Complaint Review: Knight's Inn - Roanoke Virginia

I work in the hotel industry (NOT for a third-party website). Hotels are actually violating policies with companies such as Expedia, Travelocity, etc. if they give you a receipt showing the rate. Many consumers do not understand this commisionable rate, so it alleviates a lot of frustration for consumers not to see a receipt for $40 when they paid $70. You can explain it to some of them until you are blue in the face, and they want credit for the $30 - some people just do not understand (I speak from experience, unfortunately). I was tickled to see that you do! :) At our hotel, we give guests requesting a receipt one that shows a zero balance. Upon check in a second account is opened for any additional charges. This is the only receipt we are allowed to give to the guest. We honestly don't know what the third-party websites have charged the guests (although more than likely, it's more than you would have gotten than if you booked directly - there are quite a few "hidden" fees). The only way to know if you are being mis-charged is to get a receipt from the party who is putting the charge on your card - the website, not the hotel. From my understanding, upon booking, you should receive an email with all of the details. Use this to balance against your credit card statement. As for Trip Rewards points, online reservations through third-party channels are a non qualifying rate, because of the intricacies involved. The hotel is not putting the charges on your card - they are billing the website. There's no way to know what amount you paid the website, so they cannot give points on this. Perhaps some hotels have chosen to do so, but the program does not require it (because hotels are individually owned - they do have leeway and options). Even if you were given a receipt, if you had called Trip Rewards to get the points, that is the answer you would have gotten. The whole purpose of the program is to generate loyalty within consumers, and part of that loyalty is trying to encourage guests to book directly. That's the best way to make sure everything is handled properly. :)

Jessica, Jessica, Jessica... While I thank you for your input, I have to admit that I think you misunderstood my complaint. The hotel does not know how much I paid Expedia, absolutely correct. But they DO know how much the room rate is that they are giving me--again, absolutely correct. Three of the four hotels I stayed at gave me receipts, not for the Expedia rate, but for the rate of the room MINUS the Expedia rate/fees, which would equal what they charged Expedia for the room. For example, the room was $76 on Expedia, Ramada Inn charged me $44. Expedia therefore charged me a whopping $32 to make the reservation on-line. Because Ramada Inn gave me the receipt of their room rate, I was able to go to Expedia and argue that this $32 was too much. The receipt was the deciding proof for them. And you're right, when I blanace my credit card, I can use the Expedia receipt....but when I use a military credit card, and I get reimbursed all fees including the Expedia fees, it pays for me to try to get receipts, agree? But you don't know anything about that. For this instance, I have an Expedia charge on my credit card for around $60 and the room was around $44, but I have to pay the entire $60 because I don't have proof that the room was actually $44 MINUS the Expedia fees. THANKS KNIGHTS INN! So, because this guy refiused to help me out, he cost me $16, lesson learned. And as for the TripRewards, it wasn't because "Award points and airline mileage may not be awarded when booking an Expedia Special Rate hotel", I got credit for ALL rooms, minus this one, and they were ALL made using Expedia. A simple fax of the receipt, as I did with the other three receipts, would have ensured that I got my points, but I had no receipt. THANKS KNIGHTS INN! So MY suggestion before you reply with a rebuttal, ensure that you read (and REread) the initial complaint. Thanks for your help!

Before anyone asks......Yes I work in travel, but not with Expedia. When you make a hotel reservation through one of the online sites (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc), the hotel will not give you a receipt. Why? Because you didn't pay the hotel. You paid Expedia. The hotel probably doesn't even know how much you paid for the room, because they get paid a NET rate by the online site. The online site then marks up the rate and sells it to you. All businesses work this way......buy wholesale, add a small mark-up, and resell to the public. Therefore, you should just use the receipt from Expedia as to balance your credit card statement. As for your TripRewards points, Expedia.com specifically states you may or may not be allowed to earn point for rooms booked on their site: "Award points and airline mileage may not be awarded when booking an Expedia Special Rate hotel." So.....my suggestion......if you want a receipt from the hotel AND you want to earn loyalty points, book with the hotel directly. I'm sorry for the other issues you encountered during your stay. Unfortunately, I have no suggestions for how to be sure you get a great hotel with clean, spacious rooms and a helpful staff! If I did.....oh....if only I did!! :)