Hotels.com

Franklymatey

Hi, I recently stayed in Mallorca at I hotel I booked through hotels.com. On arrival I was asked for 30.80 euros for the tourist tax, which was a surprise to me as the booking I'd made stated I would only pay 7.70. I duly paid the higher amount, but since then I've been in dispute with Hotels.com, who insist there's no blame on their part, as the hotel didn't inform them of the rise in tourist tax. I've been fobbed off at all turns - they accept no responsibility, and will not refund me the difference. Where do I go now - anybody?

Aylesbury_Duck

Franklymatey wrote: »

Hi, I recently stayed in Mallorca at I hotel I booked through hotels.com. On arrival I was asked for 30.80 euros for the tourist tax, which was a surprise to me as the booking I'd made stated I would only pay 7.70. I duly paid the higher amount, but since then I've been in dispute with Hotels.com, who insist there's no blame on their part, as the hotel didn't inform them of the rise in tourist tax. I've been fobbed off at all turns - they accept no responsibility, and will not refund me the difference. Where do I go now - anybody?

What do their terms and conditions say? I suspect they include something like "we are not responsible for changes to any local taxes or charges" - I've certainly seen that on other booking sites. All they can do is estimate any taxes as they stand at the time of booking. It's the customer's responsibility to check the prevailing rates.

30.80 euros is four times 7.70. I'm guessing there were four of you or you stayed for four nights, or two of you for two nights, etc? Have you misread the 7.70 as the total tax when in fact it was a per-person or per-night tax?

Franklymatey

It quite clearly states on the booking that all I'd have to pay at the hotel would be 7.70 = that's 55 cents per person per night (2 of us for 7 nights). The actual tourist tax is 2.20 per person per night. They're blaming the hotel for not telling them, when surely it's their responsibility to keep me informed of any changes

Aylesbury_Duck

Franklymatey wrote: »

It quite clearly states on the booking that all I'd have to pay at the hotel would be 7.70 = that's 55 cents per person per night (2 of us for 7 nights). The actual tourist tax is 2.20 per person per night. They're blaming the hotel for not telling them, when surely it's their responsibility to keep me informed of any changes

What do their terms and conditions say? I've had a quick glance and it seems it's not.

Franklymatey

It says on my booking "We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book."

DoaM

For example ... so not an all inclusive definition. Just because tourist tax isn't written down doesn't mean it's excluded from the variance clause.

tl;dr - you have no valid claim against hotels.com

bigisi

Franklymatey wrote: »

It says on my booking "We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book."

You're avoiding answering the question asked.

What do their terms and conditions say?

In case it was unclear before.

Aylesbury_Duck

Franklymatey wrote: »

It says on my booking "We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book."

But tourist taxes are charged and collected locally by the hotel, not the booking agent. Otherwise you'd have had the option to pay it when you booked. All you had was an estimate/indication, perhaps based on the prevailing rate.

It quite clearly states on the booking that all I'd have to pay at the hotel would be 7.70

I suspect the actual wording is different to how you've framed it. What does it say, exactly?

As I see it, it's nothing to do with hotels.com and is your own responsibility as a visitor to the island. I would expect their terms and conditions make that clear.