We have never had this problem in any RV park, until now. We made a reservation at a very nice upscale RV park 8 months ago and made a $400 deposit on our month-long stay. When we arrived we were told we would have to pay $160 more for our reservation because the rates went up a couple of months ago. We could have forfeited our deposit and tried to find accommodations elsewhere, but reluctantly paid the extra amount. We have made reservations for hotels, rental cars, airlines, and cruises, and without exception the rate that was in effect when we reserved was the one we were charged. Does it make sense that you could get to the airline terminal and be told that the seat you bought cost more now?
I agree that you were treated unfairly. You should have been given the rate that was in effect when you reserved the site. At least if circumstances "forced" the park to increase their rates so much, you should have been notified well in advance so that you had the opportunity to "opt out" if you chose to.
I, too, feel that is a ripoff. If they had "Seasonal" rates, that would be another thing. But you should get the rate quoted when you made the reservation. But, people will do what they can get away with, even if it's unethical. If they suffer no consequences (what are you going to do, SUE?) they will get away with it. Even if you did choose to forfeit, they still got $400 and can resell the sight. JJ
Wow An additional 160 bucks is harsh. Along with the condition of your site, hook-ups, dog walk areas etc., be SURE to note this little detail when you post a review. Am soooo curious as to which park did this to a customer.
We stay at a park each spring and fall and make our next year's reservations before we leave in October. We do this because the park is very popular and full every year and we like a particular section. The park always tells us that rates are subject to change until they post the rates for the new year. I would be curious if the park in question did the same thing, take the reservation but not guarantee the rate. It is actually quite a common practice when making reservations a long time in advance.
As a workamper, prices are subject to change without notice. However I do feel you should have been called ahead of time to let you know of the change and to be allowed as another poster to "opt out".
Hi kitten22, They should have sent you an email, letter or given you a phone call. $160.00 extra is about a 29% increase in price.
Write what happened at the campground so others can go in with their eyes wide open. Publish here in the forum also who they are. You might want to wait until you leave. People have to understand that in the age of the internet, they can not go unnoticed when dealing with the public.
That is very bad business IMO. You should definately report this in your review. That would be similar to me giving a quote for a water heater in May, then doing the job in September and raising the price $125! If there was a price change that dramatic, the customer should be notified. Some customers save months for work to be done. A vacation should be treated no differently!
I agree that not calling/emailing or otherwise contacting the op about the price change was not good customer service. In fact, it was just plain lousy. Changing prices charged to something different from a reservation amount is not as unusual as you would think. In a previous life, I traveled a lot - one of those leave home on Sunday, come home three months later jobs. There were many times when air fares (mostly for fuel surcharges, departure fees, etc) would be more than reserved, car rentals were different than quoted. Hotels would refuse to honor prices for a reservation, citing type of room availability, an error by some employee or computer program. I got so upset once that I actually paid a lawyer for advice when this happened for a cruise. He said that, perhaps if the entire fee were paid in advance there might be a chance for recovery, but, at least in the instance we were discussing, there were enough outs in the "fine print" to make any recovery impossible. I think the best advice is to get mad, then get over it, and be sure to report this instance to anyone who will listen.
QUOTE(kcmoedoe @ Dec 23 2010, 09:13 PM) [snapback]25141[/snapback] We stay at a park each spring and fall and make our next year's reservations before we leave in October. We do this because the park is very popular and full every year and we like a particular section. The park always tells us that rates are subject to change until they post the rates for the new year. I would be curious if the park in question did the same thing, take the reservation but not guarantee the rate. It is actually quite a common practice when making reservations a long time in advance. Well, as I stated in my original post, we make our reservations as far in advance as possible because we know that some parks fill up quickly in the winter months, and we prefer the smaller ones (under 300 sites). Booked 4 of them last winter, and 3 this winter, and with the exception of the one we are in now, we will pay the rate we were quoted at the time of reservation. We see in their policies that they have the right to raise rates at any time, but as with airlines, hotels, rental cars, etc., when we reserve and pay a deposit, we print a confirmation at that rate. Not sure where you stay that it is a "common practice", but we think this is a bad policy and would not knowingly stay in a park that practices it. "Different strokes"......... QUOTE(joez @ Dec 28 2010, 12:44 PM) [snapback]25186[/snapback] I agree that not calling/emailing or otherwise contacting the op about the price change was not good customer service. In fact, it was just plain lousy. Changing prices charged to something different from a reservation amount is not as unusual as you would think. In a previous life, I traveled a lot - one of those leave home on Sunday, come home three months later jobs. There were many times when air fares (mostly for fuel surcharges, departure fees, etc) would be more than reserved, car rentals were different than quoted. Hotels would refuse to honor prices for a reservation, citing type of room availability, an error by some employee or computer program. I got so upset once that I actually paid a lawyer for advice when this happened for a cruise. He said that, perhaps if the entire fee were paid in advance there might be a chance for recovery, but, at least in the instance we were discussing, there were enough outs in the "fine print" to make any recovery impossible. I think the best advice is to get mad, then get over it, and be sure to report this instance to anyone who will listen. As you said, in my "previous life" I was in administration - traveled extensively. Mostly my assistant made my flight/hotel/car reservations, but occasionally I made my own, and of course all our personal arrangements. I cannot recall any instances that I had to pay more for any of my reservations for any venue when I had a confirmed receipt in my hand on check-in. Guess you had bad luck.
I agree--- It sounds like they are taking advantage of you. I booked a park once, and noticed a higher rate displayed in the office when I arrived but was told yes we raised rates, but your reservation was made before, so you will be charged the old rate. It wasn't as far in advance however. You should have had notice. This is a major increase- sounds like the area is in demand, so might not be too early to look around for next year's alternative if they are not worth the new rate.
I cannot imagine raising the rates without notifying someone that had reservations. Our park raised the rates slightly just before I became manager. The new rates applied to people that were just checking in and not to those that were here before the new rate changed. Those people stayed at their old rate as long as they were here. Anyone that checked in after that, without reservations, got the slightly higher new rate. I can't imagine raising the rates more than $20-$40 dollars at a time. Now we have dropped our rates and the full timers pay their own electric and so far that is less for everyone than the rates we had before.
Just my two cents, but it seems to me that unless they had published a disclaimer somewhere, specifically in the confirmation they sent you, that prices were subject to change even after reservation acceptance and payment then what they did was illegal. When you paid for the accommodation you and they entered into a firm contract, and unilaterally changing the terms of that contract amounts to breaking the contract. If you wanted to go to the trouble of suing them in small claims court I think there's a good chance you could recover. But of course that's a lot of trouble for the amount involved. But as others have said, at the very least I'd post a review and rake them over the coals.
What they did was at best unethical and possibly illegal. How does one define "Bait & Switch"? I own a small business and on the very rare occasion we made a mistake and quoted too low we just smiled nicely and kept our to our word. The best way to stop this is to let everyone know who they are.
your article is interesting and it confuses me, when you did give the deposit did you receive a confirmation with a statement that the price is subject to change ? If so, you have no ground for complaint. I am asking this question because I am going every Winter to Florida and at the end of a Winter I pay a deposit for the following year and the statement that I receive is the full contract price minus the deposit already paid; if you have a similar legal statement, I would challenge it in court. Don't let them get away with such abuses
