Journey Troubleshooter: All-inclusive resort by chance overcharges visitor by $2,500

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I booked a weekend journey for early September final yr to the Miraval Berkshires, an all-inclusive resort in Lenox, Massachusetts. It was my greatest buddy’s birthday, and my sister was initially going to hitch us. She couldn’t make it, so I notified the resort effectively throughout the time allowed to change my reservation with out penalty. Relatively than three nights and three folks, it could be two nights with two folks. Since Miraval is all-inclusive, the property fees per individual, per night time.

The resort charged me for 3 folks. I seen the additional fees once I checked out, and a consultant first instructed me I might be refunded. A number of days later, one other resort consultant instructed me I might not be refunded.

After making an attempt to have this resolved for over a month and requesting an in depth breakdown of prices per night time in order that I may perceive the place the discrepancy was, their billing division supplied to refund $290, which is about 1/10 of the overcharges.

The Miraval crew had supplied such a poor decision, and even then, the mere $290 wasn’t refunded or processed. Now they’ve stopped responding to my emails. The entire course of has been exhausting, and I’m feeling caught, like there may be nothing else I can do. Are you able to assist me get the $2,500 in overcharges refunded?

— Dalia Hamzeh, Braintree, Massachusetts

ANSWER: Miraval ought to have charged you for 2 nights for 2 folks, as you requested. If it overcharged you, then it ought to have rapidly refunded the fees as an alternative of stringing you alongside and supplying you with the silent remedy.

You probably did the best factor by calling the resort to cancel your sister’s keep and sending a follow-up e mail. This creates a essential paper path, permitting you to show that you simply requested a cancellation. You additionally made the request throughout the cancellation window.

It seems Miraval by no means confirmed the cancellation in writing. This could have set off all types of alarms for you as a result of it means the resort remains to be anticipating three company and plans to cost you accordingly.

How are you going to extract a response from a resort just like the Miraval Berkshires? You might have appeared up the title of the final supervisor for the resort and despatched him an e mail. The supervisor would have forwarded the message to somebody in reservations, who would have then ensured that you simply had a written affirmation.

One other alternative to repair this is able to be at check-in. In a follow-up dialog, you talked about that you simply requested in regards to the fee if you checked in, as a result of it mirrored three folks. A consultant assured you it could be fastened. However I in all probability wouldn’t have left the foyer with out a written affirmation that mirrored the right value.

Lastly, after a number of failures to get this corrected, you would have appealed this to somebody at Miraval’s company proprietor, Hyatt. I publish the names, numbers and e mail addresses of their customer support executives on my client advocacy web site, Elliott.org.

I contacted Miraval in your behalf. A consultant responded, saying that the resort wouldn’t touch upon visitor billing inquiries or private experiences “in any method.”