hotel - hey, I'm a librarian, and we don't exactly roll in the dough! I've never had a problem getting a two bed room for two people with a Hotwire reservation (I usually travel with library colleagues): make your reservation via Hotwire, call the hotel to confirm and select your room type, and you're good to go!
Not with Hotel Felix. I was told my reservation was for a single queen bed hotel room and they would not honor my request for an "upgrade" to a two bed room. Per the Hotwire terms of service, Hotel Felix informed me, all that they had to do was provide me with a room that would accommodate two people, and that could even be just a full size bed. Basically, Hotel Felix conveyed that b/c I made a reservation via Hotwire, I'm a second rate customer and eligible only for the smallest, least popular room type. I inquired about availability of two bed rooms and was told that there were plenty, but they wouldn't be "upgrading" me b/c they didn't have to.
I called Hotwire, and they just referred to their terms of service: "Room type will be determined by the hotel based on the number of guests provided at time of booking. All reservations are booked for stays in non-smoking rooms (subject to availability). Hotel room assignments are determined at check-in and upgrades are not available." A Hotwire agent, Don, did try to contact the hotel but they were unwilling to budge. Don let me know that I might be able to "upgrade" when I arrive, but not to count on it. There's fine print, and then there's customer service, don't you think?
So now Hotel Felix has my money and Hotwire has its fee and I'm arriving in two weeks and just dreading it. Both Hotwire and Hotel Felix have forever lost my future business as well as that of my friends and family.
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