I want to tell my story about a man called Micah Bass, who is the owner of Travelodge Hotel located at 7200 International Drive, in Orlando Florida. After two weeks of working at his office, at 6703 Mott Ave, Lockhart, FL, he fired me. I repaird His facia, and soffit on his office building. Also, i used my truck to pick up 14 fencing board on board panels, 10 posts and 10 bags of cement. I then installed a board on board fence all around the front area of his office building. I also repaird his old garage door, that looked like it was broke for quite a while. Then I started painting his complete Office Bulding with two other men, with the paint he told me to use . he then sent me over to the Tarvelodge Hotel to fix a electrical problem in room 306. I discovered the switch was no good i changed it out. I was also send into room 125 to remove the shower base to prepare to install a new one. I was send to Home Depot again to buy the Proper shower pan 60x 36 x5.5 base. Micah Bass who was the person who purchased the paint. Unknowingly he bought four 5 Gallon of Gray paint but not all the same color. He became angry with me about the paint color and fired me. Cursing and verbally abusing me. He sent me to the travelodge Hotel and told me pick up my check at the hotel and get the Fu... out of my hotel by 1pm. There was NO check to be picked up ! That same day he texted me telling me I would have my check late Friday after noon.
I went to a hotel website to make reservations and thought I was calling the hotel, but got redirected to "reservationcounter". I was unaware I was talking to a 3rd party, but it was obvious they were probably not in the U.S. I gave them my address and credit card info, but when he read the terms that this future stay was not refundable, I told him not to proceed with the transaction. He said it was too late. He forwarded me to another number, I got put on hold for a long time, then this person said they were contacting the hotel to cancel, but couldn't because there was no manager available for the next 18 hours.
I suspected a scam, and cancelled my credit card. I called the hotel to alert them of the scam. The front desk person said they had called him, but was told I wanted a refund on a past stay, not an upcoming one. I figure this way "reservationcounter" could tell me the "hotel" denied my refund request. Then they would keep all the money they charged to my card.
Do not hit the telephone icon when on a specific hotel website like I did. Instead of calling that hotel, you could be automatically redirected to "Reservation counter"!!!!
Reservationcounter.com and similar websites cleverly disguise themselves making you think they are the hotel website. We picked a King Studio in a cottage at a property we know well but they switched it to a room with two double beds in a less desireable location.
We could only see this after submitting payment which is non-refundable. We immediately tried to call their Customer Circus [sic] but could not reach a live person. We cancelled the reservation through their website and received a confirmation. The Hotel Property said they should refund our money.
Two weeks later, I spoke to a customer service rep at ReservationCounter.com who agreed to refund the price of the room but not the $12.99 reservation fee. I felt they should refund all monies and contacted the credit card company to file a complaint. They reversed the charges, but thereafter ReservationCounter filed a protest in which they failed to disclose the conversation with their customer service rep. The credit card was again charged for the room.
Consumers should try to deal directly with the property - not third party booking websites who have no interest in treating you fairly.
On January 17, 2016 I went online to look up the Hampton Inn in Nashville, TN (1919 West End Ave., near Vanderbilt University). When I entered the information in the search engine the first choice I received seemed to be the website for the hotel. What I did not realize at the time is that this was actually the website of a third party booking agency (Reservation Counter) that uses the logo of the hotel to mislead potential clients.
I called the phone number listed on the website to inquire about reserving a room. The representative on the phone never stated that he was working for an outside company. I believe he started the conversation with "Reservation Counter" or "Reservation Desk" which led me to believe that I was speaking to an employee of the hotel at their reservation desk (especially since I thought I was calling the hotel based on the number from the website).
Maybe I should have seen the signs during the phone conversation, the representative spoke rapidly and asked for my credit card information after quoting me a rate for a one night stay. I thought this was being done to reserve the room, but my card was immediately charged. The nightly fee for the hotel was $139, but I was quoted a price of $170.00. When I asked about his I was told that these were fees and service charges. I was also told that this was to be expected on a holiday weekend (Dr. King Holiday weekend).
As it turns out these are fees that they collect for their "services" which is in addition to what you would have paid the hotel for a direct booking. So they aren't doing you any favors they are charging you for something you could've done for less on your own. However, I didn't even realize I was dealing with an outside party at the time of the call, I thought I was dealing with the hotel.
I experienced problems while traveling and knew that I would not be able to make it to the hotel. When I called the hotel I was told that I did not make a reservation with them. They stated that I made a reservation with Expedia (it took them a while to figure this out). I then called Expedia and I was told that I did not make a reservation with them, but with a third party that they are affiliated with (it also took them a while to figure this out). At this point I was truly confused because I never knew I was dealing with an outside party. This third party booking agency is Reservation Counter, also known as Reservation Desk.
When I called Reservation Counter they informed me that they have a no cancellation/no refund policy and although I would not be able to make it to the hotel I could not be reimbursed. When I checked my email I saw that this policy was stated in a confirmation email which also appears as if it is from hotel.
I was scammed. Perhaps I should have seen the signs. I do feel that they mislead people and take advantage of consumers.
When I researched this company I discovered that my story is not unique. Many people have had the same if not worse experiences.
They were "hijacked" when doing an online search
They thought they were dealing directly with the hotel
Their credit card was immediately charged
The fee exceeded the amount that would have been charged by booking directly with the hotel
They do not allow refunds, cancellations or changes
What makes this situation worse is the fact they charge consumers more than the actual hotel charges to book a room. I am also disappointed with the hotel and Expedia for participating in this scam. They are aware of this company's fraudulent practices, yet they don't seem to be concerned. I guess everyone is happy as long as they're making money.
Hopefully others will heed the warning and avoid these scammers.
I made hotel reservations thinking I was making them with the hotel directly. Our plans changed and I tried to cancel the reservation. I started with the hotel before the cutoff time and that's when I found out that we actually went through Reservation Counter. When I called to cancel the reservation, it was 15 minutes past the cutoff time. Reservation Counter (RC) said they would need to get manager approval to refund our money. However, there wasn't a manager on duty on Saturday and we had to wait until Monday. At that time, I knew we were getting ripped off. I called RC today and they lied to me. They said they talked to the hotel manager and she refused to refund our money. When I talked to the hotel, they said that RC hung up on them. We were not able to talk to the manager of the hotel and RC refused to refund anything. We have since filed a dispute for the charge with our credit card company and should receive a refund.
From now on, I'm calling the hotel directly to make reservations. These third-party reservation systems stink and are nothing but a ripoff.
Reservation Counter Reviews
I want to tell my story about a man called Micah Bass, who is the owner of Travelodge Hotel located at 7200 International Drive, in Orlando Florida. After two weeks of working at his office, at 6703 Mott Ave, Lockhart, FL, he fired me. I repaird His facia, and soffit on his office building. Also, i used my truck to pick up 14 fencing board on board panels, 10 posts and 10 bags of cement. I then installed a board on board fence all around the front area of his office building. I also repaird his old garage door, that looked like it was broke for quite a while. Then I started painting his complete Office Bulding with two other men, with the paint he told me to use . he then sent me over to the Tarvelodge Hotel to fix a electrical problem in room 306. I discovered the switch was no good i changed it out. I was also send into room 125 to remove the shower base to prepare to install a new one. I was send to Home Depot again to buy the Proper shower pan 60x 36 x5.5 base. Micah Bass who was the person who purchased the paint. Unknowingly he bought four 5 Gallon of Gray paint but not all the same color. He became angry with me about the paint color and fired me. Cursing and verbally abusing me. He sent me to the travelodge Hotel and told me pick up my check at the hotel and get the Fu... out of my hotel by 1pm. There was NO check to be picked up ! That same day he texted me telling me I would have my check late Friday after noon.
I went to a hotel website to make reservations and thought I was calling the hotel, but got redirected to "reservationcounter". I was unaware I was talking to a 3rd party, but it was obvious they were probably not in the U.S. I gave them my address and credit card info, but when he read the terms that this future stay was not refundable, I told him not to proceed with the transaction. He said it was too late. He forwarded me to another number, I got put on hold for a long time, then this person said they were contacting the hotel to cancel, but couldn't because there was no manager available for the next 18 hours.
I suspected a scam, and cancelled my credit card. I called the hotel to alert them of the scam. The front desk person said they had called him, but was told I wanted a refund on a past stay, not an upcoming one. I figure this way "reservationcounter" could tell me the "hotel" denied my refund request. Then they would keep all the money they charged to my card.
Do not hit the telephone icon when on a specific hotel website like I did. Instead of calling that hotel, you could be automatically redirected to "Reservation counter"!!!!
Reservationcounter.com and similar websites cleverly disguise themselves making you think they are the hotel website. We picked a King Studio in a cottage at a property we know well but they switched it to a room with two double beds in a less desireable location.
We could only see this after submitting payment which is non-refundable. We immediately tried to call their Customer Circus [sic] but could not reach a live person. We cancelled the reservation through their website and received a confirmation. The Hotel Property said they should refund our money.
Two weeks later, I spoke to a customer service rep at ReservationCounter.com who agreed to refund the price of the room but not the $12.99 reservation fee. I felt they should refund all monies and contacted the credit card company to file a complaint. They reversed the charges, but thereafter ReservationCounter filed a protest in which they failed to disclose the conversation with their customer service rep. The credit card was again charged for the room.
Consumers should try to deal directly with the property - not third party booking websites who have no interest in treating you fairly.
Reservation Counter Scam
On January 17, 2016 I went online to look up the Hampton Inn in Nashville, TN (1919 West End Ave., near Vanderbilt University). When I entered the information in the search engine the first choice I received seemed to be the website for the hotel. What I did not realize at the time is that this was actually the website of a third party booking agency (Reservation Counter) that uses the logo of the hotel to mislead potential clients.
I called the phone number listed on the website to inquire about reserving a room. The representative on the phone never stated that he was working for an outside company. I believe he started the conversation with "Reservation Counter" or "Reservation Desk" which led me to believe that I was speaking to an employee of the hotel at their reservation desk (especially since I thought I was calling the hotel based on the number from the website).
Maybe I should have seen the signs during the phone conversation, the representative spoke rapidly and asked for my credit card information after quoting me a rate for a one night stay. I thought this was being done to reserve the room, but my card was immediately charged. The nightly fee for the hotel was $139, but I was quoted a price of $170.00. When I asked about his I was told that these were fees and service charges. I was also told that this was to be expected on a holiday weekend (Dr. King Holiday weekend).
As it turns out these are fees that they collect for their "services" which is in addition to what you would have paid the hotel for a direct booking. So they aren't doing you any favors they are charging you for something you could've done for less on your own. However, I didn't even realize I was dealing with an outside party at the time of the call, I thought I was dealing with the hotel.
I experienced problems while traveling and knew that I would not be able to make it to the hotel. When I called the hotel I was told that I did not make a reservation with them. They stated that I made a reservation with Expedia (it took them a while to figure this out). I then called Expedia and I was told that I did not make a reservation with them, but with a third party that they are affiliated with (it also took them a while to figure this out). At this point I was truly confused because I never knew I was dealing with an outside party. This third party booking agency is Reservation Counter, also known as Reservation Desk.
When I called Reservation Counter they informed me that they have a no cancellation/no refund policy and although I would not be able to make it to the hotel I could not be reimbursed. When I checked my email I saw that this policy was stated in a confirmation email which also appears as if it is from hotel.
I was scammed. Perhaps I should have seen the signs. I do feel that they mislead people and take advantage of consumers.
When I researched this company I discovered that my story is not unique. Many people have had the same if not worse experiences.
They were "hijacked" when doing an online search
They thought they were dealing directly with the hotel
Their credit card was immediately charged
The fee exceeded the amount that would have been charged by booking directly with the hotel
They do not allow refunds, cancellations or changes
What makes this situation worse is the fact they charge consumers more than the actual hotel charges to book a room. I am also disappointed with the hotel and Expedia for participating in this scam. They are aware of this company's fraudulent practices, yet they don't seem to be concerned. I guess everyone is happy as long as they're making money.
Hopefully others will heed the warning and avoid these scammers.
I made hotel reservations thinking I was making them with the hotel directly. Our plans changed and I tried to cancel the reservation. I started with the hotel before the cutoff time and that's when I found out that we actually went through Reservation Counter. When I called to cancel the reservation, it was 15 minutes past the cutoff time. Reservation Counter (RC) said they would need to get manager approval to refund our money. However, there wasn't a manager on duty on Saturday and we had to wait until Monday. At that time, I knew we were getting ripped off. I called RC today and they lied to me. They said they talked to the hotel manager and she refused to refund our money. When I talked to the hotel, they said that RC hung up on them. We were not able to talk to the manager of the hotel and RC refused to refund anything. We have since filed a dispute for the charge with our credit card company and should receive a refund.
From now on, I'm calling the hotel directly to make reservations. These third-party reservation systems stink and are nothing but a ripoff.