Generic
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I saw this article http://consumerist.com/2013/01/22/priceline-books-me-in-3-5-star-roach-motel-and-theres-no-refunds/ and all I could think is... if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.
First of all, if a hotel has to resort to selling their rooms anonymous, there is a problem. Buying that problem is a choice. Are you willing to sacrifice knowing for cheap. If you are, you have to live with it. You don't walk into the casino, put down $100 on number 20 and then when it doesn't come up on the wheel ask them to reimburse you. You played, you lost, get over it.
The second thing is a report of BB and actual BB are two entirely different things. Most establishments will take care of the problem, likely well before someone even posts it. (And they should post it in the past tense, since posting it in present tense might be legal libel.)
I don't know about you, but I pretty much know the local establishments that appear on both of these websites that sell opaque hotel rooms. I know why most of them are on those websites in the first place. Sometimes I have even seen the maps redrawn just to include a hotel that wasn't include before, so that it can play as well. We have a hotel with a horrible location on an island in the middle of the river, no public transport, expensive to use a taxi. Great for a getaway, horrible for visiting the city. Well, they moved zone G to include it, quick indication of what hotel got added to the list and where I don't want to stay!
PS: I've used these websites when I really didn't care where I stayed. I have gotten a few decent deals, but by design, never anything great, we even got a 4* in Boston once for a great price, until we got there and they were charging more for the parking than the hotel room (and in spite of it being a 4*, it's ranked 60 of the 75 hotels in Boston. There is always a reason these hotels are sold blindly.
First of all, if a hotel has to resort to selling their rooms anonymous, there is a problem. Buying that problem is a choice. Are you willing to sacrifice knowing for cheap. If you are, you have to live with it. You don't walk into the casino, put down $100 on number 20 and then when it doesn't come up on the wheel ask them to reimburse you. You played, you lost, get over it.
The second thing is a report of BB and actual BB are two entirely different things. Most establishments will take care of the problem, likely well before someone even posts it. (And they should post it in the past tense, since posting it in present tense might be legal libel.)
I don't know about you, but I pretty much know the local establishments that appear on both of these websites that sell opaque hotel rooms. I know why most of them are on those websites in the first place. Sometimes I have even seen the maps redrawn just to include a hotel that wasn't include before, so that it can play as well. We have a hotel with a horrible location on an island in the middle of the river, no public transport, expensive to use a taxi. Great for a getaway, horrible for visiting the city. Well, they moved zone G to include it, quick indication of what hotel got added to the list and where I don't want to stay!
PS: I've used these websites when I really didn't care where I stayed. I have gotten a few decent deals, but by design, never anything great, we even got a 4* in Boston once for a great price, until we got there and they were charging more for the parking than the hotel room (and in spite of it being a 4*, it's ranked 60 of the 75 hotels in Boston. There is always a reason these hotels are sold blindly.