Just yesterday, the LA TIMES penned an in-depth article on Vegas Hotels - and the fact that booking agents have been scrambling to offer up bargain prices for rooms in the desert oasis - in a desperate effort to attract travelers in these tough economic times.
So, the tawdry tale I am about to share with you dovetails nicely with their report.
Now that the Hotels in Vegas are slashing prices and reaching out aggressively for the tourist trade, a sleazy underbelly of the "travel" industry has also reared its ugly head, as I unfortunately found out the hard way on Sunday night (September 6th).
I was in Vegas for a few days, but planned to zip off to the mountains for the weekend, then return on Monday to remain in Sin City 'til Friday.
But, a problem with the battery on my SUV caused me to make emergency alternative plans.
On Sunday, there I was, scouring Expedia & Orbitz in search of a reasonably-priced room for one night.
But, there wasn't any mid-level lodging available at any Inn, or so it seemed.
I guess party-enthusiasts all high-tailed in to Las Vegas for the long weekend to take advantage of the much-ballyhooed bargains in Sin City - and snapped up all the cozy digs for themselves - before I could take a stab at it in the online wilderness!
As I cruised about the net frantically, I was suddenly transported to the Hotwire website - and on the heels of my arrival there - was promised a quality room at an affordable rate in the Las Vegas area.
So, I hit the "book now" button, and waited for confirmation.
My credit card was billed the charge at lightning speed.
Seconds later, the name of a Hotel and a contact number flashed up on the scream.
I was relieved!
Since I was not familiar with Rancho Drive in Vegas, I dailed up the Hotel I was booked in, and proceeded to ask the reservations operator for directions.
Imagine my shock when I was informed that the Hotel was not in Las Vegas at all!
No, the operator informed me, they were situated in far-away Lake Mead.
Whoa Nellie!
I specifically requested Hotwire secure a room or suite in a Hotel in the immediate Las Vegas area so that I could walk or take a bus to the location because of the car snafu.
Not to be deterred, I dialed up the Hotel, and queried an employee about the specifics of the distance involved
"Oh, it's not too far," she stated matter-of-fact.
Could I walk it?
"Sure," she piped in enthusiastically.
Famous last words!
I found out the hard way: not true!
Because of Hotwire's initial dishonesty- and in part because of the bold-faced lies of the Hotel employee after-the-fact - my evening turned into a bloody nightmare.
With an optimistic bounce to my step, I hopped on a bus and travelled in a westerly direction until I arrived at Rancho Drive, where I proceeded to alight onto the street as instructed.
As the sun dropped in the sky, and I trudged along, the poorly-lit street became a very lonely place (indeed).
For starters, I was alarmed to be confronted with a business section of the community (after-hours a scary lonely-looking section of town) all shuttered up tight.
At this point, I spied a freeway ramp farther down which indicated there was a freeway up ahead, too.
Beyond that?
Now, I was distressed to encounter a stretch of darkness, which spread out ahead of me one or two hundred feet, at a minimum.
Farther down the road, I could barely make out a quiet residential area sprawling off towards the horizon, which I was expected to trek through (I guess!)
Nope. Not one bus or taxi or person in sight.
Judging by the numbers on the street (500 South) I had about ten miles to go - on foot!
At this juncture, I back-tracked to Charleston and dialed up Hotwire for "emergency" assistance.
What a mistake that was!
I must have waited on hold for about ten minutes on their 866 toll-free number before I managed to get a live person on the line.
Hiding from disgruntled customers, do 'ya think?
Then, when a real person (!) drearily picked up the line, I explained the dilemma.
In response, the operator placed me on hold.
Natch!
Then, I was referred to a "special services" agent who was quite a slow dim-witted nerd from the get-go.
Nothing special about that fella, no Sir!
Steven (he wouldn't give his last name) listened to my sorry story.
Then - after having pled my case desperately for about ten frustrating minutes or so on the payphone (did I actually have to kneel down on the pavement and beg a little (grovel) before he would show an ounce of compassion?) - he finally agreed to book me into another room close by.
Now, I was cooking with gas!
But, his next quip caused me to reel a tad!
"The price for the suite will be $92.50," he stated matter-of-fact.
What?
I already paid for one room.
Now he was going to charge me again - and twice the sum originally agreed to, in spite of the emergency nature of the circumstances?
No way, Jose!
"I expect you to put me in another room at the same price. And, the money you billed to my credit card, has to be applied to the new accomodations," I asserted in no uncertain terms.
Now, the scenario took an unexpected twist, and signalled that I was about to get the old "razzle-dazzle" routine.
"What Hotel would you like me to book you into," he queried.
"One in the area," I responded a bit exasperated by this delayng turn of events.
"I am near Freemont Street, so a Hotel on the strip is okay."
"What is the address of the Hotel you'd like me to make a reservation at?"
Did he honestly expect me to know the address of a Hotel in Las Vegas - even though it was obvious from the records in front of him (credit card info, for example) - that I resided in Los Angeles?
Since Stephen was a little dense, I elaborated the obvious.
Then, he proceeded to ask me another ridiculous question along the same lines.
"What is the zip code there?"
Huh?
How would I know the zip code of a Hotel I'm never stayed at!
Then, the 866 number (toll free?) demanded fifty cents.
Because I didn't have any change (OMG!) I was disconnected without much warning.
So, I had to start the process all over again.
The next operator was dumber than the first, tried to prevent me from complaining to a supervisor or manager, and - quite generally - gave me the run-around to avoid taking responsibility.
Before I could resolve the issue, I was disconnected a second time on their toll-free line.
Argh!!!
The third call resulted in a most disagreeable contact with a special services employee (when I heard his voice, I literally cringed) who would also not disclose his name.
Are they all illegals at Hotwire, hiding their true indentities, do 'ya think?
By the way, he sounded just like one of those catty effeminate-type-operators with the kind of snarky attitude that grates a person's nerves and drives consumers up the wall.
After I ran through the night's events an exhausting third time, and in spite of the fact I noted that the other operator promised me a substitute booking in view of the misrpresentations at Hotwire, he had the gall to tell me that since it was now 11 p.m. it would not be feasible (or possible) to make a reservation!
What an idiot!
For starters, my telephone calls commenced at around 9 p.m.
And, since I had been on the telephone for about two hours trying to resolve the issues, surely it should have been obvious to any decent human being or honest business entity, that I was entitled to (and the situation demanded) emergency relief.
Unless he had sh** for brains, or - quite simply - lacked any sense of morality or Christian ethic, his lame excuse was obviously just a deceiful effort to thrust the blame on me, avoid the problem, and - ultimately - defraud me of my funds (and right to reasonable accomadation per the terms of the agreement which were paid for in full).
But, he won't get away with it, because I've got him by the short and curlies.
For example, he stated on the phone that because the Hotel was in Vegas, I was required to continue on to the Hotel per the reservation agreement or forfeit fees paid.
And, the little snot asserted (in the final analysis) that I was not legally entitled to a replacement room because I was informed in advance that once I booked I could not cancel the reservation or seek a refund.
Wrong!
When I called the Hotel, the clerk admitted that their establishment was not in Vegas.
"In order to lure me into booking the room, you falsely represented the accomodation was in the Las Vegas area, when it was not," I duly noted for the record.
Once again, he snarled his weak defense argument in a nasty tone of voice.
"You can't cancel once you've booked, according to the terms of the agreement."
For starters, I find it curious that there policy is "no cancellations" or "no refunds".
In retrospect, after this experience, it's pretty obvious to me why Hotwire enforced this golden rule at the booking stage of the reservations.
The scam artists who run the Internet rip-off know in advance that tourists and travellers alike aren't going to be pleased with the accomodations they are about to be snared into!
Even still, according to applicable laws and statutes in force on the local, state, and national level - Hotwire can not enforce such a legal agreement - when fraud is involved (as I duly informed the slug on the phone).
"There are three elements to fraud. One of the elements is a failure to disclose. Since you did not reveal the true location of the Hotel - and it is outside the Vegas area - you committed fraud."
There was a very loud silence on the other end of the line.
"And," I quickly shot back, "contracts are not binding if a party fails to disclose the true facts."
Well, I could tell he was flabberghasted!
Even still, he refused to do the right thing, follow through on the other agent's promise of a new room, or even apologize for the putting me through such a nightmare/
Bottom line?
He could care less that I was stranded on the street alone - at about midnight - on a dark street in an unfamiliar part of Las Vegas.
I noted that I planned to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General's Office (Consumer Protection Agency) and my intention to write an expose to warn consumers about their fraudulent business activities at Hotwire.com.
In response, he issued a veiled threat.
"You'd better be careful about what you write, Mr. Ayrs. Or, you may find yourself in a lot of trouble," he hissed.
Trying to throw a scare in me? Well, I wasn't born yesterday!
In response I noted that I studied law (my areas of study were libel, slander, defamation of character, tort claims, contracts, trademark infringement, etc.) and that I was a ethical journalist with every intention of reporting the facts in a good-faith effort to warn (and ultimately protect) innocent consumers from their fraudulent business practices.
On that auspicious note (ha!) I hung up.
I trust at this juncture you'll agree that any sensible person should avoid hotwire.com like the plague.
Talk about swine!
Nuff said!
No snug bed for moi as promised by Hotwire.com!
