Bit of a shock yesterday.. 1800hotels went bankrupt..:-(

And the lesson to be learned here kids...that's right, make the hotel reservations yourself. That's exactly why Rick provides phone numbers, fax numbers, web page addresses, and emails to his recommended lodgings. It might take a couple extra minutes to do it yourself but I think it's worth it. It seems the entire country of Ireland has filed for BR. Potatoes, anyone?

My favorite Munich sleepover is Hotel Uhland. Good luck!

As someone who works in the hotel industry, you have to be very careful of these online travel sites. They can come and go very quickly. I agree with the previous poster and Rick who says to book direct. Many times if you contact them directly and tell them about the rate you saw online they will match it. They often have to give a sizeable margin to the online travel sites and many sites require them to pay more to get better placement on the page. (How many shoppers actually scroll through more than a few pages?? The lower your placement on a page the fewer bookings you get!) It is very cut-throat in the hotel business right now!

Gregory,

Sorry to hear about your problems. I agree with the others in that there's a lesson here for all. Best to use the listings in the Guidebooks and contact Hotels directly.

However, this reminder doesn't help you with your immediate problem. Could you indicate which cities (other than Munich) you need to book Hotels and for which dates? Which ETBD tour are you taking?

Hotel Uhland is an excellent choice in Munich, but you may have trouble booking for September. It's not exactly "close" to the HBf, but within easy walking distance (the walk takes me about 12 minutes). There's a Sofitel right next to the HBf, but it's somewhat on the "pricey" side. At this stage, you may have to take what you can get, regardless of the price.

If you can provide a bit of further information, it would help.

Good luck!

I'm sorry this happened to you Gregory. I can imagine how upsetting this must be.

I also always book direct.

I get quotes from the hotel's website and from a couple of discount booking sites. Then, if the booking sites are less than the hotel's rate, I'll contact the hotel and ask if they'll match the discount rate. They usually do. (Hotel rates are one of the easiest things to negotiate--unless, of course, it's a special occasion.)

You have to call the hotel directly, not a chain's reservation line.

Gregory, I would suggest filling out the forms.

The Hilton Munich City Center has a train stop directly under it and is a stop or 2 away from the Hauptbahnhof. It's very nice (definitely not the traditional homey type hotel) and has many conveniences. We're staying there in September and I can't wait to go back.

You don't have to fill out all of those forms to get your money back. Assuming you didn't pay cash and assuming you paid via Credit Card then all you need to do is contest the charge with your CC company. Let THEM do the work of getting their money back..not you.

Tim, normally, you'd be right. If there is a dispute with payment through a credit card, then you let the credit card company handle the problem.

But if the company has already filed for bankruptcy, then the actual victim has to file a complaint with the court. The credit card company was just the conduit of payment. The court doesn't care how you paid.

And James...one incident where you must have dealt with the stupidest desk clerk in history and you say you "always" get a better deal? Did you go back to the hotel to see if they would beat the travel agency rate? Unless you were staying at a high priced hotel, $50 is a big difference in a hotel rate for one night considering the hotel will get even less since the travel agency gets a commission. It just sounds too weird. The hotel was not full and they were ready to let an existing customer walk? There must be more to the story.

This won't help you now, unfortunately, but it's worth it for the future--some travel insurance policies will protect you in the case of bankruptcy. Not all policies have this coverage, some limit it to designated companies, and some have instead a blacklist of companies whose bankruptcies they won't cover. But it's worth it to check if you are booking with a tour group, an airline that is wobbly, or a hotel consolidator that requires cash upfront.

Sorry for your unfortunate experience, though. And do fill out the forms--since a lot of customers won't, you might well get at least some of your money back.

Contrary to James one experience,, I have found it is always better to book directly with hotel. I have for years,, and I know my prices. I always always always book only with hotels that have good cancellation policies, and I NEVER pay up front, only a booking fee ( 5 eruos with some hotels) or only with a CC guarantee.

Gregory,, this must be very upsetting, but at least you found out now and can scramble to find something else,, can you imagine some folks may already be out of touch and will arrive at their hotels only to be turned away. Should be better laws governing this agencies,, like if they take your money up front they have to pay your hotel up front.

The good news is,, you still have a lovely tour to look forward to,, enjoy it,, only a month away!

Here are some hotels in Munich:

Blauer Bock
Viktualienmarkt
Royal
Uhland
Seibel
Münchner Kindl

Uhland and Royal are within walking distance of the Hbf. Viktualienmarkt and Blauer Bock are near Marienplatz, which is two S-Bahn stops from the Hbf. Muenchner Kindl is in between. I think Seibel has several properties.

(Können Sie Deutsch sprechen?)

Thx everyone, I will checkout those hotels and get myself rebooked..

Greg

Gregory: I’ll recommend Hotel Uhland from Lee’s list…it’s a great hotel & a lot of folks here have really good things to say about it. Lawyers aren’t all that bad and can even be great when you need one. :) The bummer with filing a claim is that you’ll end up at the bottom of the list to collect…good luck! Enjoy your trip…it will work out for the better!

So, let me get this straight. You "always get better deals" when you utilize a consolidator website like 1800hotels4u. Isn't that what Texas Gregory did? How's that working out for him now?

I've usually booked direct and usually gotten the better deal, plus I like to know who I'm dealing with. Sometimes you have to be persistent and bone up on your negotiating skills but, for me, that's part of the fun of travel planning. Yep, I'm one of those guys with the big wall map, push pins, endless lists, and shelves filled with travel books that perfers the hands-on approach. Too many years in The Corps, I guess.

I prefer B&B's but, the Eden-hotel-wolff-Betriebsgesellschaft (not making this up) located across the street from the hauptbahnhof is a very comfy, if not pricey, option we had to utilize a couple years ago.

Best of luck with all your paperwork.

At the risk of putting my head on the block...some topics on this site have a definite bent based upon the type of travel and traveler...light packing and checking baggage are examples.

Having said that I am amazed at the absoluteness of many answers on this topic - "always". I have booked lots of nights over the years, many at independent hotels and six weeks worth upcoming in Europe this fall. I do check travel sites and hotel sites and the hotel direct. When they are the same or close, I book with the hotel. But I have rarely find that there is a discount, let alone significant, by booking direct. Nor do I find that I get a better cancellation policy. In fact my experience when booking hotels recommended by RS and this site, is that I will more often pay in advance. I get a fun and nice place to stay, admittedly.

Four times recently, I have been told by hotel desks and/or reservation numbers that they could not match internet sites. They "give Expedia (or whoever) a limited number or rooms" and I would have to use them. Twice recently I sat in the lobby and used the hotel wifi and my netbook to book online.

What magic language works with desk clerks? I rarely even get a walk-in rate...

Wait, you paid to a consolidator up front for your entire reservation? That seems odd to me, unless you were booking during Oktoberfest or something. I've never booked lodging anywhere, be it via a third party or directly, that charged anything more than 10% deposit prior to arrival. If you paid the entire reservation price and your reservation was cancelled, you should at least try to dispute the charge with your credit card.

I don't really know how international bankruptcy laws work, but if it's like the U.S., you might not necessarily be reimbursed via the bankruptcy court as the debtor's secured claims (i.e. claims with physical collateral like a house) get reimbursement priority. You could end up getting little to no money back since their debt to you is unsecured. Rather than dealing with all of this yourself, I'll go with Tim and suggest you try to get the credit card company to reimburse you and then deal with the bankruptcy court itself.

Daniel sums it up correctly. Sometimes you get better deals by booking direct, but other times the better deal is from a travel website. There are no absolutes here.

Whether you have to or should pay up front in advance for the room also varies. Some hotels will give you a discount for paying in advance, rather than just making a reservation.

An important thing to watch out for is the terms of paying up front, as sometimes these payments can be non-refundable; either that, or there is a penalty for cancellation.

Expedia, for example, often offers hotels at the "Expedia Special Rate". There are usually non-refundable, which means that, once you have paid, you can't get any refund. And sometimes, these "special" rates turn out to be not so special!

Should qualify my post by saying I most often choose smaller hotels,, not on other agency websites.

Not all hotel booking websites charge upfront.

So do your research and book where the price and convenience suits you.

In the OP's case I'd investigate a chargeback through my credit card issuer. You paid for a product/service that you have not received and most CC issuers will not make you pay for that.

www.1800hotels.com is online and taking reservations. If you meant the "4u" site you might want to edit the thread title so you don't confuse others that might be using the site.

Anything is possible, but I have no issues using common sites like Priceline, Travelocity, booking.com, etc. I have had much better luck with prices online vs. booking direct. I am wary when I find a new site that I haven't heard of. 1800hotels4u is not one that was on my radar.

Best of luck with your refund.

Both are actually correct. The web site is 1800hotels.com but in the bankruptcy notice they identified themselves with the 4U. My mistake on the URL, Thx...

Yes, they did say they were restructuring their debt and would be back online at some point doing business again. I suppose that is why they are open now.

Greg

It is 1800Hotels

Here's an article from the WSJ explainiing it:

1800hotels Tries To Rebound From Bankruptcy

Excellent post Frank...I feel somewhat better now in the sense that I at least had some warning and a chance to rebook. Reading the article, it seems many people did not.

All the best,

Greg

I think 1800hotels and ...4U are the same. Anyway, I just called them this morning only to find out about the bankruptcy. But they never emailed me! I actually had a booking in April, but due to the Iceland volcano, I had to cancel. They gave me a voucher instead of a refund. I paid my credit card, and its been more than 90 days! The voucher is supposed to be valid for 1 year. I don't know if I could get anything back. Gregory, could you please email me the form ? I will send you my address. I saw this too: http://pacer.flmb.uscourts.gov/cmecf/proofofclaim.htm, but I'm hesistant if this is real (why is there a "pacer" in the URL?)