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I wrote recently about the law relating to airlines bumping passengers and the compensation you are due if that should happen.
Hotels sometimes overbook their rooms, the same as airlines oversell their flights, and occasionally they end up being caught short and having too many guests show up and too few rooms to accommodate them all (again, the same as airlines sometimes having oversold flights and having to bump passengers).
Hotels sometimes find themselves with a problem for another reason, too. Maybe a room or rooms have to be taken out of inventory due to problems in the rooms. If they suddenly have a fault with one of their services that makes several rooms unserviceable, they've got a problem, just the same as if they'd oversold their rooms.
But while we are given some rights and protection against airlines bumping us off flights, we have no such formal rights or protection if it happens to us with a hotel reservation. And if we had to choose between being a few hours late to get to my final destination, or finding no room available at the hotel once we got there, most of us would probably prefer being late to not having a room for the night upon arrival.
Happily, that's not entirely the end of it – the law of contract imposes duties on hotels, even if the government doesn't. And that leads to the first thing you should do any time you book a hotel. Read the fine print of the reservation 'confirmation' you receive to make sure that there aren't any escape clauses allowing the hotel to cancel at any time and for any (no) reason and with no obligations other than to refund any money received. If there's a 'must checkin by' time on your reservation or any other obligation on your part, be sure to conform with that requirement or else the hotel will be 'off the hook' and be able to cancel your reservation without incurring any obligation to you.
Although there are no federal obligations on hotels and how they handle bookings once accepted, there are also no federal blocks on bringing legal action against hotels locally in your friendly local district or small claims court, so as least you do have convenient accountability if it all becomes irretrievably bad. Note that this assumes you can convince the court that the proper jurisdiction is where you live rather than where the hotel is located or where the hotel group's head office is – this is usually something you can do in small claims court, but it is something you need to pay attention to.
Furthermore, although there are no federal rights, some states do impose obligations on hotels. How do you find out? You could ask the hotel manager 'Can you tell me please what your obligations are under state law?'. If he lies, or truly doesn't know, and says 'I don't know' or 'You have no rights' that will count against him if you subsequently find that there is a state obligation.
You could subsequently ask the state's Attorney General or Consumer Affairs departments, if that becomes necessary.
Reading the Fine Print
I'm getting lots of questions from people who have suffered from having apparently confirmed bookings either cancelled or changed or in some other way varied by the hotels. The question is always the same – 'What can I do?' and/or 'Can the hotel do this?'
Sorry, but I can't answer these types of questions, and neither could a high paid attorney, without seeing the exact and complete details of your booking confirmation and all correspondence exchanged between you and the hotel, plus any related contractual language on the website and booking page that the supplier (whether it be the hotel or a middle-man booking service) may seek to include into the actual and implied terms of the contract associated with the booking.
The answer to your question may well be lurking in the booking terms and conditions, but without seeing a guaranteed complete set of all such actual and implied terms, I can't express an opinion. Plus, I'm not an attorney, and so shouldn't be expressing opinions in any case!
What Hotels Normally (and Should) Do
If a hotel knows about an overbooking problem in advance, they will probably 'protect' the overbooked guests by arranging alternate rooms at some other nearby hotel and then 'walk' them to a comparable hotel when they check in, and will have this all in place for when you arrive. Such an arrangement might include providing a taxi fare to get to the next hotel, or maybe a free meal or something as well, and if you're lucky, a room upgrade or a nicer hotel than the one that couldn't accommodate you.
They'll also traditionally allow you to make a free long distance call to tell someone that you're not in the hotel you said you'd be in, but these days, we all have cell phones with effectively free and unlimited calling, so who cares about that any more.
Sometimes the hotel will not have alternative accomodation already arranged, particularly if it is late at night and they've decided you're simply not going to turn up, and particularly if there is a shortage of other rooms at other hotels, making it hard for them to hold rooms elsewhere 'just in case' you do arrive. But that is their problem, not yours, and if you've a guaranteed anytime-checkin reservation, then you absolutely should not feel apologetic at checking in 'late' because there's no such thing as 'late' for that type of reservation.
You would not (should not) be charged extra for the alternate accommodation even if it costs more. If it is less expensive than the room you booked at the original hotel, you could fairly ask for a refund of at least the difference in cost, and perhaps extra to compensate for not getting the room or comparable room to that promised and confirmed.
It is of course hard to establish exactly what the respective rates are – expect the hotels to play games with you on that point. They might compare rack rates rather than real rates – ie, maybe the hotel you booked in has an official 'rack' rate of $200 a night and the hotel you ended up at has a rate of $250 a night, so in theory, you have been 'upgraded'.
But what say you actually paid $150 for the room you didn't get, and the alternative room you were moved to could be bought through a last minute discount website for only $125. What might you be entitled to then?
There are many different scenarios depending on what rates the hotel chooses to use to 'prove' its calculation, and as a practical reality, as long as the rooms and hotels are of reasonably comparable standard, and the room rates more or less in line, it probably would become more trouble than it is worth to demand too much compensation.
The hotel also might, if they know sufficiently in advance, pick and choose who they'll walk and who they'll keep in-house. It is probably true that they'd most want to look after their frequent guests and known VIPs, and they'd prefer to look after guests who paid more money and who booked directly, than to look after guests who bought discounted rooms through a wholesaler. If the hotel had to choose between outright refusing/refunding a booking that was offering them $50 of revenue for the hotel room for the night, or a booking that would net them $100, it is obvious which one they'd rather accept.
But there's almost certainly nothing in your booking terms and conditions that says 'Hey, guy – you've got a second class low priority reservation and we might change our mind and bump you if we can sell the room for more'. So no matter how the hotel picks and chooses its favorites, if you're the one they refuse, you have equal and full entitlement to as much compensation as their most jewel-encrusted ultra-elite frequent guest program member.
It is not unheard of for hotels to try and 'guilt' their guests by saying something like 'Oh, you should have booked direct' or 'Well, you've got a discounted room' or something similar to suggest that their booking has a lower entitlement than other bookings. That is nonsense. Unless the reservation says on it 'Because you didn't book directly with us, we reserve the right to cancel your booking at any time for any reason' or unless it says 'You paid less for your room than some suckers did, so we might decide to cancel your booking if we think we can sell it for more money to another sucker, and tough luck to you if we do', then your reservation has all the rights and entitlements of any and every other reservation.
If a hotel doesn't like selling rooms at lower rates, and if the hotel doesn't want to sell through third party websites and agents, then no-one is making them do so. They are free to set their rates any way they wish, and to choose who they allow to resell their rooms. But if they agree to accept your booking, then it is a confirmed booking with all the entitlements of any other confirmed booking, unless it has some special exceptions attached to a conditional confirmation.
Ask the hotel 'So where on my reservation does it say that my reservation is inferior to other reservations? Where does it say you might decide to cancel it, and if you do, it becomes my fault not your fault?'
The key issue to concentrate on is not the status/'quality' of your booking, but how the hotel 'makes you whole'.
Lastly in this section, here's a fascinating article that managed to obtain an internal document that explains the Holiday Inn (IHG) official policy and internal procedures for overbooking. It is very interesting to read through the document to the point, towards the end, where they list who they do and don't 'walk' when full, and what their policies are for compensation.
First In, First Served
To a certain extent, it is a case of 'first in, first served'. If a hotel has, say, 200 rooms, and for tomorrow night has 100 guest rooms with the guests staying over, and another 110 guest rooms checking in, in theory this suggests they will be 10 rooms short.
However, they'll probably not panic, and hope that some of the 100 rooms with guests already in them will have guests check out early, and some of the 110 new guest room arrivals will either cancel or simply fail to turn up. These two factors mean it won't be until late on the check-in day that they start to have a feeling for if they'll have a problem or not – particularly with rooms that are merely held to 6pm rather than 'guaranteed' for late check-in.
So, if you have a choice as between checking in to your hotel earlier in the day or later in the day, and it is important to you that you're in the hotel you expect to be in, you should of course check in earlier rather than later.
Here's a useful tip : If you're going to be checking in late, call the hotel, before 6pm, and tell them 'I want you to know that I am in town and I will be checking in, I just have wall-to-wall meetings (or whatever) and won't be arriving until (whenever). Please hold my room for me – do you want to take my credit card details now?' And, after concluding the call, ask 'And what is your name, please?'.
That way if the hotel knows it will be walking some guests, it is more likely to treat you as if you'd already checked in and hold a room for you, even if you arrive late.
It is also true that if you belong to the hotel's loyalty program, you'll be less likely to be walked. Even ordinary rather than elite members still have a higher priority, so it pays to belong to the loyalty programs of all hotels you stay at, no matter how often you stay at them.
Not All Confirmations are Equal
Here's something to be aware of. If you are booking through an online travel service, maybe the confirmation number you get is not a confirmation number from the hotel, but rather from the online travel service. If you wave the wrong confirmation number at the hotel, you're giving them a huge excuse to turn you away.
'Oh, that's not our confirmation, we never confirmed the booking' is what you're inviting them to say. They'll mutter something about it being the booking service's fault; maybe they'll deny ever getting the booking from the booking service, or maybe they'll say 'you are their customer, and they are obliged to make other arrangements and compensation for you, not us'.
You know what – they might even be correct when they say that! But good luck trying to get something sorted out with a customer service agent from your online travel agency (quite possibly located in a far away country) when you find yourself stranded late at night. So make sure that your online booking includes a confirmation number direct from the hotel.
Then you can say 'It is true I booked through another service, but this is your confirmation number, not theirs. You confirmed my booking, through the other service, and so you are required to honor your confirmation.'
There are two more very important related things you need, in addition to a confirmation number.
First, you need a description of the room that has been confirmed, along with the rate payable and what is included/excluded. If you booked a premium room or whatever, it should say so, to avoid you being downgraded to a standard room. If you booked a room for three people, it should say so, again to avoid being charged extra or being told that your room is only for two not three people.
Second, you need details of the hotel you are booked/confirmed at. I've seen examples in the past where a guest was indeed officially confirmed, but at the wrong hotel. 'I'm sorry sir, but that confirmation number is for the other Marriott, on the other side of town – you must have booked the wrong Marriott'.
Your Rights and What to Ask For
But what about your rights if the hotel turns you away? What can you insist upon? Here's an interesting story of a Hilton that apparently simply unilaterally cancelled an otherwise confirmed reservation, albeit two days in advance of checkin. (If you can't open the link, search for the text "The Mystery of Vanishing Hotel Reservations' on Google and open up the Wall St Journal article that will appear at or near the top.)
The amusing part of the WSJ story, and an angle it doesn't explore, is that the Hilton cancelled the booking of an attorney. We hope he chooses to use his own knowledge of recourses open to him to full effect.
Back to what you can do. Assuming you have a confirmed reservation, and especially if you've made any sort of payment – full payment or deposit or anything – you've every right to be given the choice of either a full refund or a substitute hotel being found for you.
If accepting a substitute hotel, you shouldn't be required to pay any extra, and it should be of at least as good a quality, in at least as convenient to you a location, and you can define what makes a location convenient. If you're attending a convention and the convention hotel turns you away, then you're going to be up for hassle and transportation costs going to the convention each day – clearly all other hotels will be less convenient (unless they are directly over the road!).
As long as you are 'made whole' you can't really claim any substantial 'damages' because what really are the damages or losses you've suffered? In particular, most small claims courts will only rule on and award actual costs/losses, not on inconvenience or 'pain and suffering and anguish and distress' type factors. You need to go to a district or superior court for those sorts of intangible claims. That's not to say you'd not perhaps be entitled to such intangible claims, and maybe you'd even win your case, but you'd now be needing an attorney and what could have been simple and easy and with very little downside risk if you lose has now become potentially more costly and complex.
Generally when seeking compensation, you need to keep two things in mind. Firstly (and see our article series on How to Complain) you'll get more compensation if you are positive and reasonable and show yourself as someone who can be 'won back' and made into a future loyal repeat guest. Secondly, it is always easier to ask any supplier for non-cash compensation. Ask for a free upgrade on your next stay, or for a completely free stay.
If the hotel is a franchise hotel, it will probably be easier for them to give you a free stay at their hotel rather than a free stay at any other member of the chain, but if you're not expecting to return back to that location, you could ask for a transferable voucher to give to someone else or you could see if they can give you a voucher for any other member of the hotel group.
You could also ask for more points to be added to your frequent guest account, assuming you belong to their program.
Sometimes it is possible to ask for food and/or drink discounts/vouchers, but sometimes not. Some hotels have a funny accounting system which makes it easier for them to give away free rooms than to give free food and drinks.
A basic rule of negotiating, anything, anytime : The first person to name their price invariably loses the negotiation. If you're in such a situation, ask the hotel 'what can you do for me to fairly compensate me?'. Whatever they offer is almost certainly a starting point for a negotiation, not the final/best offer. We know people who have managed to increase the number of frequent guest points they've been given as an apology by over 50% compared to the first offer made. If you know in advance the value of the points, you will be able to say 'Gosh, that's not even enough to get a night at your property, I think you should at least increase it to xx points so as to give me the equivalent of a free night stay'.
One more thing. Don't get upset at the front desk agent. It is not their personal fault, and you'd rather have them onside so they use their discretion in your favor rather than against you. They have some flexibility as to how they will compensate you and which other hotel they'll put you in. Treat these people well.
But, having said that, sometimes you might find yourself confronted with an unhelpful front desk agent. Maybe they are just having a bad day, or maybe they're truly uncaring. But possibly also they don't have much personal authority and are limited with what they can do. Whichever the reason, if you're not being fairly/well treated, remain calm and cool but simply ask to speak to the Duty Manager. That person will have more ability to be more generous, if you can so persuade them!
If the hotel is unhelpful (as was the case with the Hilton) then you should do the best you can on your own and seek compensation from the hotel for the inconvenience and any extra above-the-line costs you incurred. If they don't respond fully and fulsomely, then its off to your small claims court, plus complaints to the relevant State Attorney General and to any franchising company the hotel belongs to and the Better Business Bureau and, why not, to the Federal Trade Commission too.
I've either personally or had people I've done bookings for occasionally experience such events, and happily, I've never had a problem with the overbooked hotel not doing all it could and all it should, but that's clearly not what happened with this Hilton.
Full Refund Cancellations
What say the hotel simply cancels your booking, a week or more in advance, and fully refunds you any money you've paid? Is that the end of it?
The hotel might claim that by doing so, it has no further liability or obligation, and that's what happened with the Hilton story mentioned above. But we disagree, because it truly is 'all about you' in such a situation and maybe their simply cancelling the booking and refunding any money doesn't actually 'make you whole'.
First, maybe you want/need to be in the particular hotel that is now cancelling your booking. Maybe there is a convention/meeting in the hotel, or maybe your office/client is close by and there are no other hotels for several miles, or maybe you are part of a group and the rest of your group is all staying at the same hotel.
Second, maybe there are no other hotels now with vacant rooms. Or maybe the other hotels are now selling their rooms at higher rates than when you originally booked your preferred hotel – perhaps all hotels were discounting their rooms back then, but now, with the region's hotels almost full, they are all raising their rates.
In both these scenarios, you're the loser if the hotel simply cancels your reservation and says 'you're free to go anywhere else and book with anyone else, no harm, no foul'. Don't accept that claim.
Most of all, you need to understand the reality of things from the hotel perspective. It has a choice of which bookings it cancels and which it honors. If it is important to you that you stay at that particular hotel, don't make it easy for them to cancel your booking, and help them to realize that everyone will be better off if they choose someone else to cancel.
Tell them 'Look – I know you have 100 rooms (or whatever the number is) and so you have 100 different guests to choose from when deciding to bump guests. I'm in a special situation, because I'm more dependent on the confirmed booking you have already issued to me than some of those other guests, because (and now come up with your story), so I'd really appreciate it, and you'd save me a lot of extra cost and hassle, if you could honor this confirmed reservation and choose one of your other guests to cancel instead'.
If that doesn't work, you can then indicate that you will seek full reimbursement for the extra costs and a fair allowance for the time and inconvenience involved with the loss of the confirmed reservation. Tell them 'maybe some of your other guests don't have these same issues I do, and frankly, it would be cheaper for you to cancel them rather than me'.
The law of contract is clear – once a contract has been entered into, if one party then reneges on the contract, the other party has the choice of what way fairly makes them whole. The hotel might wish that all it has to do is refund any money received, but if you now incur other costs, then as long as the confirmation terms and conditions don't include a provision allowing the hotel to cancel, you can fairly seek to recover your extra costs from the hotel.
Using Overbooking to Your Advantage
There's a flipside to this as well. Some hotels have relatively primitive inventory management systems, and you can use that to your advantage. If you need a room in a particular hotel, and if when you call the hotel directly they tell you 'I'm sorry, we're full that night, all rooms are sold', don't despair.
If it is a larger hotel, and if it is sold through online travel agencies and perhaps other wholesalers too, then often what happens is they've given allocations of blocks of rooms to these other outlets, and while the hotel has sold all the remaining unallocated rooms, it doesn't yet know if the companies with reserved blocks of rooms are going to sell all their rooms or not.
I've sometimes had hotels that were officially full, but which still showed discounted rooms available on, eg, Expedia, so I've happily booked on Expedia.
In other cases, hotels don't so much block out inventory as have what are called 'open sale' or 'free sale' arrangements where they promise to accept bookings from places such as Expedia until such time as they advise Expedia they are sold out on the particular date being booked, and there's often a day of delay between running out of rooms and officially 'turning off the tap' with resellers.
The net result is the same, whatever the inner machinations. You might still be able to get a room validly confirmed at a hotel that is truly full. Just make sure you check in early!
76 Responses to "Your Rights if a Hotel Refuses Your Confirmed Reservation"
[…] Your rights if a hotel refuses your confirmed reservation […]
Feb. 15, 2016 booked through Expedia; Hampton Inn & Suites Indianapolis/Brownsburg; Dates: 5/27/16; 5/28/16; 5/29/16; 5/30/16. Booking No. 631426937; Itinerary No. 251147172; Confirmation No. 127751792027. Received phone call on 5/26/16 at 4:00p.m. CST from Expedia (spoke to Maria at 844-814-6704) stated that Hampton Inn & Suites did not have our reservation. I called Hampton Inn & Suites Indianapolis/Brownsburg was told that the booking number, itinerary number and confirmation number were not in their system AND they are sold out. Is Expedia a fraud? Is Hampton Inn & Suites a fraud? Our reservation is 1 day away for the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 and we found out today 5/26/16 that we do not have a reservation. Please help us.
Above makes interesting reading. I made a booking at a UK hotel six months ago for seven rooms, just 15 hours before check-in they emailed me to say they now only had six rooms for me. They did not offer any alternative accommodation. Because of the short notice, I wasn't able to find another room at a rate I could afford, so I've had to cancel my holiday in order to allow the other six friends to go ahead with the rooms they did have. Is there anything I can do about it? Should my six friends expect to claim some of the money back on their rooms as the hotel did not complete the full order placed in good faith? Or should I be looking for some sort of compensation? I've not lost any money on the hotel room myself, but I've lost my entire holiday as a result of them taking my room away and not providing an alternative.
Awesome information and thank you for your wisdom. My brother booked a hotel for the 5 of us on June 3, 2016. The reservations are for July 1st – 4th 2016 at the Omni Royal Crescent hotel in New Orleans. They called him today and informed he they over booked. They're willing to offer a $150 voucher, or a single room at a lower cost. He booked a suite on the hotel's main site and was given a confirmation number. At the time of the booking the hotel's website stated no free cancellation and that the credit card would be charged. It never was. We would like a suite or at least a double room. When my brother asked for a double room, they informed him a room was available but it would be at a higher cost. Any suggestions on what we can/should do? Thanks for your wisdom
I had a room booked – guaranteed late arrival at Marriott Marquis Times Square – frequent traveler – flyng in from Europe – corporate account – booked direct – arrived quite late. They said no rooms and they had been unable to find another room for me. I was "on my own". I burst into tears, said I would have to sleep in the lobby, and they managed to find me a room. Just who are they holding these secret rooms for?
What if you book a brand new property for example we book at the hi-lo Auograph collection in Portland it is suppose to open Sept 5th 2016 yet our reservation for 1 night in mid September what I am concerned is that a delay happens they need a permit or the electrician didn't do the lights correctly things got pushed back a month. Since we booked our hotel and if we get the hotel that says sorry we don't open until mid october… then what happens in this case?
I booked on March 3, 2016 through Hoteling.com for a room in Washington, DC. for January 18-22, 2017 the reservation was prepaid and charged to my credit card. I received a confirmation number from Marriott on March 23, 2016. Just today, when checking my reservation that I noticed it was cancelled. I was advised it was cancelled by the wholesaler. Marriott has yet to reconfirm my reservation. What is my recourse?
In my case, I made my reservation through phone, the conversation I had with the front desk is I booked one day or two days then I'll let them know if I'm going to extend or not.and ask them to let the dates open for me. I check-in the hotel but the problem starts when they didn't confirmed or bother to ask me if I'm going to extend. They just knocked on the door to remind me about my check out time and I told them that I informed the front desk to leave the dates open for me as I'm not yet sure if I'll extend or not, but they just told me that someone booked the room already. I had to leave the hotel and look for another one. I'm just frustrated that they didn't even bother ask me or knock on my door to inform that I can only stay for one day. Do they have the right to do that?
Hi David, thank you for your article.
I have a doubt. We booked a 5 star hotel using Google Maps for our honey moon. We paid it using Google Travel plataform and we could see the right address and photos of the hotel. We got a confirmation email from Google Travel with the right hotel, price and address. Then, we got a second confirmation e-mail from LastMinute.com, same price, but different hotel (3 star). We called last minute, but they said it was not their mistake and they offered to cancel the order, which we didn't. They claimed they don't evens deal with the 5 star hotel announced. We have printscreens of everything and all confirmation emails. Do we have the right to demand from Google the hotel announced and paid? This sounds like missold. Thank you.
Hi David, thank you for your prompt reply. You have a wonderful site here, I was exploring other articles, like the one about Uber and your interesting biography. I've written to Google Travel, they asked me to wait for 1-2 business days. I'll come back here to tell you the result. I hope they'll reply quickly, as we were put on hold and we can't book a replacement now. The funny thing is that if you click on Google Travel policy, there's none. The link for the disclaimer is invalid. Thank you very much. Cheers!
Hello David,
Is there any difference re 'law of contract' between Vacation condo rentals and Hotels? We booked through the Vacation rental site, We got our confirmation (And first night deposit paid), we also got the list of rules/regulations. They cancelled 2 days before our trip, saying there was a system glitch and not being in anyway contrite basically (Our bad, sorry, here is your money back).
The problem is now, there are no rooms available with in 20 miles of the location (There is a football fest we were going to).
Do we have any recourse? I notice you said that small claims won't consider pain and suffering, but in another section you said you should try to get them to pay for travel costs etc of the other stay.
Feeling frustrated. The Owner and the manager basically both shrugged their shoulders, Sorry, not our problem!
While the cancellation charges for a Customer are extreme for vacation rentals (Lose deposit if you cancel within 14-21 days etc).
Frustrated in Seattle
Case Description
Family, reserved (3 nights stay) at Banned Bay Inn a week in advance directly with the property. When called to inform about a late arrival , we find out that the room was not available anymore. The owner offered another room, for less. Our credit card was charged right away. When we arrived- the room smelled badly like smoke. We refused to stay, because we wanted a non-smoking room. The owner seemed of being intoxicated and drunk. We asked for the refund right away and were refused. Another male came out (from the office) and started to throw fists at my husband. We left right away, as being afraid of physical encounter. We found another hotel a couple of miles away that had a room for us. When returning back to Bannet Bay the next morning in order to discuss the refund- the owner insulted us and discriminated my husband and chased us from his office. We filled a dispute of charge with the Credit Card. We asked the owner for showing us their cancellation/ refund policies and were refused. The owner stated that a "partial refund"might be possible only if he rents those rooms out for those 2 nights. However, the online searches showed "no availability" for those nights
In some of these instances, it may be a good idea to book with a travel agent, next time. Not only can we book your trip, but we can also offer some assistance to you should this happen to you. Many travel agents have connections and may be able to you some resolution quicker.
I made a reservation at a Washington area Marriott. I am a Silver Elite level member of their rewards program and supposedly they have an "Ultimate Reservation Guarantee" When I arrived I was told there were no rooms and I was walked to another Marriott hotel for a one night stay. What should I expect in the way of compensation? A free night stay? Free dinner/ drinks? Cash compensation for the inconvenience? My original reservation was for four nights and I am expected to check out and return to the hotel I originally booked with for the remaining three nights of my stay. Its a pain in the neck.
I made reservation via booking.com at the "ART HOTEL KÖLN" for january 2017, they had last room available discount, i entered all details, including my card -for the deposit, I received confirmation of my reservation with all the info (reservation number, adress, time when i can check-in and check-out, etc)
One day later i was contacted by hotel that the price i booked hotel for was "mistake" and they ask for several times higher price instead. They are asking me if im willing to pay higher price otherwise they will cancel my reservation (they dont state if i will get my deposit back or not). Can i get some compensation and of course my deposit back, if i wont pay them the "new, bigger price"? Or they will consider it as"i canceled my reservation, thus its my fault"?
II am at a Hilton Hotel (I am a Hilton Honors member) I have been here for two nights and asked to extend for one night . I was told that was not possible because they were sold out. I told the front desk agent I would not leavew. What can they do and what are my options?
Please reply ASAP
what if there was an error on a hotel bookings site. the price was showing 24 aed in-spite of 2400 aed & i just booked it for 24 aed and got the confirmation email. what action can i take if hotel refuses my stay?
i have made reservation in one hotel through Booking.com and i receive a confirmation email , then after that by 3 days, i received an email that there was wrong price from hotel and hotel discuss it with them and they reach to agreement with hotel to make 50% discount from original price (which is higher than my total by 4 times)
what can i do , can i saw them and refuse ?
Very well done article.
A lot to know – but this was not covered. Some people I know were at a Sheraton for an event and before leaving the hotel they were encouraged to book for this year and if they made the reservation and paid for it they would get a discount. So they made the reservation and paid for it and five months later they get an email telling them that the rate they were quoted and already paid in full for will not be honored because it is less than the rate they normally charge for that particular event.
It needs to be stated here that in addition to them getting the discount for coming back this year, they were also giving the discount because their reservation for 2016 did not happen as it was supposed to either. They paid for two rooms and only got one and they were compensated one meal for their "inconvenience." Now they want them to pay the additional monies per night or they will cancel the reservation. They were "nice" enough to say that they would waive the cancellation fee if they decided to cancel the reservation though.
I really liked this article. As someone who has worked in the hotel business for 9 years now, I have only ever had to walk someone once. It was so stressful and I felt terrible. Luckily we found them very nice accommodations. Thankfully I have never worked at a hotel that would overbook on purpose (I don't think I could take the stress of it lol).
I do have one piece of advice for fellow travelers: pay close attention during the booking process. I've sometimes found that the people whose reservation suddenly goes "missing" have made an error in the booking process (or booked through a very flaky/shady 3rd party). I've had online bookings reserved for the wrong day/month/year, reserved for the wrong location, and reserved for the wrong room type. I also encountered a poor woman who was ripped off by a "travel agent" who guaranteed a top floor room for an extra $50 (paying for a higher floor is not a service that we offer). She was extremely angry. Although we did not receive that extra $50 that the agent must have pocketed, we gave her a $50 discount and a drink voucher to our lounge for the trouble. You can never be too careful in this process!
Hi David, thank you for awesome article. Now i have a huge problem with booking.com and I don't know what to do. We booked a hotel two months ago in Bora Bora and three days ago booking.com send us an email with cancellation of our booking, because the hotel is closed. The problem is that the accommodation there is now more than double price than the original hotel, but booking.com told us, that they don't gonna cover the overcosts. But i am pretty sure that the have to cover them, because is their fold that they cancel our reservation.
Do you have any advice what to do now, please?
Thank you so much for your reply.
Hello! I have a question regarding hotel reservation "guaranteed for late arrival". I have prepaid hotel reservations for Tryp orly hotel in san sebastien for april via Expedia. Check in time ends at 12 midnight. My flight is due to arrive at 9:30 pm. If i have flight delays causing me to arrive past midnight what can i expect? Will my room be cancelled? I tried calling hotel to put a note on my acct but keep being given email address to which no one replies.i am fully prepared to pay for the night i showed up late but am wondering if they will just cancel at midnight the entire duration of stay. Does guarateed late arrival mean arrive anytime during reserved dates but you will be charged regardless? Help!
Interesting article. As a hotel manager I have come across instances where honest mistakes occur. Just had one happen today where a reservation agent accidentally booked a room as part of a group that had reserved the entire hotel. Guest was called as soon as mistake was found (2 days later) and was advised that the hotel was sold out.
We do have vacation rental product – we offered to waive the 4 night minimum and allow a 2 night stay but unfortunately would not be able to honor the lower rated hotel room rate. Still, we offered 50% off as the mistake was 100% our fault. This took the nightly rate from $115 to $230 so still twice as much.
The reservation does not check-in for 5 months.
What are your thoughts on how reasonable the offer was that was given? Allowed a 2 night stay when a 4 night minimum was in place, offered 50% the lowest available rate. Called within a few days of booking. Took full responsibility.
Hello David,
I came across this page after something like this happened to me. I've recently got a new job in London, and while things are settling in I have been staying at hotels during the week (several are cheaper than the 100 mile commute from home would be). I have been using Hotels.com to book these hotels, as they seem to generally find the best deals and offer perks. This week when I arrived at my "guaranteed" hotel, it was full and claims it has not got any reservations from me. Very unfamiliar with this I did possibly the wrong thing and booked another hotel to stay at (sadly more expensive). I am trying to resolve this with Hotels.com but at the moment they are not very helpful. They have just brushed this off with "The property says the payment did not go through", however the hotel was full so I did not even attempt to make a payment. I imagine there could have been problems getting the payment from Hotels.com (although many other hotels I have used have had no issue) but I was never informed of this. I have been charged for a different hotel I am staying at in two weeks (booked at the same time as the other two) and this went through fine.
I do have a few concerns. Firstly I have the same hotel "guaranteed" for next week. When there I mentioned this and they said they have no reservation for me then either.
I'm not sure if I should be looking for something else, or wait until this is resolved. All the time I spend waiting and trying to resolve this, prices are likely to be going up.
On my Hotels.com account both bookings are still showing the message:
"We've guaranteed your booking with Visa ending in…"
So I imagine they can still charge me for this (I can not cancel as they are not refundable). I was considering contacting my bank to prevent them accessing money but I'm not sure what to say. I don't know the account name that will try to access money so I can not block that. I can't block all hotels as I still have several to book and pay for. I can not block the specific amount as they may try again with a lower value (or I might have another with the same price). So at the moment I'm just watching my account with the intent to report any attempts at accessing the money as unauthorised.
Do you have any advice for this situation?
We can unfortunately add to this with our recent experience with Hilton Homewood Suites Charleston, SC Mt Pleasant. We arrived around 8:30 pm. While in line, I witnessed a very distraught lady questioning why her pre-paid room was given away. She was assertive and very articulate in her argument. The front desk guy had an attitude and said Hilton gave the room away because they were not going to be unkind to someone who wanted to extend their stay?? The lady beautifully replied that it is against hotel occupancy laws for them to try to cram their party of 8 into one queen room and the guy said that is the best they could do. I dreaded my fate after hearing all that. He told the lady to step aside so he could check in other guests and proceeds to tell me they called me this morning (didn't recognize the #) and they gave away the best/most expensive room type I reserved to yet again someone else who wanted to stay longer. I reserved a 2 bedroom/3 bed (1 king and 2 queens + sleeper sofa) accommodation for us and our 3 small kids. They instead tried to separate us and put us in 2 king STUDIOS not even next to each other. We refused this as our reservation was pre-paid, reserved over a month in advance with a printed copy of room type and "guaranteed, including late arrivals." We were in such disbelief over this and the illogical response of wanting to be kind to those who did not have our room reserved but on a whim wanted to stay longer, we got a refund and printed copy.
We call Hilton Honors on the road and to shorten this very long (hours that night and 2 different supervisors) not only did no one ever offer to comp our stay, but they tried to put us in a 1 room budget brand hotel. When asked to be put up in a room in one of their hotels within an hour (more than reasonable) that is comparable and pay for it they actually said we may have to pay more??! They had absolutely no compassion for 3 exhausted kids, including one with a significant medical condition nor the fact we had driven over 500 miles that day. All we were ever offered on the phone was some unspecific amount of points. When we finally on our own found a comparable room within their brands at midnight, we asked they pay for it. The supervisor said she was unable to do that and it was up to the hotel and they refused believing offering us 2 separate lesser rooms was sufficient. We ended up not being able to go to sleep until 3a after a very nice lady from Town Place by Marriott went out of her way to accommodate us. It is Spring Break so not a lot of options. Spoke to the GM today and he just made it worse by lying, saying the people in our suite could not be located and were unreachable at the beach?? I asked what time they realized this and he said 2p and I said then why was Hilton leaving me a message in the morning saying call about my reservation "right away?" Again, I didn't hear this until later that night as I didn't recognize the # and they never said why they were calling anyway. He fumbled and couldn't come up with anything except of course to offer me points for a standard room. I did as this site suggests and asked for points equitable to my room category and he refused repeatedly. Wrote corporate and awaiting a response. I'm still quite baffled by this amount of repeated (maybe 5 Hilton employees now) awful customer service. They could have diffused this in 5 minutes. At least 3 hours have been spent talking to them with an inadequate response. We were offered 30,000 points as compensation for our suite that costs over 100,000 points.
With respect to fine print, aside from it saying we are guaranteed, it cannot be cancelled for refund etc, all I could find is: We reserve the right to cancel or modify reservations where it appears that a customer has engaged in fraudulent or inappropriate activity or under other circumstances where it appears that the reservations contain or resulted from a mistake or error.
I'm not sure if that gives them wiggle room.
Thank you for your very informative article. Perhaps I shouldn't have assumed I would get what I paid for. I really had no idea I was at risk for not getting my pre paid room. I could have stayed put in the hotel to argue more but the lady in front of me was doing more than an adequate job arguing the injustice of it all and getting no where. Meanwhile, I had hungry, exhausted kids in the car so we got them fed and attempted to rectify this by phone with Hilton. I'm floored at the run around and am now awaiting the Director of Guest Relation's response from the corporate headquarters.
I just made a reservation to stay at one of the Holiday Inn Express outside Oregon area 10 days ago through Citi Prestige Concierge for my visit in late June (4 nights). It should be a brand new hotel that will open in the middle of June, however, when I checked online this morning, I noticed the website states that the hotel will not accept any reservation until July 2017. Apparently the hotel will not be ready to open in June, but I do have a confirmation number from IHG, and this reservation still shows up on my upcoming trip in my account (Platinum Elite member). So far I did not receive any cancellation message from neither Citi Concierge nor IHG. What will you recommend me to do now? Thanks!
Hi David,
I had booked an apartment for 10 people in Paris thru TripAdvisor for 19 and 20 Jun, 2017 and made a full payment about 2500 EUR to TripAdvisor on May 15, 2017.
Before arrival I had sent the owner 2 e-mails with my flight details and estimate time of my arrival. The owner wished me nice flight and promised to ask someone to contact me soon.
When arriving at the airport I informed them again by phone and they told me to come to the given address and promised to meet me at the property in 1 hour. When we arrived at the address of that apartment no one showed up. I called them again and this time they said simply that my booking was canceled because of TripAdvisor system failure and the apartment is occupied by someone else already. They said that I should wait if they could find some alternative for me. After an hour they sent me a SMS saying that their system is fully booked, I should contact TripAdvisor for assistance.
I contacted TripAdvisor by e-mail then phone and was informed that my booking was not honored by the owner. They would have informed me in advance if they have known it. TripAdvisor did send me some alternative apartments recommendation but because of already too late and too tired we have decided to pay 5000 EUR for 2 hotels accommodation for the group.
Please advise me what to do now. Can we ask for some kind of compensation in this case?
Thanks a lot for your support.
The hotel occupancy is 100 percent for tonight. A potential customer comes in and states that he has a reservation for this evening you look and see that he is not on your list of customers. He becomes outraged stating that he made his reservation three weeks ago..
My question is what should I do as a front desk
I booked and pre-paid for a reservation. Due to circumstances I am no longer able to use, and have contacted the hotel (more than 4 weeks before the check in date) to cancel and get a refund. The hotel is refusing to both cancel and refund. What should I do?
I know that your post was made over a year ago, but as a front desk agent decided I would give my input. The hotel I work for does have a "Book Early and Save" option which CLEARLY states that while you are permitted to cancel the reservation, you will not get a refund. You are giving up your rights to a refund by taking the cheaper rate. I don't know if this was the case or not with you, but it does happen on occasion.
Is it legal for a hotel company to pay a $25 incentive to all front desk associates to sell out the hotel even if they have to oversell it? I informed my manager that I want no part of it. Do not pay me any incentive that can potentially put a innocent people in that position. I have to relocate people in the middle of the night and have empathy for them. I cannot empathize with these people if I will receive an extra financial incentive for making this happen. This makes me hate my job. The managers say all hotels do this. Take the money for it.
Hi David,
A few months back I booked a hotel for a two night stay to attend a conference. There was a block of rooms reserved for this conference at a discounted GSA rate of $91.
Upon arrival, myself and 2 coworkers were told that they had overbooked, but they were going to comp us 2 nights stay at a hotel a few miles down the road. I double checked with the front desk attendant that we would be comped 2 nights, and was told that was correct. So I took the "walk" letter down the road to the other hotel and checked in. I once again double checked with the front desk attendant that we were comped 2 nights and was told that was correct. Upon checkout, I once again asked if I owed anything for the room and was told no, there was a zero balance for my stay.
Well 22 days later, the hotel we stayed at placed a charge on my credit card for $158.07. I contacted the manager for the hotel and was told the hotel I originally booked at refused to honor the comped 2 night stay, and said they were only responsible for 1 night stay plus taxes and fees. So I contacted the manager of the hotel we originally booked, and was informed that comping us 2 nights was a mistake and it should have only been one night.
I now find myself in a predicament because this travel was business related and I have already submitted for and received travel reimbursement, not including lodging because I was originally not charged for my stay. Had this mistake been brought to my attention sooner, no big deal. Also, having booked the original room at $91 per night but now being charged $158 for one night stay, even if I can ask my company to allow me to revise my travel reimbursement submission, I know they will not pay the full $158 because they will only pay the approved GSA rate.
What should I do?
Apparently this sort of thing is happening more and more often. Taking their cue from the airlines, hotels are squeezing customers ever more tightly in search of the very last penny.
I came here because Hilton has done something similar with me: confirmed reservation for a top-level suite, made directly on the Hilton site. Comes time to check in (online) I discover I've been downgraded to one of the crappiest rooms in the building. Hilton never informed me of anything about it.
Spent nearly 90 minutes on the phone with Hilton corporate and the staff at the particular hotel while they kept bouncing the ball back and forth. Was hung up on several times while waiting on hold. Nonetheless I kept my cool. Upshot: there aren't any suites available at this hotel this weekend, despite the fact that I reserved one two months ago and have all of the confirmation emails saved.
They don't care–they want a full hotel and once they have that they don't care who they screw–I'm a HHonors Silver member but apparently only the Gold members get decent service. I guess it's time to try my luck with a different hotel chain.
Thanks–despite the clerk insisting there was nothing she could do on her end, I raised a ruckus and my original suite somehow managed to re-appear on their screens. There's an overcharging situation that I'm going to address at the end of my stay if necessary.
But it was very 'good information' thanks to your site to learn that room guarantees aren't really guarantees. That's knowledge that'll come in handy in future so at least I won't be so surprised.
I'll let you know how it all turns out next week. Thanks again for your attention. Conrad
We booked a hotel for Christmas day/night…got all the confirmation emails.
Was told we could check in at 2pm..we arrived at 1.50pm to check in no one was at the property at all and they didnt answer our phone calls which we tried for an hour and a half to no avail..my young family were rather distraught and quit upset..
Wondering where we stand legally?
A bit of an old thread, but I thought this story different enough that it could add to the conversation. Rodeway Inn of the Choice Hotels chain in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Reservation made in October for December ski trip. I used points+cash combo to get a good price. I am a Choice Hotels gold customer.
About 1 month after making the reservation, it was mysteriously cancelled. I called and rebooked it. 2 days later, it was cancelled again. I rebooked again. Customer service was useless and said their records showed I cancelled it by phone (not the case).
2 weeks before the ski trip, I get an email direct from the hotel stating that the reward points rooms require that I be military personnel and over 85 years of age. Note that it was "and" so a very rare person who is active military and 85. Seriously.
I called direct, and the GM stated no December points awards were allowed as it was his busy month and he did not want to lose money on rooms. I was incredulous and asked clearly, "…so you cancelled my other reservation attempts and now a month later are adding terms to force me out of the reservation." He replied "yes, that is correct."
Points for honesty, I suppose. I guess he does not mind that being in the franchise and honoring their clients the rest of year also keeps him in business.
Clearly they are breaking the contract and now forcing me to find a room somewhere else at much higher rates, as it is just a week before Christmas vacation time, and availability has plummeted. I called corporate and they said they cannot force an independently owner location to honor the reservation. They even called him to confirm what I was saying. But I think the court system can force him to honor his claims…small claims is my next stop if corporate does not get back to me tomorrow. And notifying the local hotel licensing for the county.
As the hotelier was discreetly cancelling the reservations, if I had not happened to be checking, I would show up in a rural ski town at night and not have a room. Then faced with thousand dollar a night options or driving 50 miles on snow covered roads. That would be a ruined vacation, and we work hard all year to get our little holiday breaks when we can. I am still in shock in basic greed and deceptive practices of this hotel.
Adelphi hotel in Melbourne, Australia did this to me.
I booked a weekend birthday staycation using a Tripadvisor link to their direct website. It was advertised as $275 per night, their direct website said $275 a night. I received a confirmation at that price. A few hours later I get a call from Sean, assistant manager of the hotel, that the price was wrong. After a few phone calls and the approval of the managing director, he informed me they will honour it at the price I booked it.
That evening, I decided to update my comment section – the section where you say you want a higher floor, a quiet room, a non-smoking room, etc – I wrote to inform them of my allergy to alcohol as I know that Adelphi has a bar. Before clicking to confirm the updated comment, I took a snap shot making sure the booking details were still the same (i.e $275), then clicked confirm. And voila, the price was jacked up with no prompt, indication or confirmation. Since when do hotels save the current price and not the price you booked it at just for updating guest details? I rang and received the most sarcastic response from Lulu, assistant manager, that because the price now says $455, they will go back on what they said earlier – regardless of the email confirmation with the price I booked it at and the note saying they would honour it.
This was followed up by a call from the managing director Dion- he insisted that we changed the booking and that he never told Sean to honour it in the first place. When asked what the complaint procedure of the hotel is, he became aggressive and said he won't say, and hung up. A managing director hung up on a customer for asking about protocols. Let that sink in. Most likely because there isn't one.
Mind you, even airlines don't do this. And this is a boutique 4-star hotel.
Furthermore, Adelphi hotel staff showed no professionalism for customers and complaint handling. A managing director hanging up on a customer, Sean in 'meetings' all Sunday just to avoid taking our call. And at one point, Lulu ended our conversation with "Thank youuuuuuu" in a sarcastic condescending way before she hung up.
This has never happened to me and I've booked a lot of hotels. You would think there should be some protection for consumers just like how it is for hotels where you have to abide by their terms and regulations.


text:
I've always liked memorizing poems, and since memorizing 10 is on my life list, I figured I'd bring us on a guided tour through the ones I've already memorized, and how they've treated me through the years.
Everything from Facts for Visitors (Srikanth Reddy)
She was watching the solar eclipse
through a piece of broken bottle
when he left home.
He found a blue kite in the forest
on the day she lay down
with a sailor. When his name changed,
she stitched a cloud to a quilt
made of rags. They did not meet,
so they never could be parted.
So she finished her prayer,
& he folded his map of the sea.
"Everything" is probably my favorite poem of all time, and one that has had a profound effect on my work since I read it in 2004. I read it in my first poetry class, my first year of college, and I feel like I've held it in my heart ever since. Memorizing it brought every line into clearer perspective, and having memorized a few more poems since, I think it was the most pleasurable to learn. I love "Everything" for the same reason I love Mrs Dalloway: the completeness of its brevity. I think I will spend the rest of my career trying to create something as full as those two works.
Reddy is also a poet I deeply admire, and his entire collection is exquisite. I hope this sampling* whets your appetite for more, because this is a book you should buy, whether you think you like poetry or not. He works out of Chicago, so I've only seen him read once, but he's also an incredible reader. You can hear for yourself at Poetry Foundation. Plus, he did the Iowa/Harvard program that I think is the greatest thing ever, so that's pretty incredible. I've been anxiously awaiting a second book from him since I finished this one, a few months after it came out.
Fun fact: I'm pretty sure that the ampersand at the end of this poem is where my tattoo comes from. The poem played a major role in our relationship. I cannot imagine not carrying this with me everyday. Without it, I would be a poorer human.
*I don't have permission to reprint this. Srikanth Reddy, if you have a google alert on your name and see this, feel free to email me and ask me to take it down. I can totally respect that. Other, more likely readers, go buy Facts for Visitors to assuage my guilt for breaking copyright laws. It's amazing.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The State Adult Education office recently published a list of 'FY16 Top Performers' based on three specific criteria for approximately 75 Maine Adult Education Programs. RSU 16 was recognized in all three categories as:
Posted by Jenny Rose on January 16, 2017 | Read more in: News
Twenty-seven RSU 16 Adult Education students were honored at a cap and gown graduation ceremony on Friday, June 3rd, for meeting High School completion goals. Nearly 150 friends and family gathered in the Elm Street School gymnasium, as graduates marched single file to "Pomp and Circumstance" played by pianist, Sherilyn Foster.
Graduate Janelle Kogut delivered the inspirational message, sharing her personal journey through shyness and messages of self-doubt to pride and confidence in what she has accomplished. She shared her thoughts on finding success through alternatives and ended with the quote by an unknown author, "Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."
Several graduates were recognized with specific awards: Tutor, Terryl Jensen together with Patricia Demers awarded the RSU 16 Adult & Community Education Association scholarship to Emily Wardwell. The Central Maine Community College Courage to Grow scholarship was awarded to Melinda Straight by College Transitions Instructor Amy Hatch and CMCC Academic Advisor Bobbi Burke; Teacher Susan Lasselle and Career Advisor Katie Paiton also presented awards to Beverly Morin for Perseverance, and Meghan Green for Overcoming Obstacles.
Before receiving their diplomas from Superintendent Tina Meserve, graduates personally thanked family, friends, and educators who supported them in their educational journey by presenting them with a red rose. In closing, Director Jenny Rose encouraged graduates to spend time thinking about what comes next in terms of goals, action steps and making progress toward them.
The 2016 graduates are: Christopher J. Foster, Zeb S. French, Joshua K. Gammon, Meghan R. Green, Edward R. Heath III, Joshua A. Knight, Janelle K. Kogut, Tyler R. Labonte, Taylor D. Landry, Kevin W. McBean, Dylan J. Messer, Alana L. Michaud, Brandon C. Mitchell, Keith A. Mitchell, Jayla Monaghan, Beverly J. Morin, Melanie M. Oviedo, Joseph B. Pelletier, Cody A. Russell, Allen R. Smith, Melinda A. Straight, Kendall R. Timberlake-Golding, Emily L. Wardwell, John P. Wardwell, Jacob D. Woodward, Anonymous (2)
Posted by Jenny Rose on January 16, 2017 | Read more in: News and Events


text:
Friday, March 2, 2012
39 comments:
I love her Natasha... she has such expression about her... I haven't watched Mystele's video yet... but I can see I must...ReplyDelete
Jenny x
She looks like she is singing :D XXXReplyDelete
I love Mystele too - her paintings have such energy.ReplyDelete
This is great. I think she's singing too! Celebrate good times by Kool & the gang :)
Love the expression on her face :) hope your feeling more positive...ReplyDelete
I LOVE your celebrating lady!! ValerieReplyDelete
Love her Natasha! Mystele's Gut Art class was the very first class that I took--even before I blogged--it gave me so much confidence--it's one of the reasons why I started my blog.ReplyDelete
This is wonderful! I want to watch this lesson (and the others I am behind on) even more after seeing your post!ReplyDelete
Natasha ~ very creative and gentle ~namaste, carol (A Creative Harbor) Happy PPF ^_^ReplyDelete
- Anonymous02 March, 2012
Love the colors and the theme! Awesome new work Natahsha!ReplyDelete
Fantastic job! Mystele is one of my favorites.ReplyDelete
I just read your profile... i'm glad you paint pretty faces. You're really good at it! I love this girl. Happy PPF! xoxoReplyDelete
Uhhh, vsak teden bolj sem zadaj, ampak bom že nadoknadila :) Mystele je fajn :)ReplyDelete
- Anonymous02 March, 2012
Such a wonderful color palette you have used, Natasha May. And the placement of the colors is gorgeous.ReplyDelete
I really like the lettering and text in this and your colors are gorgeous.ReplyDelete
Amazing expression, Natasha!! I'm soooo late with LB!!!!ReplyDelete
Can't wait to see your goddesses!! :)
She is beautiful, I will have to check out the lesson! :) Thank youReplyDelete
Love your eye candy!ReplyDelete
Glad you like your teacher and are really enjoying the class! :)
Happy PPF!!
Mixed-Media Map Art
i'm not familiar with mystele, but i love your art. you've definitely captured her celebratory spirit.ReplyDelete
Great message! Your painting is very expressiveReplyDelete
Mystele is really interesting. I'd love to sit down and talk to her about everything. Very cool that her class made you do something so different from your usual style. It looks like you really got inspired.ReplyDelete
What fun! She looks like she is singing her heart out!ReplyDelete
Cool painting Natasha!!!ReplyDelete
Terrific expression. Happy PPF and enjoy the weekend, Annette xReplyDelete
She's wonderful! I enjoyed Mystele's lesson too although I have not done my page yet - this weekends project!ReplyDelete
Great shading and mixing of colors!ReplyDelete
Happy PPF!
I am so behind on those lessons, but this makes me want to jump ahead... this is a fabulous piece... really wonderful...xxReplyDelete
she is wonderful! When I see her I sang too ✿◕ ‿ ◕✿ReplyDelete
Really love what you've done with that lesson. I am thinking of trying it tonight. I am a little scared I will suck...haha. She has such a great energy to her!ReplyDelete
She's beautiful! Wonderful work! Happy PPF! Helen @ Natures WalkReplyDelete
nice work!ReplyDelete
I haven't had the pleasure of taking one of her classes, but I've heard nothing but good things about them!ReplyDelete
This painting is wonderful....I can hear her strong voice carrying over the wind!
Dearest sweet Natasha, she is really adorable! It looks like a pretty fun class! So happy to know you are enjoying it so much! Have a lovely merry happy weekend and love to you!ReplyDelete
beautiful! love the colors and textures you've created! happy ppf!ReplyDelete
What a fun piece! And I love Mystele tooReplyDelete
Artwork at it's most fun. Thank you for sharing. Blessings, Janet PPFReplyDelete
This is awesome! Really great expression! Now I have to go watch this lesson. I'm so far behind in Life Book. Wonderful work, Natasha! :-)ReplyDelete
Love your style and colors! <3ReplyDelete
Nice piece and your teacher sounds fun and interesting. Must take a peek at her lesson.Thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
Thanks for the link to Mystele...watched one video and will return to watch some more. Interesting artist. Thanks again. Annabelle ; )ReplyDelete
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The Oswald Goeckeritz Duo brings together the flowing style and graceful virtuosity of Tamara Oswald with the rich tone and expressive musical style of Jeannine Goeckeritz.  Together they have entertained, inspired and brought beauty to audiences around the world. Their recent European tour included multiple performances in Switzerland and Germany, and concluded in the Czech Republic, where they performed at the renowned ŽofÃn Palace in Prague.
Their musical talents can be heard on their own CD, Chanson, and numerous award winning and Grammy nominated Mormon Tabernacle Choir CDs, films, and television broadcasts. The Oswald Goeckeritz Duo's CD, Chanson, features original compositions by Emmy Award winning composer Sam Cardon, as well as Mack Wilberg, and Lex de Azevedo. These cherished, yet rarely heard songs will lift and surround you with renewal of the spirit, solace from life's demands, and the warm comfort of a lullaby on a sleepless night.
The Oswald - Goeckeritz Duo has performed at private VIP functions throughout the United States. They have given concerts for BYU Education Week Evening Performances, the Dixie Music Concert Series at the historic tabernacle in St. George, Utah, the International Double Reed Society in Austin, Texas with the Soulage Trio, the Utah Flute Association, and the Temple Square Concert Series.  They have performed at BYU Women's Conference, the LDS Museum of Church History and Art as part of the Evening at the Museum series, and have been guest soloists for the Utah Chamber Artist's Cathedral Collage Concert. Passionate about inspiring and encouraging both children and adults to be involved in the arts, Oswald and Goeckeritz provide musical programs for Utah schools as part of Arts in Education.
Tamara Oswald and Jeannine Goeckeritz are principal harp and principal flute with the Orchestra at Temple Square where they perform, record and tour with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. These performances include the weekly international broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word, the annual PBS Christmas Specials of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square with featured headline artists Angela Lansbury, Natalie Cole, Sissel, The King's Singers, Renee Fleming , Bryn Terfel, Frederica Von Stada, Brian Stokes Mitchell, David Archuleta, Nathan Gunn, Michael York, Alfie Boe, John Rhys Davies; the 2002 Winter Olympics Cultural Olympiad with John Williams, Richard Stoltzman and Evelyn Glennie. While touring with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, they have performed at venues throughout the United States, including Lincoln Center, Ravinia, Disney Hall, Wolftrap Festival, Chautauqua, Saratoga Music Festival, Interlochen National Music Camp, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre.  As guest soloists, they performed Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp with the Orchestra at Temple Square. With the elegance, beauty, and spiritual depth of their musical gifts, they have played for many LDS gatherings and conferences, including the funeral of President Gordon B. Hinckley.


text:
The Element headphones are about pure expression of materials and processes.
Based on the infamous but utilitarian Sennheiser HD25 headphones, the Element headphones are a consumer take on a classic.
Distressed copper forms the medium for this colourway. The cradling band is pressed and formed from a single sheet with the cutting process exposing an untarnished edge.
Touch sensitive cups allow for wireless gesture control.
Damascus steel forms the basis of this colourway. It is created through forging hundreds of layers of steel together to form this unique patternation. The edge of the band is diamond cut and polished to create a sharp pinstripe detail.
The cups are created by sectioning a sphere. This creates a ball and socket interface between the cups and the band, allowing a degree rotational movement to help the headphones fit better.
The final colourway is created through oxidising Titanium. This incredible process involves exposing Titanium to either temperature or current, creating a permanent surface coating. Like the Damascus variant, the edge of the band is diamond cut, revealing a pinstripe edge.


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Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sand Hills - The original "modern" masterpiece
The owner, Dick Youngscap, took a huge risk in the mid 1990s by decided to build a golf course in the middle of the Sand Hills of Nebraska where play is limited by weather and geography.
But, fortune favors the brave and Sand Hills is an absolute gem, Top 10 in the World. Designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore with very limited earth moving required, the golf course evokes the sense of St. Andrews but in a very different setting. Like the Old Course, the fairways are huge, the greens allow the ground game and the course is affected by the wind, encouraging players to move the ball back in their stance and keep it low.
This golf course really put Coore and Crenshaw on the design map and they have gone on to create wonderful courses around the world including Hidden Creek in New Jersey, Colorado Golf Club near Denver and Friars Head on Long Island. You can see some great photos on their site here.
Sand Hills was at the forefront of the trend towards natural golf and has led to some wonderful golf courses that have followed in its wake, such as Ballyneal in Colorado, Prairie Club in South Dakota and the soon to be opened Cabot Links in Canada.
Sand Hills is the new definition of golf, nothing fancy, no carts, no paths, no country club, no cart girls, no bag drop, just golf....pure golf.
Posted by MacDuff Golf at 12:39 PM 0 comments
Labels: coore and crenshaw, golf pure, macduff, Sand Hills
Monday, October 18, 2010
1966...the year of The Ping Anser
With its familiar "plumbers neck" more golf manufacturers and putter companies have copied this design than any other in history and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, than Mr Solheim must have been a proud man.
The Anser is classic - every golfer has used one based on Karsten's design at some point and with its heel and toe weighting it is as relavent today as that day in 1966 when it first saw the light of day.
Ping stills sells bucket loads of the new model Anser or you can easily pick one up an original for $50 on ebay.
Posted by MacDuff Golf at 9:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: golf purist, Macduff golf, Ping
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Dormie Club. An Absolute Gem!
If you haven't heard of the Dormie Club...you will! It is the latest creation from Coore and Crenshaw, who alongside Tom Doak and Jim Urbina are creating the 21st century version of the vaunted Golden Age of Golf Architecture. Dormie is pure golf, creative design, wonderful greens complexes, a great walk and most importantly, FUN! The club is full of intrigue and rumor after changes of ownership, but that will all be forgotten as more people play this absolute gem. I may be feeling giddy after playing it, but it is already in my Top 10...it is that good. Pure golf, pure enjoyment.
Posted by MacDuff Golf at 7:53 AM 1 comments
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Thank you for always allowing my daughter to find that special place to work. Whoever said that we have to sit behind a desk to get the most out of our studies.~Mom of Elementary Student, Los Angeles Unified School District, Wraparound Support Services
Thanks for the nice note. I will go ahead and do my assiments! They look really fun! You are the best tuter in the world! My Mom says "Christine is the best tuter"! I can not wait to see you on Saturday! I also can not wait to see the American Girl Doll play, and i can not wait for you to see my end of my play! ;D 😀 kisses bye see you Saturday. ~ Student, Age 8, Working on English, Writing, Executive Functions and Self-Regulation Skills
Thank you for all your assistance. You are absolutely wonderful in person and professionally. ~ Mom of Elementary Student, Special Education Advocacy, The Help Group
I am so glad they called you. Thank you for taking care of my clients. ~ Marriage and Family Therapist, working in Collaboration with Terry Tutors to provide Wraparound Support for Student & Family
Incidentally, a little story that might bring you a cheer as it did for me. Last night our daughter was writing a summary for school, and we stuck to the time limit as the Tutor suggested. When time was running out, she only had to finish the last paragraph, but she was staring around. I asked her to think how she would work if her Tutor were there. She said I would work fast. Then she said to herself, 'Thank you, Christine,' and immediately wrote a couple of sentences and finished in no time. I asked what she was thinking to thank you for. She said, Christine taught me a trick to write 'In conclusion,' and it's easy and it always works. So, from us as well, thank you. ~Dad of Elementary Student: Academic Support, Behavior Management & Social Thinking Skills, Executive Function Skills, and Tools to Manage Academic Stress & Anxiety; Westwood Charter School
It was so awesome to have you by our side today, sharing your expertise, offering support, and reminding us how lucky we are to go to this school. Thank you for helping me make a professional-official-type letter requesting the Evaluation. I'm sure that helps set the tone for 'We're serious about this, let's get moving.' That's a huge weight off my shoulders. Now, I can move on to the many other things on my to do list 😉 Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! ~Parents of Elementary Student, Burbank Unified School District, Special Education Advocacy
They are both the greatest girls in the world and I'm so happy with how they work with and respond to you. I want you to know how much I appreciate all of your efforts. As a very busy and single mother, it really means a lot to me. It makes me so much more comfortable in my job knowing that you'll be there on Thursdays to help them so they won't be worried about tests or homework. ~ Mom of Students at Ivy Bound Academy, Academic Support with a focus in writing
Christine and I met three days a week at my local library discussing what I needed to accomplish in my on-line classes. She helped me improve my writing skills and taught me to fix errors on the peer review. She has also introduced me to three different books on my Asperger's, and how to deal with it. Without Christine, I would have been stuck on a lot of topics that seemed incomprehensible. If it wasn't for her, I would have felt unprepared and unable to reach my expectations and goals for college. ~Student at California State University Northridge, Academic Support to help student better understand social thinking skills and executive function needs associated with Autism
Christine was an exceptional writing tutor in every way. She not only gave my daughters the tools and confidence to write various different types of essays and book reports, she also made writing fun! My girls always looked forward to her visits and we loved having her in our home. ~Mom of Elementary Students: Academic Support focused on Essay Writing, Attention, and Executive Function Skills; St. Brendan School
Are we ever so blessed to have Christine come into our lives. My daughter entered Public School for the first time this year after being in a very small Private School and come to find out she was very behind in her academics. Christine has been very instrumental not only in Tutoring but also in IEP Assistance, making ever effort possible to ensure my daughter got her IEP rights. When everyone at her school kept telling me all she needed was time to adapt to her new school setting, Christine was motivated, determined, and persistent; she didn't settle for anything less than getting the school to do an IEP for my daughter. Forever thankful and grateful for this because through this we found out it wasn't about her needing time to adapt in school but about a more serious issue called Auditory Processing Disorder. Thank you so much Christine for challenging her school and always going the extra mile with my daughter. I am so appreciative as a mother as I know my daughter will one day understand and realize how we never gave up on her and how determined we were in getting her the help she needed. Thank you again Christine– you are a miracle, blessing, and a gift to our family! ~Mom of Elementary Student diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder via the IEP Process; Los Angeles Unified School District
We just wanted to thank you so very much for your time, expertise, and kindness. We very much enjoyed meeting you– I can't really explain it, but as a mom, it just makes me feel better about the world, knowing that there are people like you, Odelia, and Anamae in it. ~Mom of Toddler obtaining California State Regional Center Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) Services; Special Education Advocacy Support
Christine taught me that I'm a visual learner. Now, I know I have to look at the board to know what I need to do. ~Elementary Student: Education Advocacy IEP Support, Behavior Management Support, Reading, Writing, and Confidence Building Skills; Lanai Elementary School
Christine is a great tutor. Always prepared and always on time. She's always happy, and she makes me smart. I feel comfortable working with her. I'm her favorite student. She loves me sooooooooooo much! ~Middle School Student: Academic Support focused on Essay Writing with Sophisticated Vocabulary, Structure, Organization, and Grammar; Emek Hebrew Academy
We are very happy with our Tutor. My kids like her so much. She did a great job and we will certainly work with her again ~Mom of Middle School Students: Sensory & Behavior Supports; West LA
I got a note from her teacher that they want to do the testing for the GATE program. I am so excited, and was not expecting that at all at this time of the year. She has really come a long way, and I really appreciate all of your work with both of them. My other daughter is tremendously more confident and both of their study habits are amazing. I am so pleased! They also really like you and how you work with them, so I just wanted to say thanks. ~ Mom of Elementary & Middle School Students: Academic Support; Sherman Oaks Elementary School & Ivy Bound Academy
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The Stept crew assault urban features with such incredible style and finesse and there's such a sense of dedication to their art that you forget that Weight is all urban with only a few touches of park and back country skiing. There's no big mountain, there are no heli shots, no tree skiing and yet this film is riveting. The tone, the pacing all draws you in to the Stept world. The single-minded devotion to nailing the trick and getting the shot is compelling and eminently re-watchable. Yes, that means you're going to hit replay again and again. Weight is 39 of the most perfectly filled ski movie minutes you could ask for.
Because of the focus on urban skiing, Weight becomes a clear example of how urban skiers are the new graffiti artists of their time. Their canvas is the city, just like the brilliant artists of the 80s, the Keith Harings, the Futura 2000s and the Richard Hambletons, except here, their medium isn't spray paint, it's film and their visions are recorded and available forever (hopefully). Their art reclaims the city environment in ways never really imagined by the city dwellers who make their every day way past the hand rails, the ledges, the buildings and the oil tanks of their surroundings. Like skate-boarders before them, their vision of what can be done in their environment is entirely new, completely refreshing, and to be honest somewhat terrifying. The crashes that can and do occur and more than cringe- inducing. You just know that the X-Rays and the MRI pictures are going to be complete horror-shows. But the danger and the pain, while an ever-present reality in skiing, is an aside here. What's on offer in Weight is the grace and the athletic form, yes, the steez, as these skiers refashion these urban settings into massive ski parks.
Shea Flynn leads off the attack in a segment with such dynamic edits that you feel like you're in the octagon taking blows to the head from Manny Pacquiaro. Flynn skis with huge power as he smartly muscles through some exquisite urban carving. He makes a host of thrilling moves look easy until you see the crash sequence and then you better understand what he's up against in setting up some of his tricks and how high his skill level is to be able to pull them off. Likewise, Clayton Vila has several eyeball-popping moves including the DVD's cover shot jibbing over a street light. Cam Riley gives another "Mr. Intense" tantrum like he did in this year's Poor Boyz movie The Grand Bizarre. If that's what it takes to deliver great ski sequences, well, I'll accept it. But if skiing massive rails doesn't kill him, the brain aneurism brought on by the next fevered blow-up will. Sean Jordan nails some ridiculously intense features showing he's name to watch from now on. Between regular Dew tour appearances and good movie segments like this, Jordan could be a sponsor's dream. Including appearances by Parker White and Alex Martini, Weight possesses one of the smoothest skiing casts of rising talent out there.
Ironically, it was disaster that led to Weight's ultimate triumph as a movie. Having been hit by injuries, Nick Martini took over more of the directing duties and Cam Riley took over more of the editing chores. Both skiers were able to deliver excellent sequences for Weight but their real achievement is to be seen in the directing and the editing, especially the editing in my mind. Martini and Riley along with brother Alex Martini and Matt Stauble have set up some banger shots to take into the editing suite where Clayton Vila gets in on the slicing and dicing action too. The sequences slip and slide, slow down and jump forward with all the bursting energy of the skiers themselves. The resulting style of the film matches the style of skiing in a visually arresting mix. Topping it all off, is the choice of the music. You figure you'd get a whole lot of hip hop and dance hall to soundtrack the gangster jibbing moves of an urban skiing crew like Stept and while there's a touch of that in tracks like Jah Cure's "Like I See It" (in Shea Flynn's sequence) and The Roots' "Rising Down" (in Sean Jordan's scenes) what really adds an unexpected dimension is the use of minor key, introspective tracks like Devotcha's "How It Ends" (in the opening sequence) and My Morning Jacket's "Victory Dance" (in the segment at Breckenridge) and Purity Ring's "Lofticries" (on Alex Martini's back country trip). The vibe added there is less about testosterone-fueled daredevilry and more about straight-up guts and determination. Those styles of tracks add a more timeless element to the production and one that will age well into the future.
Winner of the Best Jib Movie (this was their first year in the pro category) at the 2011 International Freeski Film Festival, things are looking good for the future of the Stept crew. Catch this one. By Mark "The Attorney General" Quail


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InterGlobe Technologies (IGT) is a leading BPO & IT Services provider committed to delivering innovation and business excellence across the entire spectrum of the travel, transportation and hospitality domain. The company offers integrated IT-BPO services comprising of Application Development and Maintenance, Contact Center Services, Back Office Services, Consulting Services and Solution Frameworks to the travel industry worldwide.
IGT is a Gold Sponsor for this year's World Low Cost Airlines Americas, and we were excited to have the chance to interview their CEO Vipul Doshi, who will also be at the event presenting a case study on enabling better travel through domain driven technology management.
During his interview, Vipul discussed:
- The hottest topic in the air travel industry currently
- How IGT has gone above and beyond to help their clients
- What aspect of business the company wants to focus on improving in 2015
- How the industry has changed during the past five years
- What Vipul thinks drives the most revenue for airlines
World Low Cost Airlines Americas will be taking place May 15-16 in Miami, FL. Why not stop by and say hello?[Image: Bryan McDonald – Flickr]


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To pay your traffic ticket directly you simply go to the court of the municipality where the ticket was issued and either appear in court as direct or set a date for a hearing to fight the ticket, or simply pay the ticket in person.
Paying Your Ticket by Mail
In order to pay the ticket by mail you need to:
• You need to make a check or get a money order for the amount listed on your ticket.
• You check or money order must be made out to the municipal court listed on the ticket and the citation number of the ticket needs to be printed on the check or money order.
• You need to mail your payment so it arrives at the appropriate cournt on or before the "must pay date" listed on ticket.
Paying Your Ticket on Line
In order to pay your ticket on line you need to access the NJMC Direct website and have the following information handy.
• Your traffic ticket
• You license number
• A Visa or MasterCard
• The Municipal court code ID
You do need to remember that you can't pay your ticket online until 4 days after the date the ticket was issued. Tickets issued prior to the 4th day after the date issue won't appear on the compute so you will be unable to pay the ticket as the necessary information will not be in the system.
Which method you choose to pay your ticket is up to you, so choose the method that works best for you unless you are required to appear in court.


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It's almost enough to bring my high school English teacher back from the dead… me, railing on someone else's vocabulary skills. What I'm talking about here is the new Revo pacemaker (formerly known as Enrhythm) by Medtronic, designed to allow pacemaker patients to receive MRI scans.
You see, up until the Revo, pacemakers were considered a very potent contraindication to MRI exams. Interference from the MRI acting on the pacemaker could turn the pacer off, turn it into a fairly benign 'asynchronous mode', start pacing your heart as if it were a hummingbird's at 100's of beats per minute, burn cardiac muscle, or drain the pacer's battery precipitating an earlier-than-planned replacement.
Some pacemaker patients could still get MRI exams, but you had to be the right kind of pacemaker patient, with the right kind of pacing device, needing the right kind of MRI on the right kind of scanner. Even then, you ought to have had the cardiologist and a code team (to resuscitate you if the MRI and your pacer decided to not cooperate), plus someone to de-program and re-program your pacer. Even with those protections, some insurance companies simply forbid coverage of MRI exams for any pacemaker patient.
Along comes the Medtronic Revo pacemaker. This is the first FDA-approved biostimulation implant that has been specifically designed, from the ground up, to permit MR examinations (though it won't be the last). It is not, however, carte blanche for MRI examinations. There are important limitations, or conditions, for its safe use.
There are three designations, each with very specific critera, that an object or medical device can obtain to describe its relative safety in the MR environment, 'MR Safe', 'MR Conditional', and 'MR Unsafe'. Given the fact that I just described the Revo as having important limitations, or conditions for safe use, which of these three designations do you think the Revo has earned?
If an object receives the 'MR Safe' designation, it means that that object would be safe under any allowable MRI conditions. Field strength? Doesn't matter. Magnetic spatial gradient? Who cares. Time-varying gradient? No worries, mate. RF deposition? Don't worry your pretty little old head. In short, to receive the 'MR Safe' designation there can not be any restrictions on its use.
So here we are, with a pacemaker that isn't 'MR Safe', but is being touted in nearly every medical media (or mass media with a health reporter) as the "MRI Safe pacemaker".
[We'll ignore, for this entry, the fact that a company has already copyrighted the phrase "MRI Safe", as well as the fact that this company uses the copyrighted name to describe products that aren't classified as 'MR Safe'.]
For the lay person, my hair-splitting must seem awfully pedantic. The problem is that the technologist who will administer a patient's MRI exam gets the bulk of the information about the patient's medical history from the patient, himself. If the patient doesn't remember the brand-name of the pacemaker (and so many of them seem to forget — or at least fail to disclose — that they even have the device, I think remembering the model and manufacturer is very unlikely), they're probably likely to remember that this particular one was "MRI safe". Now the technologist, charged with vetting the patient for MRI safety, is being given misleading information about the safety of scanning that patient.
So, my call to healthcare media and reporters is to please… PLEASE stop calling the Revo the "MRI Safe" pacemaker. Call it what it is, the first pacer designed to allow MRI scanning, or the first MR Conditional pacemaker, or even Medtronic's towering achievement (which it is).Tobias Gilk, President & MRI Safety Director — Mednovus, Inc. email@example.com www.MEDNOVUS.com Sr. Vice President — RAD-Planning.com firstname.lastname@example.com www.RAD-Planning.com


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Comedian Ellen DeGeneres was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Tuesday (Sept. 4), with her mom Betty and wife Portia de Rossi on hand, along with friends Jimmy Kimmel and Ryan Seacrest.
Ellen says, ""It is amazing. I spent my entire career trying to conduct myself in a certain way
making sure no one walks all over me only to get to a point where
people are going to walk all over me."
"I mean, it's Hollywood Boulevard. I
think of the history on Hollywood Boulevard. Every time I drive down it,
I think, Wow… I should have taken Fountain. This is so trafficky," she cracks.
Ellen's star is located in front of the W Hotel in Hollywood, which is just down the street from famous intersection Hollywood & Vine. Ellen's talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," returns with new episode Monday, Sept. 10.