Hotel confirmation incorrect, too late to change - what to do?

Patty, I remember searching on venere.com last week, hoping to help you find a room. Absolutely call the hotel or email them right away. I hope they can put a cot in your room. It is only one night. Did booking.com send you a confirmation email after you booked it online? Did the email indicate a double while the online reservation says single?

I wasn't sure if it would be better to hope they didn't 'notice' my son - or to dispute or to try to get them to allow him. I also don't want to get charged even more that the 90€ I am already paying.
I really don't mind sharing a bed or him sleeping on a cot. The hotel is all booked up and I think it is too late to find a reasonable room in Venice proper now for that price.

Call the hotel and have them find you a double room in another hotel but first see if they can provide an extra bed. If they won't help then check venre.com and see if they have what you are looking for this weekend. Also call your credit card company and refute the charges with booking.com. When third parties are involved this can happen. Take a breath. Don't be devastated.

I hope you can call the hotel and (simply) explain the situation and ask for their help to resolve and put you in a double-bedded room (2 twins or 1 double) there or perhaps at an affilliated property nearby. They may be well and truly booked to capacity, but then again, by speaking to a person you may find they have the flexibility to shuffle some things around. If you are booked into a single room, chances are good that there will be only one single (twin) bed in the room. Most Italian hotels generally don't "waste" the opportunity to charge for good double bedded rooms on single travelers (unless they book it as a "double for single use"), and unfortunately singles are also typically the smallest rooms in the hotel. It won't be a matter so much of sneaking your son in or being willing to share the bed, it will be a matter or inadequate bedding, period. I wouldn't count on room for a cot to be squeezed in, although you could surely inquire because their rooms might be big enough after all, in a pinch (assuming the hotel won't surpass its occupancy limits, if there is such a thing as an Italian fire marshall). And, also unfortunately, they will probably charge you more than for the single. Italian hotels charge by bedding/occupancy as opposed to simply by the room. Sorry to have such disheartening news, but I really have my fingers crossed for you to be able to call hotel and work out a solution. Buona fortuna!

You are not going to be able to sneak your son in. Hotels, by law, have to register each guest. The error is yours, as you made the booking via www.Booking.com. If the hotel is able to come up with an extra bed for you son expect to pay more than the 90e as it is an extra person using the room.

Do check directly with the hotel to see what they can do. Absolutely DO NOT try to sneak your son in. You will likely be caught and it is considered stealing in most of Europe.

Thank you all for the advice. I will call in the morning and talk with someone at the hotel. I will post back how it works out.

Patty, this is probably not what you want to do, but if Venice is completely booked, consider staying in Padua, about 30 minutes away by train, and do a long day trip in Venice. The train fare per person last summer was about 8 euro round trip.

Good luck, Patty. Throw yourself on the mercy of the hotelier to help you out. Who knows? Perhaps they have gotten a cancellation in the last day or two? It never hurts to ask!

Yeah, you won't be able to sneak him in. As others said, try to work something out with the hotel or stay on the mainland in Mestre. Buses run from there all the time and you can be in Venice within 15/20 minutes.

Did you speak to bookings.com in person? I have found them to be quite helpful. Also, email the hotel immediately and tell them the dilema. Definitely do not try to sneak him in... somehow they know everything about what is happening in those rooms. Maybe even a sleeping bag on the floor would do for one night, if the hotel okays it.

I have looked at the booking.com website a number of times, and noticed that even if you put in "2" for the number of people, it will offer you both single and double (or twin) rooms, and sometimes "double room for single use." You must be very careful which you select. I am thinking maybe Patty got so excited to see a room offered at the great price of 90 euro that she did not realize she was selecting a single room. The lesson here (besides being very careful in making a selection) is to print out the confirmation screen itself. If there is a discrepency between that and the later confirmation e-mail, at least you have proof. I guess another lesson is not to use third-party sites like booking.com. I always book direct with the hotel itself, even if I found it through a search engine like booking.com, etc. Hopefully the hotel itself would be more amenable to discussion regarding solutions for the situation.

I appreciate all your replies. I did put in a query for two people for one room and I did click on two heads. I have used booking.com before too without issues.
Now I am leary - right now they show one Double room available for booking at Alloggi Agli Artisti - but when I phoned the hotel just now they told me they are all booked up. I do not know if rooms are 'held' for booking.com customers or ?? Venere.com says they are all booked up no too. Still looking, have not given up hope yet.

Update: Booking.com said they never heard of someone requesting a double and getting a single so it is my fault. The hotel was rude and said too bad. Both said no refund.

Patty, which hotel??? Can you find a hostel in Venice proper? Worst case, dispute the charge on your credit card and rebook something in Mestre, a few euro and 15 minute transport into Venice. And the lodgings there are extremely reasonable. You can fight it out with the internet site and your credit card company when your vacation is over.

Don't dispute it with the credit card company - - call them up and tell them not to pay it (or to unpay it if they already have). It's a charge for services not received - - not up for debate.

So sorry to hear this! Ugh to both the Bookings folks and the hotel. I don't know how old your son is... if he is old enough, could you get him a room in a hostel for that night? That way you could stay in the single room (despite the rude hotel folks, drat them) and he could stay in a hostel. It would be extra, obviously, but you wouldn't have to lose your booking and take a train in from somewhere else.....

Why should charges be disputed? She made the booking herself on the website and made the mistake. The hotel held a room for a her and now she doesn't want it. Services on rendered? The services were reserved and are available, just no longer wanted. People would be howling if she reserved a room and the hotel didn't have one available. It works both ways. Pay up.

Ed, that is not correct. You must dispute the charge using the protocol of the credit card company. Its not so simple as placing a phone call to the credit card company and saying 'don't pay it' or "unpay it". Every party gets their day in court, so to speak, and booking.com and the hotel have money at stake here and get to put in their two cents. Patty is going to have to detail the glitch with the internet booking site and subsequent attempts to correct the problem. In the interim, while it is being investigated, they will remove the charge from her statement and it will not accrue interest. That is how US banks do it. If this web company is the subject of many claims like this, the credit card company may not have to think long and hard about how to proceed. @ Meteor, maybe if you read the whole thread, you would see that Patty didn't book a single, but booked a double. The confirmation email says "single" and I believe it was a mistake on their part. That is her story and I believe her.

Marianne, have you looked at Booking.com website? The error is obviously on the side of the user. She entered the wrong number of people. There is no way the form would have given her a single room if she entered a "2" for the number of people. The booking form doesn't ask for a room type, it only requests the number of people. A lesson to all to carefully look over details when purchasing online.

Maybe James from Germany could make the reservation for you? He does have a perfect track record with online reservations........

Patty, there is an international phone number for booking.com listed on their website. Maybe a phone call inquiring about the availability of that room would put your mind at ease?

People seem to be getting into arguements with each other over something they really know no facts about. It is unfortunate that the hotel seems unwilling to work with her, but it was not their fault and if it's a non-refundable reservation, then disputing the charges is unlikely to succeed. Her dispute is with booking.com, which she claims made the error. If she can prove the error, she can successfully dispute the charges with her CC or get booking.com to remedy. Otherwise it appears she has a room she is unable to use. Perhaps people can help her find adequate accommodations for a reasonable price or suggest a way she might be able to sell or "sublet" her room to recoup her costs.

It would not hurt to email a different time of day or a different day. You may find another person more friendly working on a different shift who may be more helpful. Just keep track of names

Pattyit just occurred to me that somewhere in one of your posts you mentioned you started an email file for the confirmation, etc., but that it is now missing. Have you done an email "search" within your email account using keywords to find the errant initial confirmation?? Maybe use booking.com and the name of the hotel together and see if anything pops up. Maybe you just MISfiled the email confirmation you got in the beginning ??

Patty, I've also used booking.com, and some hotels do hold rooms for them. Last summer I made about 25 reservations using booking.com and only had a couple of problems (hotels overbooked, one room was unacceptable). In these cases, the hotels secured another room for me at an affiliated property, and I think having the booking.com reservation made a difference. If you still have time to cancel the reservation through booking.com, make a reservation at a different place (I still suggest Padua rather than Mestre).

Just a note. I am a hotel owner and I can tell you that these booking agencies are not always what the're cracked up to be. I NEVER use them! Always, always call/email the hotel directly. You're likey to get a better rate, if you ask, and better service. The companies charge the hotel for the discounted prices and disputing any change or wrongfulness is hard if not non-exisisent. I know this from experience.
However, in this case, I'm sure the hotel will at least try to accommodate you. Good luck!

Patty...............what happened last weekend???? Did you and your son make it to Venice????? Give us the details because we are all hoping for a happy ending.....

I found a cozy little hotel in Venice for 85€ - she even gave me a discount for mentioning Rick Steves. She spoke little English but she did GUSH over him staying in her hotel and giving her a pat on the shoulder and telling her that her hotel is ok. I learned that 'private bathroom' means a bathroom in the hall that we don't have to share lol! So, the other hotel that would not cancel the reservations for one night - they ended up charging my credit card twice. I am calling my credit card company again today and following through with the dispute. The trip to Venice was wonderful. I gained a little confidence in driving in Italy and I picked up some pretty glass millifiori glass and silver beads :o)
BTW, our window was over a canal and we listened to gondolas going by with the singing and music. It was very nice.

I am so happy for you! It started off so badly but all worked out in the end. Getting the double charge remedied should be easily accomplished. What was the name of this quaint hotel that saved your weekend?

Carrie - it is Alloggi alla Scalla. It is right next to the Scala Conterini del Bovolo (the famous winding staircase).
The owner was very nice, a bit eccentric and the room was sparse but comfortable. Thanks for thinking of us!

Patty How was Venice? I am going in October. What place did work out for you? I have to book a place for around October 20th. Thanks for sharing your story. Hope to hear the ending.
Monique in Seattle

Patty, Sorry to hear about your recent situation. I hope it worked out for you. For those very assuming people posting in this one, Just because a company takes a corporate position (Booking.com) that it makes no mistakes does not mean they are correct. It could be a case of the website making a mistake and hotel just reinforicng their policy. People typically give up and the companies corporate positions are based on this in order to ensure certain profits. If you believe everything you hear, then contact me since I have some very valuable things to sell to you that are worth a whole lot. Just trust me. Edwin (should sign as PT Barnum - not refering to you Patty but just those very assuming people).