Hotel room not as advertised

noah45

Hi, I booked 1 night in a Dublin hotel online via laterooms.com
Great value at €65 room only.
Now according to laterooms.com this room normally costs €399 per night!!!!!

Anyway the room that I booked is described by them as follows:

Superior Double/Twin Room including luxury duvets, large fluffy towels, writing desk,

Bath, Shower, Power Shower, Bath/Shower, En Suite, Hair Dryer, Designer Toiletries, Bathrobe (on request)
Air Conditioning In-Room Control, Climate Control, Heating, Hairdryer, Safe, Safe with laptop capacity, Complimentary Newspaper, Newspaper on request, Iron and Ironing Board, Iron and Ironing Board on request, Full-Length Mirror, Make Up Mirror, Double Wardrobe, Sewing Kit, Shoe Shine,[/B] [/B]Wake Up Calls, Daily Housekeeping, Sound Proof, City Map, Sofa, Double Glazing, Executive Floor, Windows open


Well, duvet is as thin as a newspaper and there is no complimentary newspaper
2 small non fluffy towels that are not even bath towels!
2 tiny bottles toiletries-1 shampoo and 1 body wash, 1 tiny soap
air conditioning is a plug in fan!
No shoe polish or sewing kit- not important

I booked this as a surprise for my husbands birthday and was thrilled at the bargain considering what I thought I was getting.

I said it to the receptionist, and I do realise that the problem is with laterooms.com and their false advertising and not with the hotel.

I have emailed laterooms.com just now, but am wondering if I have any comeback?

The rooms is very basic and its grand but it is not at all as advertised.

meercat

noah45 wrote: »

Hi, I booked 1 night in a Dublin hotel online via laterooms.com
Great value at €65 room only.
Now according to laterooms.com this room normally costs €399 per night!!!!!

Anyway the room that I booked is described by them as follows:

Superior Double/Twin Room including luxury duvets, large fluffy towels, writing desk,

Bath, Shower, Power Shower, Bath/Shower, En Suite, Hair Dryer, Designer Toiletries, Bathrobe (on request)
Air Conditioning In-Room Control, Climate Control, Heating, Hairdryer, Safe, Safe with laptop capacity, Complimentary Newspaper, Newspaper on request, Iron and Ironing Board, Iron and Ironing Board on request, Full-Length Mirror, Make Up Mirror, Double Wardrobe, Sewing Kit, Shoe Shine,[/B] [/B]Wake Up Calls, Daily Housekeeping, Sound Proof, City Map, Sofa, Double Glazing, Executive Floor, Windows open


Well, duvet is as thin as a newspaper and there is no complimentary newspaper
2 small non fluffy towels that are not even bath towels!
2 tiny bottles toiletries-1 shampoo and 1 body wash, 1 tiny soap
air conditioning is a plug in fan!
No shoe polish or sewing kit- not important

I booked this as a surprise for my husbands birthday and was thrilled at the bargain considering what I thought I was getting.

I said it to the receptionist, and I do realise that the problem is with laterooms.com and their false advertising and not with the hotel.

I have emailed laterooms.com just now, but am wondering if I have any comeback?

The rooms is very basic and its grand but it is not at all as advertised.

65 euro for a room in a dublin hotel
think you got a bargain there
a few minor issues only
wouldnt bother me tbh

dudara

If a room is apparently worth €399 per night, then I would be expecting a pretty special room. Your best bet is to contact laterooms and explain that the room was not as advertised.

goldenhoarde

399 is probably the max price they can charge for the room for the season/year

Allows them to jack the price for special occasions

Check on the back of the door and see what the max price is and if it matches 399 as there should be a plaque on it.

Recessionbust

Speaking from experience from when I ran hotels, €399 well it would want to be some room however if this is the highest price they advertised at some stage with on laterooms then they can display this as a was price.
Regarding the description, to be fair to laterooms and most other sites, the hotel enters this information itself at time of sign up. I doubt its verified and if it is then its compared with the hotels website.
Problem is that things change and they don't get updated.
While laterooms are the people you bought from they are as such like a newspaper only advertising and paid by the hotel on your checkout, if it was me I would write a letter directly to the hotel manager.

Procrastastudy

dudara wrote: »

If a room is apparently worth €399 per night, then I would be expecting a pretty special room. Your best bet is to contact laterooms and explain that the room was not as advertised.

I'd be expecting a room containing:

A paddling pool full of baked beans
Penelope Cruz
Cameron Diaz

€399 now €65 did that not set the alarm bells ringing?

Letter to the manager and laterooms - threats of tripadvisor reviews.

noah45

Back of door says €159, I don't believe it would ever have been €399.

The problem isn't really with the hotel, its with laterooms.com falsely advertising. I will write to them, as they can just ignore an email.

Personally I'm ok with the room, its only one night, has a bed, en-suite etc. Its annoying that companies can get away with false advertising really.

Recessionbust

If your still there it would do better to speak with manager in the morning, laterooms are only a advertiser, read the contract. The hotel are the people puting the description up

Procrastastudy

Dunno if its worth the €25 for the small claims or even if you can. I know if I could submit a claim I would out of pure bloodymindedness.

mikemac1

You can ask for extra duvets, pillows, anything you want

If you want 6 pillows, 5 towels and three duvets it's not a problem, they'll bring them up to you

Paper thin duvet but no need to complain, just ask

Hotels have storage rooms full of them

In fact there were probably extras on the top of the wardrobe, did you check?

noah45

Don't need an extra duvet, its the false advertising that's so annoying. I think I will bring it to hotel managers attention though.

Procastastudy, I agree with you.

CoachTO

I came into this thread expecting the worst and get to the end of the thread and it leaves me asking has Ireland really become a country full of people who want to complain about everything. The things you mentioned are things mentioned in practically every hotel ad and things most people care less about. You got a bargain at €69 for a room in Dublin. Who cares how they advertise it. Are you happy with the hotel and the room? If you are whats the point complaining?

If I had a euro for every minor details left out of a room I stayed in over the years I would be a rich man and I have stayed in lots of hotels around the place. A bargain is a bargain be happy you got one and enjoy yourself and stop worrying about some minor detail on an ad.

dudara

Posters - the topic at hand is that the OP feels there was a case of false advertising. Anything else is off-topic.

dudara

Procrastastudy

CoachTO wrote: »

I came into this thread expecting the worst and get to the end of the thread and it leaves me asking has Ireland really become a country full of people who want to complain about everything. The things you mentioned are things mentioned in practically every hotel ad and things most people care less about. You got a bargain at €69 for a room in Dublin. Who cares how they advertise it. Are you happy with the hotel and the room? If you are whats the point complaining?

If I had a euro for every minor details left out of a room I stayed in over the years I would be a rich man and I have stayed in lots of hotels around the place. A bargain is a bargain be happy you got one and enjoy yourself and stop worrying about some minor detail on an ad.

Grand so - its fine to be lied to then? Thats a ridiculous position to take. The point is Laterooms.com have more than a euro for every minor detail thats missed - they have lots of euros. Euros they shouldn't have made through lies. Euros that should have gone to another company who advertise honestly.

The service levels in Ireland have always been poor in comparison to the UK or the US. Its quite clear from this forum that some companies think providing crap service is fine. People accepting it just adds to the problem.

Also €69 for a hotel room is hardly a bargain - I suspect the corporate rate the Hotel charges is lower still.

Dempo1

Sadly and all to often Laterooms and indeed booking.com along with tripadvisor are all nicely tied in together and rarely accurate in what they are advertising. These sites are only given a limited amount of rooms from a hotel to sell and the discounts are essentially nonsense, at best the hotels are actually only discounting at around 20% but the discount sites will say 100%, Blaa Blaa Blaa. The OP's main query regarding room descriptions are also true, rarely does Laterooms have up to date information and whilst it is true to say the Hotels supply the info, discounting sites never, ever verify the information (I know this to be a fact). Whilst I hate tripadvisor for its poor verification of spurious reviews and indeed positive reviews, it is perhaps the only medium for guests to vent their displeasure. The Hotel will say there was an error on the room type discounted and essentially pass the buck. I did wondered however how many Dublin hotels are actually getting 399 a night for a room, few I suspect in the current climate.

sandin

Procrastastudy wrote: »

€399 now €65 did that not set the alarm bells ringing?

Letter to the manager and laterooms - threats of tripadvisor reviews.

Threat of a false review? - they have her name and address.

That's why tripadvisor is utter crap these days - too many people with minor gripes saying hotel was worst in world.

As she said, there was nothing wrong with the hotel, just the description on laterooms was incorrect / misleading.

noah45 wrote: »

Back of door says €159, I don't believe it would ever have been €399.

The problem isn't really with the hotel, its with laterooms.com falsely advertising. I will write to them, as they can just ignore an email.

Personally I'm ok with the room, its only one night, has a bed, en-suite etc. Its annoying that companies can get away with false advertising really.

€159 per person excluding breakfast is what that probably says.


As others have said, €65 for 2 people is excellent value.

Possibly laterooms need to change the description as many hotels have been NAMA'D and what was a 5 star hotel still has five star beds and five star size of rooms, but everything else about it is 3 star and sold at 3 start prices.

It means great value, but my guess is the hotel website itself would be at the same price with less of the guff and a more accurate description.

Basically it looks like Laterooms are using a description from the celtic tiger heydays and they need to chage this to refelct the current reality.

Procrastastudy

I never suggested she leave fake review. The room was advertised as a €399 room - thats what the OP should have got. Obviously not the smartest move not to have spotted it was a con from the outset but a con never the less.

Do you think the Hotel were straight on to Laterooms to insist the add was changed or do you think they're happy as long as they get money?

I've stayed in very - very nice hotels on a corporate rate at quite a but under €65 a night. If it was advertised as a 'good value' cheap room thats one thing but a room without air conditioning is a 3 star room, or a very old 4 star one.

The attitude of people that think its acceptable for a business to carry on this way is frankly shocking. As for trip advisor - I've used it quite a bit and it's rarely steered me wrong. Some reading between the lines in all thats required.

OP next time deal with a hotel directly - there are some great deals on direct from some hotels at least you wont get someone on reception passing the buck.

last time i was unhappy with a hotel stay and the staff were uninterested, i left a scathing review on tripadvisor. between the hotel and spa managers, my concerns were well addressed and i was compensated. or will be, on my next stay

should be the first port of call if you got nowhere after talking to the hotel

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

noah45

The whole point is false advertising!

I will report laterooms.com to the ASAI, there is a similar complaint there regarding another hotel in Dublin.

Bottom line is laterooms should NOT advertise falsely.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

TheDriver

tripadvisor. I know there are people with petty gripes but its easy to spot who is saying what e.g. americans complaining about the "small european lifts" etc as opposed to "excrement left on the sheets"

sandin

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Maximum rates are normally quoted on a per person rate. If the chip shop said €199.50 for fish and chips and you 2 of wanted the fish and chips, then that would be 399. If the chipper had a deal that said fish and chips for 2 people €65 then theorectically you are saving €234, though no-one in their right mind buys fish & chips for €199

False review - it was laterooms that had the incorrect information. You need to find out who posted iut before lambasting the hotel. The OP was charged €65, which for a good hotel in a city like Dublin is superb value, so therefore putting it about on tripadvisor just adds to the other sh1te that is written on that site about hotels, most of which is by people who have nothing better to do except look for faults when there are none there. - My fav is brits in Muslim countries complaining that there are no sausages for breakfast!

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I can't see anywhere on the thread where the hotel is mentioed - i can assure you there are more hotels in Dublin than Louis Fitzgeralds.

As I said, 5 star hotels were built, but today they offer 3 star service. This applies to Nama owned hotels and others, and it means Dublina nd Ireland in general has great value in hotels as very few of us really need the five star extars that added so much to the cost.

noah45

I am not a complainer which can be seen from my recent review on tripadvisor regarding our summer holiday in July. A lot of people had given bad reviews to hotel which worried me but I found it a great hotel.

Yes €65 is brilliant.

I have found out that the hotel are responsible for content on tripadvisor, although at the moment each are blaming each other.

endofrainbow

Ring Joe......

CoachTO

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Grand so - its fine to be lied to then? Thats a ridiculous position to take. The point is Laterooms.com have more than a euro for every minor detail thats missed - they have lots of euros. Euros they shouldn't have made through lies. Euros that should have gone to another company who advertise honestly.

Are you kidding me? Happy to be lied to? Ah here pull the other one. If I read that ad and found those small insignificant things not in the room it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Does that mean I am happy to be lied to? No it doesn't and to suggest that is ridiculous. I care less about a lot of the small things in hotel ads and don't care whether the hotel has them or not. What I care about is the hotel is clean and has a bed and shower facilities and is a good price.

Also ALL middlemen websites do it by exaggerating what a hotel has and hasn't got. Most of them know people dont give two flying fooks about the small things in rooms and hence they get away with it.

For what its worth if you really want to know what the hotel offers check the hotels own website if they have a website. Doing ones own research is always a good thing. When I book a hotel I never stayed in before through a middleman website I check the hotels actual website first. Sometimes the actual website does the same deals also and tell me exactly what the hotel has.

The service levels in Ireland have always been poor in comparison to the UK or the US. Its quite clear from this forum that some companies think providing crap service is fine. People accepting it just adds to the problem.

Ireland and the UK are awful right now in the service industry but what has that got to do with the original issue at hand? If the website are responsible for the error and the hotel aren't this is irrelevant.

Also €69 for a hotel room is hardly a bargain - I suspect the corporate rate the Hotel charges is lower still.

Are you kidding me? €69 per night in Dublin for 2 people is a very good price. You are mad to think otherwise. As for the corporate rate again another irrelevant point as the OP is not looking for the corporate rate.

Procrastastudy

To believe the hotel have aren't complicit in the ad shows remarkable naiveté.

Simple test - is the ad still up after the OP complaint in it's original form?

As for the corporate rate - the OP wasn't looking for the general rat either. If you find my point invalid so is stating the €69 rate was good value. If the room was advertised at €1 it's still dishonest and shoddy business practices. The reason it goes on is because people are so used to it that they don't complain.

CoachTO

Procrastastudy wrote: »

To believe the hotel have aren't complicit in the ad shows remarkable naiveté.



Simple test - is the ad still up after the OP complaint in it's original form?

As for the corporate rate - the OP wasn't looking for the general rat either. If you find my point invalid so is stating the €69 rate was good value. If the room was advertised at €1 it's still dishonest and shoddy business practices. The reason it goes on is because people are so used to it that they don't complain.

I never said the hotel weren't responsible for the ad in fact others did as did the OP. I said IF the hotel aren't responsible.

As for a good price. Using the argument that the ad was dishonest to say €69 isn't a good price is ridiculous at best.

Procrastastudy

CoachTO wrote: »

I never said the hotel weren't responsible for the ad in fact others did as did the OP. I said IF the hotel aren't responsible.

As for a good price. Using the argument that the ad was dishonest to say €69 isn't a good price is ridiculous at best.

Okay sorry I see your point. Its okay to be lied to if the result is good value.

So should it be okay for shops to sell things at dishonest mark downs?

A coat Was €1000 now €100 - that okay as long as I get a €100 coat?

CoachTO

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Okay sorry I see your point. Its okay to be lied to if the result is good value.

So should it be okay for shops to sell things at dishonest mark downs?

A coat Was €1000 now €100 - that okay as long as I get a €100 coat?

What a ridiculous comparison to make. Two totally different instances. The things listed are extras in the hotel room. The €69 is the price of the room. You are adding things to the argument to beef up your own point and simply trying to ridicule my points by twisting them how you please.

Procrastastudy

CoachTO wrote: »

What a ridiculous comparison to make. Two totally different instances. The things listed are extras in the hotel room. The €69 is the price of the room. You are adding things to the argument to beef up your own point and simply trying to ridicule my points by twisting them how you please.

I believe that this is a clear case of six of one and half a dozen of the other so I think I'll leave it there. We've both made our positions quite clear.

MOH

CoachTO wrote: »

What a ridiculous comparison to make. Two totally different instances. The things listed are extras in the hotel room. The €69 is the price of the room. You are adding things to the argument to beef up your own point and simply trying to ridicule my points by twisting them how you please.

Would you be happy buying a car and not getting half the features listed? Sure they're only extras

Miaireland

I would write to both the hotel and laterooms. Include in it a copy of the deal you bought. State what you didn't receive and what you were unhappy about and ask they to review the situation.

Each of them will probably write back to you so send a copy of the others reply to you.

CoachTO

MOH wrote: »

Would you be happy buying a car and not getting half the features listed? Sure they're only extras

Again 2 different situations. If I was buying a car I would 100% check it out first before bothering to buy it. Same thing I do with hotel rooms I find the hotel's actual website to confirm its a good room.

In the case of comparing a car and a hotel room its another stupid example. Extras in a car are part of the car. Extras in a hotel room are generally things that can be removed and for the most part insignificant to the room. i.e designer personal care products or extra fluffy pillows or a sewing kit or shoe shine etc etc. They are extras that would never change my mind on a room.

Morale of the story I would never take any ad to be 100% accurate without checking the facts first.

Corholio

CoachTO wrote: »

Again 2 different situations. If I was buying a car I would 100% check it out first before bothering to buy it. Same thing I do with hotel rooms I find the hotel's actual website to confirm its a good room.

In the case of comparing a car and a hotel room its another stupid example. Extras in a car are part of the car. Extras in a hotel room are generally things that can be removed and for the most part insignificant to the room. i.e designer personal care products or extra fluffy pillows or a sewing kit or shoe shine etc etc. They are extras that would never change my mind on a room.

Morale of the story I would never take any ad to be 100% accurate without checking the facts first.

Why do you keep going in about the extra's bit?. Surely the part about the room being comparitively ridiculously priced is the bigger issue.

CoachTO

Corholio wrote: »

Why do you keep going in about the extra's bit?. Surely the part about the room being comparitively ridiculously priced is the bigger issue.

Did the OP actually check with the hotel to see if the Room was ever advertised or sold at €399? If not, none of us are in the position to say the room was never sold or advertised at €399. And therefore whats the point on commenting on something without the full facts. The OP also made more of a deal about the extras hence why I commented on them.

thesandeman

noah45 wrote: »

Hi, I booked 1 night in a Dublin hotel online via laterooms.com
Great value at €65 room only.
Now according to laterooms.com this room normally costs €399 per night!!!!!

Anyway the room that I booked is described by them as follows:

Superior Double/Twin Room including luxury duvets, large fluffy towels, writing desk,

Bath, Shower, Power Shower, Bath/Shower, En Suite, Hair Dryer, Designer Toiletries, Bathrobe (on request)
Air Conditioning In-Room Control, Climate Control, Heating, Hairdryer, Safe, Safe with laptop capacity, Complimentary Newspaper, Newspaper on request, Iron and Ironing Board, Iron and Ironing Board on request, Full-Length Mirror, Make Up Mirror, Double Wardrobe, Sewing Kit, Shoe Shine,[/B] [/B]Wake Up Calls, Daily Housekeeping, Sound Proof, City Map, Sofa, Double Glazing, Executive Floor, Windows open


Well, duvet is as thin as a newspaper and there is no complimentary newspaper
2 small non fluffy towels that are not even bath towels!
2 tiny bottles toiletries-1 shampoo and 1 body wash, 1 tiny soap
air conditioning is a plug in fan!
No shoe polish or sewing kit- not important

I booked this as a surprise for my husbands birthday and was thrilled at the bargain considering what I thought I was getting.

I said it to the receptionist, and I do realise that the problem is with laterooms.com and their false advertising and not with the hotel.

I have emailed laterooms.com just now, but am wondering if I have any comeback?

The rooms is very basic and its grand but it is not at all as advertised.

I think some of the information was meant to be either deleted or highlighted on the advert above. Why would they offer offer an iron and ironing board AND an iron and ironing board on request/ complementary newspaper AND newspaper on request etc? I think maybe that's where what the OP was expecting and what they got got confused.

noah45

thesandeman wrote: »

I think some of the information was meant to be either deleted or highlighted on the advert above. Why would they offer offer an iron and ironing board AND an iron and ironing board on request/ complementary newspaper AND newspaper on request etc? I think maybe that's where what the OP was expecting and what they got got confused.

I am not confused! and you have just highlighted another part of the ad which is incorrect.

The problem is not the room, it is the false advertising and the fact that we should not accept this.

That is what is wrong here, we sit back and let companies do this.

I do not want anything from the hotel or laterooms other than for them to realise that they are falsely advertising and to correct the ad.

CoachTo you don't seem to get it at all, I thought the room was grand, it was ideal for €65 but I just feel it should be advertised as it was... just a basic room.

Procrastastudy

Just because everyone is doing it doesn't make it right. A blaze attitude on the subject helps no one. We've moved beyond caveat emptor when dealing with consumers for very good reasons. That said even over a hundred years ago a very dim view was taken of people attempting to mislead or riggle out of their obligations.

It's simple - Was the room as advertised? If not, are the hotel complicit - easily tested. If so they are are bad as late rooms and the OP and the vast majority of people posting here have a right to be angry.

noah45

CoachTo I don't want an argument with you, but its because of attitudes like yours that companies get away with things like this.

You are quite entitled to your view, and I do not think I should have to research a room before I book it. I should be given correct information in the first instance.

We have to agree to disagree here.