I spent a very enjoyable week in Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia, a couple of weeks a go and booked my hotel a week in advance via www.asiarooms.com, having read the reviews on the service, the room quality, and the location.
On arrival we checked in with my member’s card and received an upgrade, as I would have expected. The hotel lived up to our expectations and Macau exceeded our expectations. Until our final night in the hotel…
Due to unexpected circumstances I was required to stay in Macau for an extra night, so off I trotted to reception to extend my stay. The price per night for my stay had been 750 HK dollars (this was for both week nights and week days) for a deluxe suite (due to my upgrade). However, when I attempted to downgrade to a standard single room I was quoted 1250 HK dollars and was told this was the cheapest room available.
A long discussion into the logic of this pricing system ensued, and the outcome was that we received the price of 750 due to the room being of deluxe criteria and my membership status. If I wanted to downgrade I had to pay more. To this day I still do not understand the reasoning. However, after a lengthy discussion with the manager, I deduced that if I were to sit in the lobby with my laptop and book online (as any Tom, Dick, or Harry) I would receive a price of 750 HK dollars, but if I were to try to book a room (as a returning customer, having spent a great deal of money in the hotel) face to face I would have to pay 1250 HK dollars.
Another example of customer service gone wrong, and the problems surrounding conventional hotel booking systems, which allow absolutely no flexibility and hinder the empowerment of employees.
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