Taking my custom elsewhere

byhookorbycrook

Had a deal sorted with a certain Limerick hotel, €109 2bb and 1 dinner,got a phone call today to say rate should have been €159 as it was a "rugby weekend" .Oh, but might be able to fit us in some other weekend...

Our group will be taking our custom elsewhere and won't be back to Limerick in a hurry. Limerick's loss is Waterford's gain - same deal €99 in Faithlegg House hotel. Plus all we will spend on somewhere else for dinner the other night, shopping, treatments and a few drinks.

Greed doesn't do Limerick any favours.

ninty9er

You may think you're hitting them, but if it's a rugby weekend they'll sell it. There isn't a room in the city empty on HK nights.

It's not great business practice though. I agree.

krudler

thats really more an issue with the hotel than Limerick itself to be fair

byhookorbycrook

We stayed there last year and would probably have come back next year again. 7 people x 3 years not to be sniffed at.

realdanbreen

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Had a deal sorted with a certain Limerick hotel, €109 2bb and 1 dinner,got a phone call today to say rate should have been €159 as it was a "rugby weekend" .Oh, but might be able to fit us in some other weekend...

Our group will be taking our custom elsewhere and won't be back to Limerick in a hurry. Limerick's loss is Waterford's gain - same deal €99 in Faithlegg House hotel. Plus all we will spend on somewhere else for dinner the other night, shopping, treatments and a few drinks.

Greed doesn't do Limerick any favours.

When you say you 'had a deal sorted',had you made the reservation?

byhookorbycrook

Yep.

Tefral

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Yep.

Well thats bad form then out of them. That is greedy especially since you had it reserved.

Id write a letter to the manager. You might get a free night out of it down the road.

Sid_Justice

what is the point of this thread? ranting and raving is -> way. send the hotel an email don't bore us with your weekend away breaks.

byhookorbycrook

To be honest, I am so disgusted with them that I wouldn't be ar*sed with a letter.Prefer to deal with places that play straight.

washman3

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Had a deal sorted with a certain Limerick hotel, €109 2bb and 1 dinner,got a phone call today to say rate should have been €159 as it was a "rugby weekend" .Oh, but might be able to fit us in some other weekend...

Our group will be taking our custom elsewhere and won't be back to Limerick in a hurry. Limerick's loss is Waterford's gain - same deal €99 in Faithlegg House hotel. Plus all we will spend on somewhere else for dinner the other night, shopping, treatments and a few drinks.

Greed doesn't do Limerick any favours.

Well done, you made the correct decision. and i live in the so-called "sports mad city" And that "rugby weekend" bubble is about to burst it may not be long until the hotels will be begging you to return.
Enjoy Waterford, far better anyway, TBH

Icky Thump

seriously OP i agree 100% and fair play. but dont give up on limerick. you can still have a good night here. write the letter and get your free night. in fact mention in the letter you are willing to go public. if you have a confirmaton on your email even better mail it on and show them. get your free night and enjoy the city. never do business with them again but get what you deserve.

i dont know if its against the rules to mention who they are. but it should be ok as companies that are bad for limerick should be run out of town. no place for them. where is this hotel??? is it near the shannon bridge by any chance or is it near the abbey bridge??

just dont mention the name in case

MyKeyG

Definitely well worth mentioning OP. Unfortunately Limerick has struggled with an image problem ever since the expression 'stab city' was coined. Albeit the expression is sustained by ignorance and tired cliché it's still a problem. I'm sure the powers that be don't want to see conning people added to the list.

constantg

forget an email to the manager, call Live 95 or Joe Duffy. GUARANTEE you'll get a reaction VERY quickly!!

maryk123

they shouldnt have done that but a quick phone call to the manager could have sorted this out. posters amaze me by saying "enjoy waterford far better anyway". honestly that is unreal. ring the manager and get it sorted and enjoy your weeked.Limerick is a great place and we should be promoting it instead of telling people go somewhere else. This really annoys me.

JustAThought

Well; if you're going to post let us know the name of the hotel or it's defining feature/ location so that wecan all avoid it; or even better give us the managers email address here so we can email them with your storyand ask them to clarifytbeir booking and pricing ethics for prebooked customers.

No point b*^ing into a void... Positive action!!
Plus gives all hotels in L a bad reputation

Conor Bourke

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

To be honest, I am so disgusted with them that I wouldn't be ar*sed with a letter.Prefer to deal with places that play straight.

You couldn't be arsed writing an email to the manager, even though you might get an apology/compensation but you went to all the effort of starting an utterly pointless thread, branding the entire city just because of one bad customer service experience?

I don't get it.

Berty

Although I agree the Faithlegg hotel is quite nice Waterford is not a pick on Limerick and what it offers nearby.

I take it you had a verbal agreement with them and a booking on their system. Did you book over the phone or internet? If you have an internet e-mail then you have a binding contract on price.

Reservations people have a rooms budget and must make their margins. In your case they know they wont make it so want you to pay more. Boo hoo on them. The manager, I would be confident of, probably doesn't even know about this. It's easy to get the managers name and e-mail address. If you call up and ask for the manager they will ask who you are and what you want and you will be put onto a duty manager most likely. So call up and ask for the General Managers name and e-mail address(normally they dont ask why you want it, always worked for me and if they do ask say you want to send through some information) and send your e-mail.

Live 95fm and Joe Duffy. Give me a break. If you want the hotel to take you seriously you stay away from dragging them into the gutter press. :rolleyes:

munstergirl

Sorry to hear about your rip off.

You see limerick does not need tourists, our city is booming, take your cash elsewhere. And have good holiday.

I would ring hotel manager though. Its not right to up the price of hotel room AFTER reservation.

All around the world it happens hotel rooms put up their prices when there is an event on. But after you made reservation is just bad customer service.

That hotel now has lost you as customer for life.
Limericks loss at the end of the day.

zuroph

ALWAYS complain to a manager. that's what the complaints procedure is there for. If you were a customer of mine and came to me with the info you've put on this thread, I'd have sorted it for you.

jordainius

What hotel was it? I'd follow it up, if an agreement is made on a price and the reservation is made, then is that not a legally binding contract? (Correct me if I'm mistaken but I'd imagine there is a contract here?)

By the way, should this not be in Consumer Issues or somewhere? I fail to see why this is in the Limerick City forum??

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Greed doesn't do Limerick any favours.

Greed doesn't do any place any favours. However, you were not messed around by Limerick, you were messed around by one business in Limerick. One of thousands of businesses. As a Limerick man I can't help but feel a small bit annoyed at the way you have put your situation to us, while I acknowledge you were messed around, and I hope you get compensated somehow, I'd kindly ask that you not to portray the actions of a small group of people employed by one business as somehow being representative of the county as a whole.

washman3

Alaskimo-cake wrote: »

You couldn't be arsed writing an email to the manager, even though you might get an apology/compensation but you went to all the effort of starting an utterly pointless thread, branding the entire city just because of one bad customer service experience?

I don't get it.

what utter bulls...e. why should this man write an email/letter to anyone.
he was the customer,he had the cash,and cash is king.
this is no isolated incident in Limerick with just one hotel,this rubbish goes on all the time,we all know it but instead of joining in the chorus some chose to lampoon the individual who highlighted it.
F.Y.I. this practice is not confined to hotel beds,it also happens with restaurants,drink prices and petrol/diesel.
this will only change when people vote with their feet,as this person has done.
My advice, if he is emailing anyone,it should be all his friends and anyone he knows telling them to run a mile from this rip-off culture.
Once again, enjoy Waterford......:)

P.S. apologies if this person is a she,just used "he" to make the point.

Ciderswigger

Do you think you've enough 'thanks' in this thread McLove? :P


Oh I hope he thanks me!!!:pac:

Conor Bourke

washman3 wrote: »

what utter bulls...e. why should this man write an email/letter to anyone.
he was the customer,he had the cash,and cash is king.

:rolleyes: Yeah, why should the OP bother to do something constructive like actually stand up to the hotel and demand an explanation for their hike.

washman3 wrote: »

this is no isolated incident in Limerick with just one hotel,this rubbish goes on all the time,we all know it but instead of joining in the chorus some chose to lampoon the individual who highlighted it.

I did not lampoon the OP, I merely pointed out the most logical, adult, and least spineless way of dealing with their problem, IMO. I also don't get why the OP is using one lousy customer services experience to blast the entire city for the rest of their days. OP, would you be over on the Galway forum blustering if you'd booked a room in a hotel in Galway this week (race week) and they suddenly decided to hike the rate up, or are you trying to tell me that it never happens on the week of Galway Races? I use Galway as just one comparable example, I imagine there are similar stories to be told around the Jazz festival in Cork, HC Rugby in Dublin, etc etc. I know for a fact that the weekend that Take That played in Croke Park recently, hotel rooms were at a premium and the prices were obscene. Should we all stop going to Dublin now too? :rolleyes:

washman3 wrote: »

F.Y.I. this practice is not confined to hotel beds,it also happens with restaurants,drink prices and petrol/diesel.
this will only change when people vote with their feet,as this person has done.

That is not the only way to solve the problem of rogue pricing. Asking to speak to management/making a formal complaint is a much more practical and effective way of resolving such an issue, thus allowing the company to offer redress to the offended individual. The OP here did not even give the Hotel in question the benefit of the doubt, they "couldn't be arsed" following what would be considered basic protocol, but instead chose to come here to spit vitriol on the entire city. If the OP had complained to the Hotel Manager and still been treated poorly, then they would have my sympathy regarding that issue but I agree with other poster who point out that this is a topic more suited to the Consumer Issues forum, it is not specific to Limerick City.

washman3 wrote: »

My advice, if he is emailing anyone,it should be all his friends and anyone he knows telling them to run a mile from this rip-off culture

Ahh yes, that most Irish solution to an Irish problem- when you have a problem with something, don't dare tell the service providers how upset you are with them, but make damn sure to blacken their name behind their back.
Very mature.

source

Was going to post here but Alaskimo pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

CiaranMT

source wrote: »

Was going to post here but Alaskimo pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

Samesies. Email the manager OP.

washman3

There is only one thing worse than the scum operating this rip-off culture,be it in Limerick,Galway,Dublin or Cork and that is their apologists.


there is another thread in Limerick City forum at the moment, titled limerick businesses closed.

Ring any bells folks.???:D

source

washman3 wrote: »

There is only one thing worse than the scum operating this rip-off culture,be it in Limerick,Galway,Dublin or Cork and that is their apologists.


there is another thread in Limerick City forum at the moment, titled limerick businesses closed.

Ring any bells folks.???:D

No apologists here, Everyone here is unimpressed with the OP, but here's proper ways of going about things. The way we're advocating is the correct way. Snyping to friends and families about it is not the way of going about it.

Conor Bourke

washman3 wrote: »

There is only one thing worse than the scum operating this rip-off culture,be it in Limerick,Galway,Dublin or Cork and that is their apologists.


there is another thread in Limerick City forum at the moment, titled limerick businesses closed.

Ring any bells folks.???:D

It's times like this that a facepalm smiley would be brilliant


I'm making my point for the third time. I am NOT apologising for the rip-off culture, I'm offering rational, practical ways to tackle it, as opposed to just bitching and bad-mouthing. Rip-off culture bothers me greatly, I travel around the country extensively so I get to compare prices of goods and services nationally. If I have a problem or feel I'm being ripped off, I point it out to staff/management. If the price is adjusted, or a reasonable explanation for the discrepancy is provided, I'm happy. If I get no answer or poor customer service, then I bring my business elsewhere.

I don't think I can make myself any clearer.

washman3

Alaskimo-cake wrote: »

It's times like this that a facepalm smiley would be brilliant


I'm making my point for the third time. I am NOT apologising for the rip-off culture, I'm offering rational, practical ways to tackle it, as opposed to just bitching and bad-mouthing. Rip-off culture bothers me greatly, I travel around the country extensively so I get to compare prices of goods and services nationally. If I have a problem or feel I'm being ripped off, I point it out to staff/management. If the price is adjusted, or a reasonable explanation for the discrepancy is provided, I'm happy. If I get no answer or poor customer service, then I bring my business elsewhere.

I don't think I can make myself any clearer.

Fair enough, see your point.
but i still think the OP was right to raise it on BOARDS.IE
my point is we should'nt have to go pointing out obvious rip-offs and seeking explanations. we need a proper watchdog to control this.
this kind of culture is specifically designed to prey on people's immediate needs when they have no obvious alternative.

Conor Bourke

washman3 wrote: »

Fair enough, see your point.
but i still think the OP was right to raise it on BOARDS.IE
my point is we should'nt have to go pointing out obvious rip-offs and seeking explanations. we need a proper watchdog to control this.
this kind of culture is specifically designed to prey on people's immediate needs when they have no obvious alternative.

Eeehhh... Is standing up for yourself and making a complaint through the appropriate channels not a plainly obvious alternative?

You say that consumers NEED a watchdog- ie: another government funded, unnecessary drain on public finance. Are we living in such a disastrous Nanny State now that people simply can't cope with the trauma of making a formal, reasonable complaint without someone holding their hand every step of the way?

I agree with you that the OP was well within their rights to discuss their experience on boards.ie, but perhaps it would have been better received in the appropriate forum.

washman3

Alaskimo-cake wrote: »

Eeehhh... Is standing up for yourself and making a complaint through the appropriate channels not a plainly obvious alternative?

You say that consumers NEED a watchdog- ie: another government funded, unnecessary drain on public finance. Are we living in such a disastrous Nanny State now that people simply can't cope with the trauma of making a formal complaint

a single person making a complaint will, 99% of the time, be fed a load of bull and laughed out the door, that is if he is lucky enough to ever get to meet the actual person in charge.
very simple,report rip-offs and overcharging, but will it be dealt with? doubt it.

Mc Love

Ciderswigger wrote: »

Do you think you've enough 'thanks' in this thread McLove? :P


Oh I hope he thanks me!!!:pac:

Better than doing this everytime i like a post

+1

source

I've done a bit of digging, and found that the practice of increasing hotel prices is not illegal, and is in fact regulated for.

Under the Tourist Traffic Act 1939, Hotels have to set a cap for their prices, this price is the hotels standard price for the hotel room. The hotel is then free to lower the price of hotel rooms during quiet periods. So the ads we see for €69 rooms are actually reduced prices and not the standard prices for the hotel room. A hotel is then free to bring the price back up to the standard higher price when demand increases.

On what happened to the op, the hotel is in breach of the contract made between the op and the hotel. The hotel made an invitation to treat, by advertising the price, the OP agreed to this price which made an agreement.

If the Op had paid for the rooms or paid a deposit. Then a legally binding contract was in force and the hotel could not change the price as that would be changing the conditions of the contract.

So to summarise, what happened to the OP was wrong, the hotel changing their prices at times of high demand is perfectly fine, and while people may have a moral objection to the practice, there is nothing wrong with doing so in a legal sense.

zuroph

source wrote: »

I've done a bit of digging, and found that the practice of increasing hotel prices is not illegal, and is in fact regulated for.

Under the Tourist Traffic Act 1939, Hotels have to set a cap for their prices, this price is the hotels standard price for the hotel room. The hotel is then free to lower the price of hotel rooms during quiet periods. So the ads we see for €69 rooms are actually reduced prices and not the standard prices for the hotel room. A hotel is then free to bring the price back up to the standard higher price when demand increases.

On what happened to the op, the hotel is in breach of the contract made between the op and the hotel. The hotel made an invitation to treat, by advertising the price, the OP agreed to this price which made an agreement.

If the Op had paid for the rooms or paid a deposit. Then a legally binding contract was in force and the hotel could not change the price as that would be changing the conditions of the contract.

So to summarise, what happened to the OP was wrong, the hotel changing their prices at times of high demand is perfectly fine, and while people may have a moral objection to the practice, there is nothing wrong with doing so in a legal sense.

with this in mind, I'm of the opinion that the OP has a legal right to the price he was given, IF the booking was secured using a credit card. I'd take it up with management again.

phog

zuroph wrote: »

with this in mind, I'm of the opinion that the OP has a legal right to the price he was given, IF the booking was secured using a credit card. I'd take it up with management again.

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

To be honest, I am so disgusted with them that I wouldn't be ar*sed with a letter.Prefer to deal with places that play straight.

I think the OP isn't arsed in taking it up with management.

zuroph

but arsed enough to post about it elsewhere. it could be some part-timer in making a mistake, these things should always be taken to management, they've just lost regular customers and dont know why.

byhookorbycrook

ok, update. Rang hotel, got on to "duty manager". Was told original price quoted was a "mistake" and invited to come some other non-rugby weekend for €139( exactly the price for a weekend on the website,no deal at all).

For those who think I shouldn't have posted this, don't see why not.Or are we only allowed post nice things about places??

ninty9er

Can you name the hotel. I'd be pretty sure if the rest of us started sending emails to them they'd pretty soon realise they have more than you on their hands. Even if it doesn't get you your €109 weekend, it makes the point that they can't just do what they like.

zuroph

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

ok, update. Rang hotel, got on to "duty manager". Was told original price quoted was a "mistake" and invited to come some other non-rugby weekend for €139( exactly the price for a weekend on the website,no deal at all).

For those who think I shouldn't have posted this, don't see why not.Or are we only allowed post nice things about places??

had you secured the bookign with a credit card? and how soon after were you called back to change price?

Its not that people dont think you should post it at all, its that if you want to complain about it, then at least complain to them as well. Irish people for too long have failed to complain when service is bad, and instead give out about it afterwards.

If they've taken a credit card to confirm the booking, I'd say you've a case under contract law.

byhookorbycrook

Booking made last Feb,the story is that a "trainee" gave us last year's rate.

kilburn

was a deposit taken? did you give credit card details? do you have an email or printed proof of the first rate?

h3000

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

For those who think I shouldn't have posted this, don't see why not.Or are we only allowed post nice things about places??

I think most people took exception to you writing the whole city off because of one hotel. Punish the hotel by all means but give the city a chance. The hotel seem to have been totally out of line with the way they treated you.

whydoibother?

I fully agree with going elsewhere when service isn't up to scratch OP. I also you were quite right to highlight it. On a more positive note, I know people who have been to Faithlegg and found it absolutely beautiful so hopefully you and your friends will enjoy that.

washman3

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

ok, update. Rang hotel, got on to "duty manager". Was told original price quoted was a "mistake" and invited to come some other non-rugby weekend for €139( exactly the price for a weekend on the website,no deal at all).

For those who think I shouldn't have posted this, don't see why not.Or are we only allowed post nice things about places??

you are entitled to post the truth here and you have definately done that IMO. you may have upset some vested interests and bleeding hearts but so what. Reading your posts i have failed to see where you actually badmouth Limerick City,your gripe is with a certain hotel and if it was me, i would actually name the hotel. having said that all hotels in Limerick operate this rip-off practice for "rugby weekend"
as a poster pointed out the hotel has done nothing illegal here,and he is correct, but it is downright sneaky,wrong and totally unacceptable practice.
Remember our bankers and politicans also did nothing illegal and look at our country now.
Well done for highlighting this rip-off culture on boards.ie and feel free to highlight future wrong-doing.
Once again, enjoy Waterford.

phog

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

ok, update. Rang hotel, got on to "duty manager". Was told original price quoted was a "mistake" and invited to come some other non-rugby weekend for €139( exactly the price for a weekend on the website,no deal at all).

For those who think I shouldn't have posted this, don't see why not.Or are we only allowed post nice things about places??

I have no issue with you posting about your experience but you indicated that you no interest in contacting the hotel. In general, my view is if you believe you got poor service or ripped off there's no pint in ranting oin the internet about it, contact the relevant business.

BTW, you're naive if you think this only happens in hotels in Limerick.

Conor Bourke

washman3 wrote: »

Reading your posts i have failed to see where you actually badmouth Limerick City

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Our group will be taking our custom elsewhere and won't be back to Limerick in a hurry. Limerick's loss is Waterford's gain
Greed doesn't do Limerick any favours.

I take exception to being referred to as a "bleeding heart" or having vested interests. I am actually from Sligo but lived in Limerick for a year and loved every minute I spent there. Living in Dublin now but still pop back to visit friends and I check in here every now and again to keep up with the all the news. If this thread was posted in the Sligo/Galway/Dublin/Wherever forum my reply would be the exact same. As Phog pointed out, the OP would be naive to think this practice is limited to Limerick. I'd be interested to know what the craic was with hotel prices in Waterford a few weeks back when the Tall Ships were in town?

hatetherain!

OP, you say the booking was made last feb, did you actually make the booking and give a credit card to secure if or for a deposit, or did you just receive a quote in feb.
Or did you make the booking and say something like I'll call back with my credit card and by giving your credit card confirm your booking.
Did you get a booking confirmation number from the hotel in feb?
Did you get email confirmation for your booking at any stage?

Id be really interested to know the full details of how this situation came about for you!

washman3

Alaskimo-cake wrote: »

If this thread was posted in the Sligo/Galway/Dublin/Wherever forum my reply would be the exact same. As Phog pointed out, the OP would be naive to think this practice is limited to Limerick. I'd be interested to know what the craic was with hotel prices in Waterford a few weeks back when the Tall Ships were in town?

OP is not naive,or never suggested that this practice is confined to Limerick we all know that this practice is countrywide. the hotel that attempted to rip him off happens to be in Limerick,if it was elsewhere he would most likely posted his grieveance also.
we can take it for certain that this also happened during the Tall Ships in Waterford also,some poster may confirm this. But for now his group is heading to Waterford because of the way they were treated by a Limerick hotel. If the same happens to them next year in W/ford i expect them to book elsewhere.
Its called voting with your feet.


F.Y.I. i live in Limerick.

jordainius

washman3 wrote: »

There is only one thing worse than the scum operating this rip-off culture,be it in Limerick,Galway,Dublin or Cork and that is their apologists.

What apologists? Point them out please with relevant quotes. I haven't seen one apologist, all I have seen is people question why this was posted in the Limerick forum, people are defending Limerick because this thread almost implies that Limerick is rife with rip off culture, people are 100% entitled to point out that this is a general national trend, this discussion has nothing to do with Limerick, it is a national problem.

washman3 wrote:

there is another thread in Limerick City forum at the moment, titled limerick businesses closed.

Ring any bells folks.???:D

Smiley face??? Yeah the job losses caused by the recession here are fairly hilarious alright :rolleyes: That thread and this thread have absolutely nothing to do with each other, and what you said above is ignorant, uneducated and extremely childish. The vast majority of those businesses, were not closed because they were ripping off customers, hell I'd nearly say none of them were.

washman3 wrote: »

you are entitled to post the truth here and you have definately done that IMO. you may have upset some vested interests and bleeding hearts but so what.

Ok you're just being a dick here.

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

ok, update. Rang hotel, got on to "duty manager". Was told original price quoted was a "mistake" and invited to come some other non-rugby weekend for €139( exactly the price for a weekend on the website,no deal at all).

For those who think I shouldn't have posted this, don't see why not.Or are we only allowed post nice things about places??

Are you being intentionally dense here? No person has said you shouldn't have posted this, they are saying that you shouldn't have posted it here. Not one person has claimed that you should only be allowed post nice things. The problem here is that you have chosen to post this in the Limerick forum, you have taken something that hotels the world over do and by posting it in the Limerick forum, that implies that you are saying that its almost exclusively a Limerick problem.

I'm starting to question your motivations in this thread.

Why yet have you not named the hotel? If you want to hurt them then name them, there's a lot of hotels in Limerick.

Why post this in the Limerick forum? Why restrict this to about 5% of the people who use boards?

Why not post in Consumer Affairs where you can get the input and feedback of users from all over the country?

It's pretty simple; This is NOT a Limerick issue, it's a general consumer issue.

testicle

The weekend wasn't even a Rugby weekend last Feb when you booked, and only became one in the last few weeks when the HEC fixtures were announced.

This is out an out gouging, and the hotel should be named and shamed.

Insect Overlord

Mod Note: We're going around in circles now.

Byhookorbycrook, deal with the hotel management directly. If you had the booking confirmed/a deposit paid, then the ball's in your court. You already know where to find the Consumer Issues forum, but to be quite honest it's Ranting & Raving you should have gone to with this.

Thread closed.