Should I trust Hotels.com? (also, Hard Rock vs RPR)

[MousetersInc]

I'd really like to stay at Royal Pacific, but they seem to be out of non-suite rooms on my dates. Hotels.com has the regular rooms, but I need reassuring:

1. Could booking via Hotels.com cause any kind of hiccups? like with getting our UEPs linked, or other aspects of the visit that are linked to the hotel stay?
2. Should I trust Hotels.com's claim that these rooms are available? Like, best scenario, I guess they bought up some rooms and are reselling them. Worst case, they're just not accurately reflecting availability and I'll be stuck.

Meanwhile, regular rooms are available at Hard Rock. I would prefer the theming of RPR, but a close second in the choice is its convenient location for walking. It seems like Hard Rock is just as close? except that it's closer to Universal Studios and RPR is closer to Islands of Adventure? Is this true, and it's just a matter of apples & oranges & theme? If so (and if there are downsides to using resellers) I'll definitely just grab the Hard Rock.

 

[schumigirl]

You`ll have no issues getting your EP. You get that no matter who you book the hotel through.

Yes, RP is closer to IOA, takes us around 7 minutes to walk to the gates from the hotel. HRH is closer to Studios. Difference is negligable so book whatever theme appeals more.

No idea about Hotels.com, never used them.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

I just read a travel blog about the blogger booking a NYC hotel room through Hotels.com and they got walked from the hotel and Hotels.com refused to refund the cost of the night even though the hotel overbooked. Hotel said refund would have to be through Hotels.com and not them. Nightmare. I follow a lot of bloggers and I can't remember which one wrote about this.
Head to their BBB complain page and take a look. I would NOT use them based on all the complaints.
https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/dallas/profile/hotel-reservation/hotelscom-0875-7000982/complaints

 

[Shellyred8]

I just read a travel blog about the blogger booking a NYC hotel room through Hotels.com and they got walked from the hotel and Hotels.com refused to refund the cost of the night even though the hotel overbooked. Hotel said refund would have to be through Hotels.com and not them. Nightmare. I follow a lot of bloggers and I can't remember which one wrote about this.
Head to their BBB complain page and take a look. I would NOT use them based on all the complaints.
https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/dallas/profile/hotel-reservation/hotelscom-0875-7000982/complaints

I've seen Travel bloggers make similar comments about non-hotel direct booking sites in general. They commented that if the hotel overbooks, the will give priority to those that booked directly with their hotel's website, as opposed to a third party website. So, it sounds like this could happen with any 3rd party booking site.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

I've seen Travel bloggers make similar comments about non-hotel direct booking sites in general. They commented that if the hotel overbooks, the will give priority to those that booked directly with their hotel's website, as opposed to a third party website. So, it sounds like this could happen with any 3rd party booking site.

Yes, prioritzing bookings is common, but taking the money and refusing to refund when walked is unacceptable. That is the issue.

 

[RoseGold]

Pre-Covid, I had a lot of hotels.com bookings, I mean a lot. If they don't have the room, they cancel it in a day or two.

If they really screw up and you show up and they messed it up, they fix it. Once, they moved me to a nicer hotel! Generally, I thought this was handled fine the few times there were issues. Now that I think about it, most of these were in smaller European hotels. I never had a problem with a big chain with a good system, which I would assume this hotel definitely is.

 

[Mle8308]

Yes, prioritzing bookings is common, but taking the money and refusing to refund when walked is unacceptable. That is the issue.

Anytime you book through a third party your refund will come from that booking agent, not the hotel directly. The way it works is the hotel is paid by the booking company (Hotels.com, Expedia, etc) after the guest checks out, so the hotel itself won't refund you because they don't yet have the money. If you are walked, the hotel you are being walked from will pay for the night at the new hotel and not bill the broker for the night, so the booking company is the one holding your money. The broker is the one who should issue the refund. Plus, the hotel does not know how you paid the company for your reservation, they do not have access to that information and therefore can't credit anything back. The hotel did not charge your credit card so they can't credit back what they haven't charged. On the flip side, if you decide you want to extend your stay, the hotel can't change the reservation made by the third party. The guest would have to contact the company to see if they still had the room and rate available then have the company make another reservation. Or, you could have the front desk make a new reservation, though they may not honor the rate you found through a third party.

 

[JennyDrake]

I've used Hotels.com extensively for years and never had an issue.