Ibis free stays ripoff

simonieo

If you stayed 1 stay of two nights or more you got 500 extra points, 2nd stay got you 2500 points, 3rd stay got you 3000 points . Total 6000 points will get you 2-3 nights for free.
So I booked 3 stays of 2 nights. Unfortunately my phone disagreed with me and booked wrong date so I was a day late for the first stay, apparently paying for two nights but staying for one doesn't count, if you can figure that from CService reply: (ibis is an Accor brand)
"thank you for choosing ALL - Accor Live Limitless Customer Care, we're delighted to count you as of one our most loyal guests.

I regret to inform you that your stay at the IBIS BUDGET MANCHESTER CENTRE under booking number ***** is not eligible for the Bonus offer 012472.

Indeed, according to the terms and conditions of this offer:
"For the purposes of this offer, a stay is understood to be one (1) booking by a member of ALL for one or several rooms. In other words, bookings that include more than one (1) room will be counted as just one (1) stay. The earlier check-out date is counted while the credit of Reward and Status points is calculated. In other words, a member of ALL - Accor Live Limitless will receive eligible points and nights for the room which he/she vacates first.""
Next stay was at an Ibis budget,
this was not eligible as apparently the t&c's on the website said so, which were the same as the t&c's in the offer email except for the line excluding ibis budget...
"Regarding the condition off the offer, in the screenshot you kindly provided me it is written: 

" Stays in loyalty programme independent partner hotels are not eligible for this offer""

This line is why I made sure to choose one of their own brands (Ibis budget), but Customer Services is arguing this means ibis budget is not eligible as it fits the 'not in loyalty programme' part of description, the description as a whole can be ignored ?? The fact Ibis budget is not in the loyalty programme is only mentioned elsewhere on the website and not in the clickthrough booking process which happily returns ibis budget in the offer results !!
I've tried this way and that with customer service but its a brick wall.
Instead of 3 free nights I have none (got 500 points for last stay, might be enough for  muesli breakfast).
Ripped off or what.

simonieo

PS my first stay wasn't ibis budget manchester it was ibis (non budget) Sheffield but the CS mixed 'em up.

Diamandis

OK it does say that ibis budget is excluded in the terms and conditions, the exceptions say "All ibis budget properties (excluding hotels operating under the ibis budget brand in Poland, Russia, South Korea, and Japan)".

So your argument is that a night you didn't stay at the hotel because you didn't check in should still be counted as a stay? 

simonieo

When booking (and I had a good look) the email was the only terms available, the website only showed basic details.
To quote customer services
""" and 3,000 Reward points following the third stay, when staying at any hotel that has enrolled in the ALL - Accor Live Limitless loyalty programme. This Reward points bonus is offered in addition to the Reward points and """

 The bit in bold they made bold. But unlike the rest of the quoted paragraphs WAS NOT IN the original email .

Sounds to me like this was added later.
Which is why CS then started to argue "loyalty programme independent partners" means Ibis Budget as if I could possibly know that even if true.

I could have stayed in full Ibis for £11 more, but saw no need to waste...
Unfortunately their mistake cost me 2500 points (50€ to spend on rooms).