"Clever-hotels.com"

barcon11

dudara

Threads merged so that all information is in one place.

dudara

greenman09

Rang my hotel in Galway and booking was cancelled. Rebooked through booking.com as don't need breakfast. Will be organising chargeback to CC with bank in the morning.

Teileen

in a right state...do I forget about my holiday lose out on what the flights cost??
or do I try & beg,borrow or steal the money to rebook/pay for my hotel?
It's a tough one

athtrasna

dudara wrote: »

I know that you couldn't initiate a chargeback with the old Laser debit cards. I'm not 100% certain what the story is at the moment with the new Mastercard & Visa debit cards. I need to research it, or perhaps another poster could help?

You can definitely do a chargeback on Visa Debit cards...not sure about Mastercard Debits though

coylemj

Jayop wrote: »

Nope. We are on a total shoestring and it was very much a last minute booking.

I've been emailing my hotel and to their credit I've sent and received multiple emails in the last hour.
That seems to leave me in limbo. The original email from clever hotels said that the wholesaler is cancelling the bookings but the hotel say it's still valid for now with my reservation voucher.

I'm worried now that it'll be cancelled late next week before I arrive leaving me up the creek.

You need to distinguish between a 'booking' and actual payment. If the company that you booked with is now in difficulties, it means that the hotel will need payment from you, unless they have already been paid in advance which I suspect is not the case because they haven't stated this to you.

You need to ask the hotel if they have been paid for the room or not, that will tell you where you stand. If they haven't been paid then you are up the creek because by the time you get to the hotel, the reservation will probably have been cancelled and even if it hasn't, they will expect you to pay for the room.

mgbarry

I booked two hotels with clever-hotels.com back in July, one for next Friday in Naples and one for a week later in Rome. I booked both hotels using my VISA card.

I too got an email from clever-hotels.com/Navelar about the insolvency.

I have been in touch with my bank's card services about a possible chargeback and with both hotels.

My booking in Naples seems to be OK for now. The hotel have said that as far as they are concerned the booking is valid and prepaid. Hopefully that won't change between now and Friday.

My booking for the hotel in Rome was cancelled yesterday, but the hotel allowed me to rebook for the same dates at the same rate. So additional expense, but at least I have a reservation and somewhere to stay in Rome.

My bank told me that in cases like this, potentially effecting a lot of people, they (meaning VISA??) like to put together a co-ordinated policy/response, so everyone can be processed the same way, and that can take a couple of days to come together. In the meantime, to prepare the case for a Chargeback I should contact the vendor and see what redress they are willing to make for me. Based on their reply, I must then make a formal application for a Chargeback and include all details and correspondence between me and the vendor.

So I have sent an email to clever-hotels concerning my booking for the Rome hotel and will be sending their reply and all other detail to my bank to initiate a Chargeback.

sandin

Couple of things with this (I'm booked with them too and am simply rebooking)

1. Trivago Tripadvisor etc are an advertising site - so you can't lay any blame whatsoever against them Its like clicking an advert on boards and trying to blame boards if things go wrong.

2. If you paid by Visa Credit or Visa Debit you can do a chargeback - a tiny percentage of every visa transaction goes to insurance, so its the built in insurance you are claiming on.

3. MasterCard Credit cards also have this insurance, but last time I checked Mastercard DEBIT cards did not have insurance., so if you paid by mastercard debit, the money is probably lost.

I don't think they accepted laser cards as they did not operate in Ireland.


So best things is not to get stgressed by it - there is nothing that can be done by clever hotels at this stage and it no use getting annoyed - apply for the chargeback and rebook.

If you paid by visa debit and things are tight, explain it to the bank, show them the email from the company and any half decent bank manager will give you a temporary overdraft as it will be refunded (most have the power to give €1,000 instantly)

nkay1985

I went through this same process with 1800hotels.com three years ago. Had booked accommodation in Florida for my honeymoon with them and they went belly up. Luckily I had booked with my Mastercard Credit Card.

All I had to do, from memory, was get the hotel to confirm that the booking had been cancelled and then send off a chargeback request. I think this came through within a few days.

Credit card companies pool all the money they've had to refund together and end up being a fairly large creditor so can usually get a lot of that back, as well as having the insurance mentioned above.

I feel very sorry for anybody who paid by alternative means.

Shelly104

I also booked my holidays through clever-hotel.com, I received that email aswell about navelar. So I emailed the hotel directly to c if they received any payment for my booking. They responded and told me that the company cancelled my booking but they are goin to keep my reservation and I've to pay on arrival (what a pain in the bk side). I paid by MasterCard visa so hopefully i can get a chargebk. Watch this space. I'm goin to use booking.com from now on when booking hotels.

Strongbow10

I received an email from these guys aswell but have not made any bookings with them as far as I know.

Did anyone else receive an email for no apparent reason? Maybe they made a mistake and someone else should have received it. Slightly odd to say the least

del 1

Very sorry to hear of everybody getting caught out. Unfortunately most of these websites and are not licensed and bonded in Ireland like a Retail Travel Agent. Airlines are the same if they go bust you are not covered.

I am a Travel Agent and licensed and bonded with the Commission for Aviation Regulation and as such you have full financial protection and peace of mind. I think these hotels websites and airlines need more regulation so the consumer is covered in the case of insolvency.


I am happy to help if anybody needs assistance.

Best regards,

Derek

Teileen

Teileen wrote: »

I used my credit card. Will this make a difference>

Teileen wrote: »

in a right state...do I forget about my holiday lose out on what the flights cost??
or do I try & beg,borrow or steal the money to rebook/pay for my hotel?
It's a tough one

Teileen, read through the thread carefully. Since you booked with your credit card, you appear to be one of the lucky ones who won't lose out financially. There's lots of advice about how to carry out a "chargeback".

Of course, getting the money together to pay for the hotel again is an awful pain, but at least you won't be paying for it twice!

ladysmufette

Hi all

Just registered here as I have received the same email and I'm currently trying to contact the hotel in Vegas where my booking is and paid by visa debit card so not sure if I will get any refund. I have travel insurance so do u know if that is covered under the policy

thanks

del 1

ladysmufette wrote: »

Hi all

Just registered here as I have received the same email and I'm currently trying to contact the hotel in Vegas where my booking is and paid by visa debit card so not sure if I will get any refund. I have travel insurance so do u know if that is covered under the policy

thanks

Hi,

You will really will have to check with the Insurance Company directly or check the policy. I know the insurance company I use does cover insolvency but there is a limit on it!

Best regards,

Derek

ladysmufette

Thanks I will

ladysmufette

a quick update

My booking at the hotel was cancelled already

ladysmufette

ladysmufette wrote: »

My booking at the hotel was cancelled already

The bookings that were "pre-paid" by clever-hotels.com still stand but anything that has not been paid by them before they declared insolvency will be cancelled, looks like this was the case with yours.

Some people are contacting their hotels directly and re-booking the rooms they had reserved, at least one user has said they got the same rate as had been offered by clever-hotels.com.

Who is your Visa Debit card with? Bank of Ireland do chargebacks on this card so either that or your insurance should make things right.

http://personalbanking.bankofireland.com/fs/doc/wysiwyg/4-1015r-visa-debit-transaction-dispute-form.pdf

ladysmufette

Thanks for the advice - I know they charged me the money back in June but didn't prepay the hotel :-(

ill speak to my bank its PTSB so fingers crossed

hurleytom

coylemj wrote: »

You need to ask the hotel if they have been paid for the room or not, that will tell you where you stand. If they haven't been paid then you are up the creek because by the time you get to the hotel, the reservation will probably have been cancelled and even if it hasn't, they will expect you to pay for the room.

Deleted User wrote: »

The bookings that were "pre-paid" by clever-hotels.com still stand but anything that has not been paid by them before they declared insolvency will be cancelled, looks like this was the case with yours.

My hotel HAD been paid in full and the reservation still got cancelled anyway - Hotelbeds (the 3rd party wholesaler) are now looking for a credit refund from the hotel !

hurleytom

hurleytom wrote: »

My hotel HAD been paid in full and the reservation still got cancelled anyway - Hotelbeds (the 3rd party wholesaler) are now looking for a credit refund from the hotel !

That seems odd. Why would the hotel cancel a reservation that had been booked and paid for?!

Can you contact the hotel directly and "uncancel" it?

blade1

So is it 50/50 at the moment if you paid by Visa Debit?
I done a search and all i could find was, in England, Visa Debit is covered if the amount is between £100 and I think £30,000.
I booked 2 rooms for 1 night but it wouldn't leave me pay for the 2 rooms together so i paid €88 for each room seperately (€176 in total).
Spoke to the bank today but they were not sure and they are looking into it.

dobman88

I wish I had seen this thread weeks ago.

I work in a hotel in Killarney and we get a few e-mails a year from the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) warning us of such websites. I can't go into detail of the e-mails received for confidentiality reasons but cleverhotels.com was on the list.

The IHF sends warnings to all its member hotels but unfortunately the hotel cannot cancel the booking made through a third party website and also cannot contact the guest because the "websites" don't forward that information.

Whenever I book a hotel I use the exact same site most times and have never had a problem, sometimes I will book direct with the hotel. I have paid a bit more on hotels because of this but I know my booking is safe. Stick with what you know.

FYI, trivago is full of sites like cleverhotels so I would never use trivago.

hurleytom

Deleted User wrote: »

That seems odd. Why would the hotel cancel a reservation that had been booked and paid for?!

Can you contact the hotel directly and "uncancel" it?

The hotel didn't cancel the reservation - it was the agent (Hotelbeds) acting on behalf of Navelar that cancelled the reservation. Hotelbeds are now gettign a refund from the hotel. Technically it's Hotelbeds' money not mine that the hotel had, so nothing can be done.

AIB have confirmed that we'll definitely get our money back on the Visa Debit card, which is a relief. They were inundated with calls today!

Yggr of Asgard

dobman88 wrote: »

I wish I had seen this thread weeks ago.

I work in a hotel in Killarney and we get a few e-mails a year from the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) warning us of such websites. I can't go into detail of the e-mails received for confidentiality reasons but cleverhotels.com was on the list.

The IHF sends warnings to all its member hotels but unfortunately the hotel cannot cancel the booking made through a third party website and also cannot contact the guest because the "websites" don't forward that information.

Whenever I book a hotel I use the exact same site most times and have never had a problem, sometimes I will book direct with the hotel. I have paid a bit more on hotels because of this but I know my booking is safe. Stick with what you know.

FYI, trivago is full of sites like cleverhotels so I would never use trivago.

Generally booking a pre-paid hotel is a risk in this economy, be it with the hotel, a travel agent or a reseller of hotel consolidators.

Sites like trivago or hotelscombined are great to find the best possible price out there but when it than comes to the actual booking common sense should kick in and a little caution is appropriate.

Most of these types of hotels are simply re-selling their rooms from a consolidator like GTA / DHR which block buys rooms from hotels. In most cases the hotel does not even know your name or details until the day before the arrival, or not at all which is why you require a voucher for example.

Sometimes this can work to a customers advantage there are occasions when a hotel is sold out directly but one of the consolidator still has rooms available for a laughable price. I recently got a hotel for 99€ / night that was nearly booked out with the hotel wanting 599€. Following too good to be true method I obviously pay by credit card and also had a reservation in another cheap hotel that was cancel able in case there was no room at the 99€ place. I got the room without a problem and had a fun stay.

Generally these days with Best Rate Guarantees from most big hotel chains finding a good price via trivago/hotelscombined can give you a good indication what the market is and than you should really check the the hotel directly and see if the BRG is applicable there.

There are also some reputable consolidators our there like HRS which have 24/7 service.

I hope that all of you that are effected are getting their money back and hopefully the hotel will offer you the room for same conditions after all, they would like to have rooms sold too.

hurleytom

hurleytom wrote: »

The hotel didn't cancel the reservation - it was the agent (Hotelbeds) acting on behalf of Navelar that cancelled the reservation. Hotelbeds are now gettign a refund from the hotel. Technically it's Hotelbeds' money not mine that the hotel had, so nothing can be done.

Ok, that makes sense. Presumably Hotelbeds weren't paid by Clever-hotels.

Great news that the Visa Debit chargeback will work for you!

hurleytom

Deleted User wrote: »

Ok, that makes sense. Presumably Hotelbeds weren't paid by Clever-hotels.

Great news that the Visa Debit chargeback will work for you!

The hotel has also agreed to match the price I got from Clever Hotels, so everything is back on track for me thankfully!

Brilliant! I hope everyone else reading this who is in your situation is encouraged to chase up the chargeback and liaise directly with the hotel.

Teileen

I have been in contact with my hotel in Portugal over the last few days & they have come back to me with a very good deal..So things are looking up.

Now to contend with Visa chargeback....

greenman09

Has anyone contacted navelar as you need proof correspondence to them for chargebackI'm sending the email they sent out with a cover letter.