The Miraval Berkshires, an all-inclusive hotel in Lenox, Mass., overcharges Dalia Hamzeh by $2,500. Now, it is refusing to answer her emails. How can she get her money back?
Question
I booked a weekend trip for early September last year to the Miraval Berkshires, an all-inclusive resort in Lenox, Mass. It was my best friend’s birthday, and my sister was initially going to join us. She could not make it, so I notified the hotel well within the time allowed to modify my reservation without penalty.
Rather than three nights and three people, it would only be two nights with two people. Since Miraval is all-inclusive, the property charges per person, per night.
The hotel charged me for three people. I noticed the extra charges when I checked out, and a representative first told me I would be refunded. A few days later, another hotel representative told me I would not be refunded.
After trying to have this resolved for over a month and requesting a detailed breakdown of costs per night so I could understand where the discrepancy was, their billing department offered to refund $290, which is about one-tenth of the overcharges.
The Miraval team had offered such a poor resolution, and even then — the mere $290 wasn’t refunded or processed. Now, they have stopped responding to my emails. The whole process has been exhausting and I am feeling stuck, like there is nothing else I can do. Can you help me get the $2,500 in overcharges refunded? — Dalia Hamzeh, Braintree, Mass.
Answer
Miraval should have charged you for two nights for two people, as you requested. And if it overcharged you, then it should have quickly refunded the charges instead of stringing you along and then giving you the silent treatment.
Before I do any further, let me compliment you on your choice of resort. The Berkshires are a beautiful part of the country (especially now), and the Miraval has a terrific reputation. This is a very rare complaint for the hotel. (Related: Help! My all-inclusive hotel in Mexico is only half-inclusive.)
You did the right thing by calling the resort to cancel your sister’s stay and sending a follow-up email. That creates a necessary paper trail, allowing you to then, if necessary, prove you requested a cancellation. You also made the request within the cancellation window. (Related: The Travel Troubleshooter: Help! I paid twice for my all-inclusive vacation.)
It appears Miraval never confirmed the cancellation in writing. That should have set off all kinds of alarms for you, because it means the hotel is still expecting three guests — and plans to charge you for three guests.
How to get an all-inclusive hotel to respond to your email
Hotels receive hundreds of emails a day, and sometimes more. Although it rarely ignores legitimate customer complaints on purpose, it can overlook a customer query if you skip a few important steps. Here are a few questions you should ask before hitting the “send” button.
- Did you double-check the email address? Make sure you have the right person and the right address. Emails sent through the general inbox may get overlooked. (Here’s our guide with the best travel advice.)
- Does your subject say what you want? Look you’re competing for attention with lots of other emails — and spam. Make sure you say what you want upfront. As in, the subject line. (“I am looking for a refund” instead of “hello from a loyal customer.”)
- Are you rambling? Hotels may be fascinated by your life story while you are a guest, but when you’re emailing them, brevity matters more. Keep your email short and to the point.
- Do you have all the information they need to fix the problem? Dates of stay, room type, and any previous communication are a must. Always include your confirmation number, too.
- Did you set a reasonable time frame to respond? Typically, you’ll want to give the hotel a week to get back to you. After that, you can start following up.
If none of these work, you’ll want to reach out to the hotel by phone or social media to find out if there’s another way to reach the property. There usually is.
How you could have resolved this problem with an all-inclusive hotel
How can you extract a response from a hotel like the Miraval Berkshires? You could have looked up the name of the general manager of the hotel and sent him an email. Hotel GMs do not want unhappy guests, particularly before they arrive. The manager would have forwarded the message to someone in reservations, who would have then ensured you had a written confirmation.
Another opportunity to fix this would have happened at check-in. In a follow-up conversation, you mentioned that you asked about the rate when you checked in because it reflected three people. A representative assured you it would be fixed. But I probably wouldn’t have left the hotel lobby without a written confirmation that reflected the correct price. (Related: Which hotel amenities do you really want? You won’t believe it!)
Finally, after multiple failures to get this corrected, you could have appealed to someone at Miraval’s corporate owner, Hyatt. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Hyatt customer service executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
My advocacy team and I contacted Miraval on your behalf.
A representative responded, saying that the hotel would not comment on guest billing inquiries or personal experiences “in any way.”
“What I can share with you is that they take guest and consumer feedback seriously and investigate any asserted matters like this with detailed back up, following up directly with the party themselves,” the representative said.
And they did. The general manager of the Miraval called you and explained what had happened. He says the original rate had been “miscommunicated” to you and that you did, in fact, pay the correct rate. To make up for the misunderstanding, he offered you either a refund or an opportunity to return to the property for two nights at no charge. You’ve decided to return.
