2/10 Terrible
Brian
Business traveller, Travelled with partner
24 Aug 2024
I used Expedia, which I presumed (erroneously) was a legitimate service. I was traveling for work and I needed a place with two beds. One was offered at $140, which was the low price in a very upscale, gentrified area of Napa Valley. We had worked late into the night unexpectedly and I just wanted a place immediately, near the worksite, because we were exhausted. It should have been a clue that I was asked to waive my right to cancel before I paid them the money online with a debit card. I took the precaution of paying using PayPal, which I thought was a thoughtful option to protect me from any sketchy operators doing some flimflam scamming! We pulled in and rang the service bell and I was “greeted” by some kind of larval-looking woman who barely spoke English but firmly insisted that they did not recognize PayPal and insisted that I would have to pay again! She demanded to see my ID and card, (which I will soon change the number of, as I fear it must have been logged and sold already.) She peered at her compute screen, which looked like some kind of early Windows product. I waited, thinking that she was looking for a message from Paypal. Soon I was clear that we were stalemated and I turned and left, getting into my truck. When we did not leave immediately, her husband came out and wanted to dicker. He went through the same ID and card presentation game, pecked a few keys on the computer, and pushed out a little black box with a screen that said, “I agree to pay $444”!
Brian
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2024