Is there a better way to distinguish between traditional reservations and pre-paid nights?

 

Can you give us more information, or an example? I think the "prepaid" rate description...

Quote:

Internet Only Rates - Fully Prepaid, Cancel Rules Apply, No Changes Allowed

...is pretty easy to understand.

 

I make lots of reserverations for work and then adjust as my plans change.
Recently I've found myself buying pre-paid nights. While most hotels, their managers and the AP/AR departments are willing to work with me, I just don't like the idea of getting to the end of a search only to find that rate is based on pre-paid. Its sorta like the initial rates as low as and then not getting them. In this case, however, I buy the nights and I'm not 100% sure that I'm ready to do that.

 

Are you saying that you are unaware that you are choosing a "prepaid" night until the confirmation page?

Something doesn't seem right or maybe I don't understand.

Anytime I do a search, the first page lists all the rates and rate types. I see this information then choose.

 

Yeah I'm not sure what you're saying either. When you book your rate at SPG or equivalent Starwood site the rate will either say pre-paid or when you try to book on page 2 it will say the cancellation time has already passed meaning it's pre-paid. On almost all 3rd party booking sites these are considered pre-paid. Hope this helps answer your question.

 

I think the OP means if their is a way to know if a rate is prepaid, before actually clicking on it (ex. Kayak).

I don't believe that there is.

 

One has to be very careful with these prepaid rates. Some Starwood properties have been really mean and nasty about even asking for a tiny change. An example, I needed two double beds instead of a king sized bed, since two women were sharing the room I booked for them. The Sheraton New York wouldn't change it on the reservation and told me bad luck. Note, I had booked $10k worth of rooms for that week at that hotel. All they would say is, "we can't change it" and I shouldn't have booked the king bed. I tried three different people at the hotel, and after an hour of threatening to cancel all $10k worth of rooms over this issue, one person made it good.

I understand Starwood wants to have prepaid rates that don't allow cancelations, but taking such a harsh stance on name changes or my example above is overboard.

 

In your opinion, maybe. I rarely book prepaid rates until close in, because when I do, it's KNOWING FULL WELL that I CANNOT make ANY changes. At least 50% of the time, I have found the rate drops closer to the reservation date. I accept the rate I booked as that is what I agreed to at the time. If you aren't sure about the bedding, then always book two double beds.

 

I 100% agree. As I often say here, "book the room and bed type you want, not what you wish for."

 

I just feel a little silly having not paid enough attention to the information and got caught buying some rooms I really wasn't prepared to purchase.

I was just thinking it would be really cool to permanently opt out/in of specfic room types (pre-paid, queen beds, etc.).

Its my fault and my error. I'll be paying more attention in the future.

 

Well now you know where and what to look for. Hopefully that will cut down on future aggravation.

 

You are absolutely right - it was a learning experience and I won't do it again. In this example, it meant I wouldn't have booked Starwood for all of my friends, since I needed to lock in a room somewhere and there were cheaper rooms available elsewhere if you take out the prepaid rates from Starwood.