Mistakes happen but not our problem
At short notice flew to Victoria to travel the Great ocean road and stay at some of the great places along the road. Being a last minute thing I had not booked ahead instead see what town I arrived at... more
At short notice flew to Victoria to travel the Great ocean road and stay at some of the great places along the road. Being a last minute thing I had not booked ahead instead see what town I arrived at and then look for a local Motel. Arriving into Apollo Bay I checked websites and seeing the Best Western Apollo Bay Motel showing a room at $162 dollars I booked it. Two minutes later received a confirmation at $309 dollars. I instantly cancelled and being only two minutes from Motel I stopped in to apologise to manager and to let them know what had happened and request a refund. Sorry was the answer cancelling within 24 hours means you forfeit all monies even though the cancellation was within 5 mins of booking and I drove to Motel to notify them. Initially she laid the blame at the third party booking site who she informed me do the billing and I would have to contact them for any refund. The next day I contacted the booking site who informed me they do not do the billing it was the Motel only they could do a refund. Congrats Manager you just got me out of there by putting the onus on someone else and told me I should not have used them in the first place if I came direct I would have received a better price. Where would all these Motels be if it was not for the convenience of these sites. Yes I made the mistake by cancelling and so I am out of pocket and they just made $309 in five minutes, not bad for doing nothing but Best Western group will never get my business again. less
ApolloBayMotel, Manager at Best Western Apollo Bay Motel and Apartments, responded to this review
Mistakes do happen and it was highlight that making a booking, on-line, it is the bookers own responsibility and at their own risk. Rate inconsistency is a complex issue across the industry and is not exclusive to us, it is created by on-line travel agencies and very cleverly made to appear to be caused by the guest facing person at reception of the motel. Our rate, provided to the on-line travel agent, at the time of the booking was not $162 on any platform. Bookings are made with specific terms and conditions, agreed to by the booker with the platform in which they make the booking – in this case you selected to do this through an online platform that had non-refundable terms.
As you were already in Apollo Bay why not walk into reception instead of using a third party booking service? As you should be aware Best Western members who book directly receive a better rate, points and a gift card for a future stay which is all part of the current Best Western Summer promotion.
Whenever you travel in this wonderful country of ours and particularly given recent catastrophic events, it is encouraged that you book direct, and take your @emptyesky to support other local independent businesses.