Complaint Review: Best Western International Inc

     I worked for Best Western for 2 years, and I have taken thousands of calls from consumers who call the 800 number that is for all Best Westerns, or Best Western International.

First of all, All BW's are INDEPENDENTLY owned and operated. BWI is simply a reservation center. They are given the rates for all of the BW's worldwide, and those rates are set and posted by the hotels directly. The reason for BWI 800 number is to give guest one convienient number to call to book a reservation, have questions answered and not have to wait for the hotel staff to pick up your calls (some of you are very impatient and will not wait for the hotel to answer when they are busy serving other guest).

Second, many callers want to play the rate chase game, and instead what they should do is state that they are looking for the lowest available rate, if they see a rate online, just tell the rep so that the rep can try to match it...there are so many, many rates in the computer and the reps are told to find the best available rate first (that means the rack rate, not the lowest rate.) If you have AAA, AARP, GOVERMENT/Millitary etc...just  say so.

People think they are saving big money by going to hotels.com or orbitz and bookings.com and a rate that matches those 3rd party rates may be in the BWI system but the rep has to go search for it to match it (lots of time we have even better rates to offer but need a few minutes to search it for you-patience once again is needed). Sometimes a lower rate is not there, and you can then go directly to the hotel to book it (which I reccommend) and the hotel can match it or do better. If you choose to book on the 3rd party site to save a few bucks, then READ THE FINE PRINT-# times and ask questions before you book, and if you have a problem afterbooking it, then go back to where you booked it, as they have your cc info, not BWI and in many cases the hotel has not received it either as it may not have been sent to their internal system yet. I will also cuation you to read the fine print when booking online at bestwestern.com. The reason is that there are "ONLINE ONLY" rate that give you a discount for booking online...and please do not call them to book an online only rate...it its what it states. AN "Online only" rate USUALLY, although not always, calls for you to pay IMMEDIATELY up front and the advisement states that it is too late to cancel and that is written in RED and you see this message BEFORE you hit continue. When you book that rate and then call to cancel, you will be denied. You can Squawk and balk but the legal message is spelled out for you and they dont care if you get upset or dont stay with them after that, so don't bother griping afterward.

It's sort of like going to Burger  King to get a meal, and then expecting Mcdonalds to fix the order and issue a refund for you. BWI is NOT the hotel and Bookings.com is NOT the hotel. They are 3rd party vendors and they should call the hotel on your behalf to fix the issue. You call them first, and the 3rd party should work to fix it on your behalf because you did business with them and not at the hotel directly. You get what you pay for.

 The reps at BWI want to give you the best rate, but they are not mind readers. They do not automatically know who you are when you call (even with your rewards number), they do not keep or have your credit card number on file, they have no idea when you last stayed and they do not automatically know what type of room or rate that you want. Ask for what you want and be patient and wait for the rep to read you the advisements regarding cancellation and credit cards/debit policies and fees.  ALL BWI reps are required to tell you and the calls are recorded and graded on whether or not they tell you everything...or they lose their jobs. So when or if a customer "misrepresents" or claims that they are not being told everything, just know that it can be traced back to find out if that is actually the case or not. I have had many callers hang up on me or rush me off the phone while I was reading these advisements.

SLOW DOWN, READ EVERYTHING and Learn to Listen more and talk less so you can get the help that you need and truly save time and money.

... third party booking sites are very convenient but that's about all they are good for. I work at the front desk of a Best Western property, I cannot tell you how many times we have had billing and reservation issues with sites like Hotels.com, Travelocity, Expedia and others. Just this weekend actually a nice couple came to my counter with an online reservation for a non smoking room made a month ago, but in the computer it was made out as a smoking room.

The hotel staff had nothing to do with it.

In the future I suggest you call the hotel directly to make your reservations: If you want something done right, do it yourself.

update...best western contacted me and said that they had been working with orbitz and they did refund the overdraft fees.

Despite what the last person said, not all hotel reservations booked through a third party website will be charged to your credit card immediately.

Some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer very low nightly rates to guests. In order for these low rates to be offered, the website has to prepay the reservation. In this instance, when a customer books a hotel reservation online, their credit card is charged immediately.

On the other hand, some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer a slight discount to guests. These reservations are not guaranteed by prepayment and the guest will pay the hotel directly upon checkout.

There are occasions, however, when a hotel will not require prepayment in full, but will require a deposit (usually one night). It sounds like this is what's happening in your case.

I'm not sure how this particular hotel's reservations work, but, if Orbitz has correct information than it sounds like the employee who charged your credit card just didn't understand how reservations booked through Orbitz.com are handled and charged you the normal one-night deposit amount.

My suggestion, call the hotel back and speak with a supervisor or manager. If that doesn't work, contact their corporate office.

Despite what the last person said, not all hotel reservations booked through a third party website will be charged to your credit card immediately.

Some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer very low nightly rates to guests. In order for these low rates to be offered, the website has to prepay the reservation. In this instance, when a customer books a hotel reservation online, their credit card is charged immediately.

On the other hand, some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer a slight discount to guests. These reservations are not guaranteed by prepayment and the guest will pay the hotel directly upon checkout.

There are occasions, however, when a hotel will not require prepayment in full, but will require a deposit (usually one night). It sounds like this is what's happening in your case.

I'm not sure how this particular hotel's reservations work, but, if Orbitz has correct information than it sounds like the employee who charged your credit card just didn't understand how reservations booked through Orbitz.com are handled and charged you the normal one-night deposit amount.

My suggestion, call the hotel back and speak with a supervisor or manager. If that doesn't work, contact their corporate office.

Despite what the last person said, not all hotel reservations booked through a third party website will be charged to your credit card immediately.

Some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer very low nightly rates to guests. In order for these low rates to be offered, the website has to prepay the reservation. In this instance, when a customer books a hotel reservation online, their credit card is charged immediately.

On the other hand, some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer a slight discount to guests. These reservations are not guaranteed by prepayment and the guest will pay the hotel directly upon checkout.

There are occasions, however, when a hotel will not require prepayment in full, but will require a deposit (usually one night). It sounds like this is what's happening in your case.

I'm not sure how this particular hotel's reservations work, but, if Orbitz has correct information than it sounds like the employee who charged your credit card just didn't understand how reservations booked through Orbitz.com are handled and charged you the normal one-night deposit amount.

My suggestion, call the hotel back and speak with a supervisor or manager. If that doesn't work, contact their corporate office.

Despite what the last person said, not all hotel reservations booked through a third party website will be charged to your credit card immediately.

Some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer very low nightly rates to guests. In order for these low rates to be offered, the website has to prepay the reservation. In this instance, when a customer books a hotel reservation online, their credit card is charged immediately.

On the other hand, some hotel chains have contracts with third party websites in which they offer a slight discount to guests. These reservations are not guaranteed by prepayment and the guest will pay the hotel directly upon checkout.

There are occasions, however, when a hotel will not require prepayment in full, but will require a deposit (usually one night). It sounds like this is what's happening in your case.

I'm not sure how this particular hotel's reservations work, but, if Orbitz has correct information than it sounds like the employee who charged your credit card just didn't understand how reservations booked through Orbitz.com are handled and charged you the normal one-night deposit amount.

My suggestion, call the hotel back and speak with a supervisor or manager. If that doesn't work, contact their corporate office.

Orbitz is a third party affiliate,Best Western has nothing to do with them.They just have an agreement with them for lower rates to the consumers.When you book with third party websites, they automatically charge a deposit or full pay and the info is sent to the hotel to redeem the funds.The hotel was only doing there job of what is asked of them.When you made your reservation,I am sure that you received a itinerary, and I am sure that it stated that you would be charged some kind of deposit.The complaint needs to be taken up with the third party where you made your initial reservation,not with BW.When the front desk receives your reservation,they clearly charge for whatever the reservation states.They are not psychic,and only do what it states on the reservation.you need to read the info that you received and I am sure it states in there somewhere that you would be charged.Quit blaming someone else for you own actions.Also,Bw hotels are individually owned and operated and they are not responsible for any overdraft fees thru a third party affiliate.