where do I post a bad experience with a suggested hotel?

It doesn't hurt to try the RS Office and see what they say. In Rick's Guidebook page here you can leave your feedback about Best/Worst of items like a hotel. Curious of which hotel.

"Guidebook Feedback" found on the "Books" web page.

In the books I have from RS he says that he wants to hear from readers that have had an unpleasant experience with someone he recommends. I doubt he reads his email personally, but I think the staff does pay attention to feedback. If you thumb thru the book (don't have it here with me) I'm sure you can where he writes this.

Have you disputed the charge with your credit card company? I've been accidentally double charged by a hotel. Once I notified the credit card company and followed up with a written request to the hotel with a Cc to Visa, things were cleared up. Your card company can advise you of the procedure. The hotel might just have inefficient bookkeeping ...

We are beginning process with credit card company. I am trying to give the hotel a chance to get it right,,, but it's been weeks now. I will post name if it doesn't get cleared up , because it may just be poor book keeping. still think RS needs to know , so it's good to leanr how to do that. thank you everyone.
`~c.

Chris,
I think you should post the name anyway as it may be happening to others as well who are not on this site. As a couple of others have mentioned there is a place on this site (feedback on books) to do this. It would help us all.

Request the CC company to credit back the double charge. They will do it. No problem. It happen to me once.

They have been very sweet and responsive on everything else, and have a generous cancellation policy. I think it was just an accounting issue. Since accounting is NOT my gift either, I am cutting them some slack. I just have to watch those credit charges. so that mistakes aren't made.
-~c.

No matter how sweet and nice they may be they are first and foremost a business. If accounting is not their strong suit then they either need to find a competent employee or get out of the business of running a hotel. Waiting more than 2 or 3 days to fix a double charge is unacceptable. Cancel your reservation, dispute with your credit card and find a different hotel.

You gave them notice that you would post in 24 hours after already waiting a reasonable time for the credit......so let the world know that it was not just an idle threat. Post it!

I don't give too much credit to a "Rick Steves "hotel recommendation when it comes to things like this ( I do expect it would be clean etc)

My daughter and I took a Rick Steves Family tour that started in Rome. As suggested we arrived a few days early and stayed at the tour hotel. We booked the two extra nights online and paid in cash on arrival to get the best rate offered. I wisely made sure to get a receipt for the cash payment.. because on day tour was departing as we stood outside loading bus with suitcases , I was called aside and told hotel had not been paid.. !!! I said yes it had, and dug through my crap to find the receipt and the desk clerk mumbled "oh it should be written in the ledger but the clerk on that day must have "forgot"... WELL, guess what. another lady alone with her child was also called aside.. the clerk apparently "forgot" to record her payment too.. and she had arrived the day before me..so not even sure if it was same staff member in both cases these were cash payments as opposed to credit card . but point is.. even at tour hotels staff can and do make mistakes,,whether intentional or not is up to you do decide..

Go to tripadvisor.com, Rome forum, and post a review of the hotel where more travelers will see it and be forewarned. Usually a screwup in billing is just the tip of the iceberg for a substandard hotel trying to prey on gullible travelers.

I'm still waiting for the name of the hotel!!

I too would like to see the name of the hotel posted.

chris,

Another vote for giving us the name of the hotel.

For the hotel Pat described, to me it appears the problem is not book keeping, but an employee trying to skim cash payments and put them into his own pocket instead of the cash drawer. The hotel owner may want to check this one out.

We don't want "dirt." I, personally, use this website for advice. Either give on a region I'm particularly knowledgeable about or learning something new about where I'm going I don't always like Rick's picks (particularly on restaurants) and sometimes hotels. Just want to know the name of the hotel, no judgment. And certainly won't "beat up" the OP for disappointment/dissatisfaction with a RS hotel.

I agree with Donna. This blog is here to help other travelers, not put anyone down. The original questions was where to post the problem that Chris was having, and here is one place to do that. Usually, if I have a problem with what a poster says, I either keep it to myself or send a personal massage. I appreciate both positive and negative comments about hotels, restaurants etc that others have had, for me to make better decisions. I would also like to know if it was resolved and how long it ended up taking.

If you post a review on tripadvisor.com (as George suggests), you will give the hotel owner/manager a chance to tell his (or her) side of the story. I once wrote a bad review of a place I stayed on Dominica (an island in the Caribbean) and the manager responded. It was interesting to read her response -- even though nothing could get me to change my mind about the hotel.

The only time I have booked accommodations without checking tripadvisor.com is when the particular place (in this case an agriturismo in Calabria) was not listed on tripadvisor.com. Guess I am taking my chances.

The only trouble with tripadvisor.com is that if it is a very popular place, you are bound to get a fair number of people who love it, some people who had bad experiences (there will always be people who did not like the place for whatever reason) and a lot of people in the middle, so you are left no wiser than you were before.

I am not sure this is a problem - YET - although I know Chris would have a differing opinion.

Based on my experiences living in Italy, and more recent opportunities to book multiple hotels and B&B's in-country, Italy works at a different pace. If you expect to get a refund within 24 hours, it's probably not going to happen. Italy is not the USA. Many smaller locations don't have computer-driven accounting and often one person (who may work only one day a week) handles accounting issues.

First, if you're booking from the USA, you're already 6-9 hours behind their workday. Second, if you're booking in a RS hotel, it's probably a smaller, perhaps family-run operation and their accounting skills, as mentioned in a few comments, can be inconsistent at best. It is imperative that you keep every email, every scrap of paper, etc.

I've had numerous challenges booking smaller hotels in Italy. There have been times when I've cancelled reservations. And having been burned in the past, I always send an email to these "cancelled" locations one to two weeks out, reminding them of my cancellations. Better to front-load the hotel/B&B than to deal with, "Where are your clients - we are charging their credit card for a no-show today."

The hotels I've had issues with are CONVINCED they are right and so you have to "prove them" wrong but not in an argumentative way. Patience, documentation, and a respectful tone always works best for me. In Chris' case, I am not sure it's an "issue of trust", more a screw-up that they are not sure how to fix - or at least the person conversing with him does not know how to fix. I never try and put a hotel in a position where they will "lose face" even when I have a MOUNTAIN of supporting documentation. No, it's more like, "Can you check with your staff on this?" I've been most successful when I give them someone else to blame (even if there's only one other person handling bookings at the hotel).

I've had hotels email me notifications that folks are coming and their rooms are not pre-paid and thus they will lose their reservation - even though they paid four months ago. When presented with the proper documentation, there is NO APOLOGY. Only, "Yes, we see that. Their reservation is okay." DON'T expect an apology for their poor accounting.

That all said, I've NEVER had a situation where I did not get a "best for everyone" solution. In some cases it did require multiple emails and even phone calls. But eventually we've always worked it out. Dealing with USA properties, you get accustomed to immediate (or pretty close to immediate) solutions. Quite the opposite when dealing with smaller hotels in Europe. Yet, every time - and I do mean every time - we've had a conflict, we've worked it out. In some cases, it did take almost a month and I realize that can be very frustrating.

On the other side of the coin, I've had multiple hotels/B&B's bend over backwards when I - or someone I'm working with - screws up! I've had last-minute cancellations, adding another person, we wanted a smoking room in a non-smoking hotel, etc... In each case, working in a relationship-based conversation, we've solved the problem. I've found you cannot be DEMANDING when dealing with many hoteliers, but you can be deliberate. You've got the MOUNTAIN of evidence.

As far as publishing the hotel name, I don't think it's necessary - NOT AT THIS POINT. If they don't take care of Chris, then it becomes an issue. Then, I'd get on every rooftop and let the world know. But at this point, it's an accounting error, a mistake - and probably by one person. Why impugn a hotel's reputation until we give them the opportunity to resolve the issue. Granted that "fix" may be more on their time frame than yours...

Chris, in an RS-referred hotel, I doubt they are trying to "double-charge" you. But they probably do have some accounting challenges. I would suggest - if you have not already done so - to call them. Engage in a conversation, rather than an "email" conversation.

This tends to work best for me when I have a conflict (which is about once a week!). Yes, I do have VONAGE and can call Italy for free but there are many other VOIP type options at 2-3 cents per minute. I generally try and call between 11 AM and 3 PM, Italy time as they're done with the check-outs and it's usually before the check-in's. After 4 PM their time, they're either too busy or NOT taking calls!

I find that I've solved more issues on the phone - even with poor connections or language challenges. I realize this is not the way we do things in the North America, but unfortunately your booking IS NOT in North America! So the rule book is a little different.

I am sorry this has gone on for weeks; I generally get my issues resolved in less than a week - but rarely in one day. I do the email route first, but given the response and time pressures, I am usually on the phone thereafter. I take notes during the call and send a follow-up email to the hotel, thanking them for their time...and NOTING everything we talked about (I want it in writing so I WELCOME their response).

I hope you're able to resolve this. I think by speaking to them you can create a relationship that will better solve your issue. Email can be somewhat impersonal and many of the folks I work with enjoy the conversation.

Good Luck!