Friday, 8 April 2011

[NOT] Cheated by my SAS Global Forum 2011 Hotel

[Update#4: Harrah's have refunded the money. All's well that ends well]
[Update#3: SAS have offered assistance with the issue. I'm still waiting a response from Harrah's. How long does it take to say "yes, we refunded the money to your credit card account"?]
[Update#2: Harrah's have responded. Their extremely brief note didn't offer an apology, but did say "The internet charge has been adjusted off". Since I've already checked-out, I've asked them to confirm they've made a refund to my credit card as opposed to adjusting my account at Harrah's.]
[Update: ConferenceDirect, the booking agency, have responded to my email and confirmed my entitlement. We now jointly await a response from Harrah's.]

I just got charged for using my conference hotel's internet connection. This despite the original details on the SAS web site stating "rates include daily in-room high-speed Internet access". I just checked back to the Housing page to be sure of my facts and it's still there.

I checked with reception at my hotel (Harrah's) and they insist that internet is not included in the rate, so I must pay and then take my complaint to SAS. It's a frustrating end to a great conference.

Did you book your hotel through the SAS booking page? Did you try to use the hotel internet (the Housing page claims that all four of the conference hotels will provide free internet access). Did you find it wasn't available and/or you had to pay? Let me know by writing a comment. I suspect that the problem is not unique to me.

I hate these situations. Even though my complaint will hopefully provide me with recompense, I feel sure there are plenty more people who have not been given their entitlement and have just simply paid for their internet access (twice). Harrah's wins by needing less bandwidth than it truly should be providing.

I'll let you know what happens with regard to my complaint.

[See all of my posts regarding SAS Global Forum]