Reservation Counter review: scam 106

Reservation Counter is a scam. They claim to represent hotels that they have no connection to. For example the Bar Harbor Inn. They have Google ads that make it look like they are the Bar Harbor Inn and they do not represent us. They are making fraudulent claims about their affiliation with us. Do not book with them. If you want to stay at the Bar Harbor Inn then book directly on our website www.barharborinn.com.

I totally agree with opinion on reservationcounter.com. I thought i was making a reservation with Baymont INN reservation center and then later found out after I had complaints that it was Expedia. The rate I was quoted was $10 more than hotel would have charged and then she told me I wouldnt have to pay any extra for my late check out but in the end I end up paying for 2 full nights when I was only at the hotel for 24 hours. I feel like the reservation counter will tell you whatever it takes to make a sell. I will never make a reservation through them again.

I just had a run in, they told me they were a part of the Hyatt and that I would get points for my stay, for a good price they told me I got a king bed, river view and balcony, when I called the hotel to double check they told me I had a room with 2 double beds and no river view and no points...when I called back and was put on hold for 45 minutes the supervisor told me I would have to pay extra for a king and river view...will NEVER book with them again...I feel bad for anyone who doesn't read these before booking with Reservationcounter.com

My complaint is the same. When I called [protected], I believed I was dealing with Embassy Suites reservation center to make a hotel reservation. I asked for the corporate rate of $109, but was told they only had three rooms left at $139. When I checked in at Comfort Inn, I was told the reservation was through

Expedia, I said no, I made the reservation thru Emabssy Suites. When my expense came through I was charged with a $21.00 tax, plus room rate of $139 instead of the $109 I should have been charged. Ripoff!

My husband and I believed we were speaking directly to Comfort Inn Bellingham, we arrived to find that we had been charged a $12.52 service fee and the parking package we asked for was not available through the company only from the hotel directly. We were then asked to pay an additional $66 for the parking.
On speaking with the manager we were advised that this is an on-going scam by this company.
Call the hotel directly and ensure you're speaking with a member of the hotel staff, otherwise, beware.
Thank you to Brant and Sara of the Comfort Inn for taking care of us, you were both great.

I want to thank everyone who posted here. I almost went through with a reservation at reservation.com. The site quoted a reservation of 59 bucks per night for the hotel we wanted. After reading the complaints here I searched and found the hotel phone number and called them directly. I was able to get the reservation for $54 per night. I will never use so called "reservation services" for anything ever again. Thanks again everyone!

Totally similar problem. I googled the phone number for a hotel in Houston (Club Quarters). Called the number and the phone operator gave me every indication she was from the hotel. I booked and gave my card for the room and was charged immediately. That was sure a surprise! When I called the *actual* hotel number to inquire, they told me it was booked through Expedia, which made me feel kind of like a crazy person. Fortunately, my reservation *is* in their system and appears to be legit. It doesn't seem that Reservation Counter is a take-your-money-and-run type scam, but they do seem to sneakily usurp hotel bookings so that they can collect the commisisons.

ReservationCounter is INDEED a scam! I booked a Daytona Beach hotel online, got an itinerary#, and was told I would receive a confirmation within 2-4 hours (AFTER they took my credit card. When I did not get a confirmation 12 hours later, I called their "customer service" number, gave them my itnerary and name, but was told they could not locate my itinerary. I was passed along to three other phone numbers, got the same runaround. They indicated they "partnered" with Expedia. So I called Expedia directly, they investigated and told me it was an internet scam. Fortunately I called my creditcard company, canceled my card before they hit me with more charges, but they did attempt to run a $1 transaction through..a test run? Beware of these people. I have filed a report with the FBI Internet fraud division. It really pissed me off!

Same as above. Avoid this company like the plague. I wish I had checked here before finalizing my reservation. I thought I was dealing directly with the hotel.

RESERVATIONCOUNTER.COM is a SCAM.. same story as above. Misrepresentation. Overcharged me on the rate.. No cancellation policy. Can't speak to anyone about anything. They take your money and you can't do anything about it.

Call your credit card company and dispute the charges.

Yes, complete scam. I had an emergency call from my sister that she needed a hotel room (tragic personal issues). I was on top of a mountain with almost no cell service but a text did come through. I dropped all my gear and travel 15 miles to get enough single to get to the internet. I book through these thieves for a hotel in NC, it booked her into a hotel in AR leaving her in a bad place which I didn't find out about for hours. I had to repeat the process and call the hotel directly. I called this rip off outfit to get a refund and ended up in the phone que from hell. I finally called sales and got someone to look at it. They said, well since it happened yesterday there's nothing we can do. And basically a FO from from them. This guys are thieves and scam artists. Avoid them at all costs (well, the cost will be yours if you use them). I wish I knew where I could file a police complaint on these fraudsters.

I had the same experience as described by others. I thought I was calling Hampton Inns for a reservation in Augusta, GA. After making the reservation then needing to cancel it found out that it was made through Expedia! When I finally got through to Expedia they said it had been made through reservationcounter.com and they couldn't cancel it. I called Hilton which said they couldn't cancel the reservation and suggested I call the hotel directly. When I called the Hampton Inn, Augusta, GA they said they couldn't cancel it since it had been billed. When I tried to call [protected] for ReservationCounter (for the 4th time to try to cancel) I could never get through to a person. Then I went to the website. When I entered my reservation information the response was 'We are sorry. Our service is temporary unavailable'. So far I have spent 1 1/2 hours trying to cancel this reservation. When I made the reservation this morning I was told I had until 6pm today to cancel the reservation. So far RESERVATIONCOUNTER.COM has made this impossible. I also called American Express today to cancel the charge. I was told this can't be done until it moves from 'pend' to 'billed' status.

BIG SCAM! I just so happened to not need the reservation I had made through Reservation Counter, so I called the hotel and they gave me the number to Expedia. Since I knew it wasn't made through them, I called the 1-800 number from the website . The only way to actually talk to someone when you call is to 'make a new reservation' before connecting you to a person, it makes sure to let you know if you want they to look up an active account, they can't! BS! They can. When I asked for a physical address to their corporate office they gave me an address to McDonalds. I demanded that they give me every cent back in 24 hour and they said okay. This just happened today so I'll see if they do it.

And good luck trying to cancel a reservation with them after it is made. Their phone system is purposefully set up to deter cancellations. They direct you to their website to lookup and cancel your reservation, but their website's reservation lookup feature is the conveniently and suspiciously down. I've been on the phone now for 33 minutes waiting for someone to talk to me about cancellations. I'm going to call the hotel itself to complain and to the credit card company to block my charges with them. Horrible company.

Please do not book your hotel reservation with this company [protected] they are a rip off! They said they had booked me a room with The Hilton Garden in Greenbelt MD and charge my credit card and when I got to the hotel I did not have a room. This company is a scam! I had to call two times to get a credit to my credit card and I am calling American Express tomorrow to let them know I did not stay at the Hilton Garden Hotel on Saturday. To make matters worst the customer service rep lied and said he called the Hilton Garden to see if I stayed their and the Hilton Garden said they did not called. I did call the Hilton Garden from my cell phone while they had me on hold supposedly crediting my credit card. Please spread the word to all your family and friends and tell them not to use this company!

A NIGHTMARE AVOID AT ALL COSTS! I sure hope that you have checked this site out BEFORE you made your reservation. Reservationcounter.com IS a scam and any attemps to cancell a reservation and get your money back is going to cost you hours and hair loss! I have spent at least 4 accumulated hours (if not more) on the phone from the initial hotel ( sorry, you didn't make your reservation through us) to Expedia ( sorry you made your reservation through reservationcounter.com let me give you their numbers ) which is a complete dead end...robot number pushing and no answeres, and when you do try to speak to a representitive the line disconects you). Oh, and three additional #'S later with the exact same messages and then I called the bank not once but twice . I reported them as fraud to my bank. this is a terrible mess. Plus what is strange is that initially the bank first said this was reservationscounter.com that they saw the charges on. The second time I called the bank they said it was TSP Reservations. So look out! This company is a fraudulant one!

Same exact experience with Hampton inn. Thought I was on the hotel website and calling hotel toll free number. Only after not receiving email conf did I call Hampton 2 days later. Was told by Hampton I was booked through Expedia. Called my credit card company immediately, they told me my charges were from this company, Reservation Counter, and although they were a legitimate business, they had thousands of complaints. With the credit card fraud department's assistance, we contacted reservation counter and after being treated very rudely we were able to get refund (although it has not posted back to my card). Adam at reservation counter said I was not told I was booking through a third party company because I did not ask. I have rebooked directly through Hampton for a 2 night savings of $110. Major scam! Beware!

I wanted to stay at Super 8. I did a Google search and clicked on a link for Super 8 that said "no change or cancellation fees". I made the reservation, and then needed to cancel it. I called Super 8 and was told that I didn't make the reservation with them. I found out that the reservation was made with reservationcounter and I tried to cancel with them. They told me there are no cancellation fees, but there were also no refunds. Also they never sent me a confirmation email, told me they weren't super 8, or told me that there were no refunds (until after I called to cancel).

Yes, this company is without question a big scam from a foreign country. They make false ads make you believe you are reserving with a certain brand name hotel. You cannot call them to change, modify or cancel you reservation, but you can call them to make new reservations. I made a reservation with Holiday Inn in New Jersey, and realized my mistake. They say right on their website: "No Change or Cancellation Fees." When you make a reservation, they send you confirmation that states: No cancellations. My best advice is to call the Hotel and book direct, and then dispute the charge with your credit card company as a "duplicate charge." It is the best way. Otherwise you will fight the "the card holder agreed to our terms and conditions at checkout." Which of course is the BS fine print, that I don't ever remember seeing.

I work for a hotel and I wish I knew how to get them to NEVER ever impersonate my business again. I am nasty rude and I tell every person that works for them my feelings on their company and I cannot for the life of me get them to leave us alone. They screw over sooo many guests and its not always someone who is forgiving and they often blame their troubles on us.

I wish I had seen this review site before I called [protected]. Definitely found this hotel reservation number to be misleading in their bookings. 1) Danny claimed that I was booking directly with Ascot Suites Ascend Collection; 2) The email confirmation was Travelscape.com; 3) The email confirmation of four King Suites with sofa bed was not the rooms booked with Ascot Suites when I checked-in and was told by the front desk that the booking was done through Expedia; 4) The room price was $10.00 more per night than what Ascot Suites charges per room; 5) My major complaint was that two of the four rooms had one king bed only...no sofa bed; 6). When I called [protected] about the room size reservation problem, I was told it was the hotel's mistake and Expedia could not do anything about it. The front desk said that Expedia sold the rooms incorrectly. 7) There was no customer service from Expedia to resolve the room type...their excuse "It is the hotel's problem."
Ascot Suites gave me some customer satisfaction. They gave me a King Suite/with a sofa bed and for the other king bed room, they gave me a $24.00 credit.

All the comments are true the phone system and their web site is rigged. The only way to talk to them is call the number that they sell on otherwise you can't get in. They are on facebook as Reservation Counter and I have been trying to get my refund by contacting them there. Attached is the letter I have sent them.
reply@travelnow.com
Subject: RE: Itinerary - Aug 3, 2012 - (Itin# [protected])
Dear Sirs,
When I made my reservation I had every confidence that the hotel room that you reserved in my name was a comfortable safe environment. However it was a room that had been flooded and was reeking of mold. The smell was overwhelming and my wife and I was in the room no more than five minutes before our eyes and sinuses and lungs were burning. I know that you wouldn't expect us to put our health at risk by staying in that unsafe environment, therefore we immediately went to the front desk to get a different room. The front desk told us they had nothing else, so I told them we had to leave. The front desk refused to check us out or give a receipt. I am disputing the 1st day charge. We went to the Holiday Inn and paid double the rates, but the room and stay was a good living safe environment.
I expect to receive the first night charges to be refunded as you refunded the second nights charges. Also as I explained on the phone to your rep that my wife is disabled with small cell lung cancer and needs a healthy environment. Also I am disabled from Heart disease and COPD and I to need a healthy environment. We can provide legal proof of our disabilities and expect that you will understand why we had to leave that very unhealthy environment.
Please refund to my Master Card the first night charges.

Regards Gary Joyce

I attempted to book a room at a Comfort Inn in Cedar City, UT. I entered the date and type of room I wanted and a message popped up that said there was no availability for that date and I should select another date. I was not sent a confirmation or any other correspondence via email. I then was able to book the room via Priceline. When I arrived at the hotel the following evening, I was surprised to learn that 2 rooms had been booked in my name. The hotel told me that, 'tho the company name was something else, the reservation was actually made through Expedia (I do not know if this is true) and that I should contact Expedia directly. Once in my room (well, ONE of my rooms), I called customer service at Expedia. The young woman was very polite and tried to be helpful but she could not find a record of my having reserved the room through Expedia. I had, indeed, booked through them about a week earlier and there was a record of that booking, just not the one in Cedar City. At that point we thought that a charge would not appear on my credit card because there was no record of the reservation. Within a few days I rec'd an email from Expedia inquiring about my customer service experience and asking what they could do to resolve my problem. I filled out everything, explained my dilemma and submitted it. I've heard nothing further from them. Today I rec'd my credit card bill and there are 2 charges on it for the room in Cedar City. I called the number on the credit card bill that is associated with TSP Reservation Counter and it is impossible to speak with a real person. None of the options (press 1 for this, press 2 for that) address my problem. Unless someone else can suggest a solution, I think I'll be stuck with the extra charge. I doubt that TSP is associated with Expedia, as I've used Expedia several times in the past with no problems. I guess this is a case of 'you live, you learn' and I've certainly learned to never use TSP in the future. All you folks out there-----BEWARE!

This same issue happened with me! As soon as I didn't get a confirmation within "5-10 minutes" a red flag went up and I started doing some digging and found this site. I wasn't able to dispute the charge with my credit card company because the charge had not technically posted yet. Fortunately, I was able to cancel by pretending to book a new reservation through the prompt system. Once I got a hold of a live representative I demanded that I talk to either a supervisor or a LIVE customer service rep. He transferred me to a customer service rep and I was able to cancel, although like everyone else I am not sure if I will actually be refunded.

I was trying to look for online hotel booking options and suddenly noticed the Best Western Naperville Hotel number on this website. I made my booking after calling this tollfree number all the time assuming that this was Best Westerns website, only to realize later that this was www.reservationcounter.com website number. The person was infact acting as if she represented the hotel and not the website. The itinerary details which they send never work as stated by them on their URL:
http://www.reservationcounter.com/reservation/
The site gives a strange message that "this service is temporarily out of order".
Also please note that as claimed by them, the prices charged here are not the lowest. Infact the original hotels booking would have saved me a solid $25 per day for 15-days( around $375).
And finally during checkout, when I requested for a itemized bill(day-to-day) breakup, for submitting it for official purpose, the hotel directed me back to reservationcounter website. I have been trying to follow up with them from past month and have never heard back again.
Request everyone to be careful with this website as this seems to be a totally spurious and dubiously managed firm.

I just about fell for this, even though I am experienced at booking travel for work. Luckily, I did not give these scammers a credit card number! I asked for a government rate room and they said there were none available. The whole call sounded fishy. I found the real phone number for the hotel and got the rate I needed right away. I encourage everyone who has had a negative experience with this so-called company to file a consumer protection complaint with your state. These divisions are usually located in the Attorney General's Office. The more complaints a government agency gets about a particular company, the bigger the chance they will go after these people.

I had the same problem. They said they were taking a reservation, but that charge the card immediately as a pre-paid reservation. The number on the credit card associated with this service is wrong, and so you cannot reach them to cancel the "reservation." TSP is a fraudulent operation.

Totally agree!. I had a similar experience. They booked me at Choice Comfort Inn in San Diego on the wrong date. When I arrived at the hotel, the manager told me that I had no reservation on that day but had one for a much later date. The hotel told me that I could cancel and book with them but Reservation counter never refunded me for the incorrect booking. Could never talk to a live person.
Avoid using Reservation Counter.

I agree that this company scams the consumer, and it sounds like they do the hotels no great service either! My complaint is that I received a charge from TSP*RESERVATIONCOUNTER on my Chase card for $112.57 as well as the bonafide charges from a Hampton Inn [Hilton ownded] in Naples, FL (August 2012) for the rooms I actually reserved and for which I paid $92.40 per room upon checkout. During this week of travel, I had consistently reserved either a 2-bedroom suite, or 2 hotel rooms. When I disputed the TSP charge with Chase--they actually sided with TSP! Apparently, they simply gave Chase some "itinerary number" for 1 room at the same Hampton in Naples--which somehow convinced this corporate giant that it was a valid charge and they re-billed me! So, even with my statement indicating I had paid Hampton for both rooms at checkout, I still had the TSP charge hanging there for one room? My statement had all the evidence of each hotel booking/payment for our vacation-- and I have the backup receipts indicating that we did not EVER book a single, standard hotel room during that time. Now it's the principle of the thing! Since I ALWAYS reserve with Hilton Honors, I am extrememly curious as to how TSP got this information in the first place? I'm still fighting with Chase on this frustrating turn of events.

The same thing happened to me. I made two reservations at a hotel where I regularly stay - and with whom I get great rates. I thought I was calling the hotel's number and when someone answered "Reservations" I gave them all of the information I needed for my stay. It was not until I got to the hotel that I realized that I had made a reservation through Expedia.
Then trying to cancel my NEXT reservation was a nightmare. They said that I could cancel through the e-mail that they sent me. They never did send me an e-mail confirming my reservation.
I cannot describe how much I detest this company!
They got an extra $36 of mine (difference between what I usually pay and what they charged me) but they never will again!
BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY!

A BUNCH OF LYING THIEVES. EVERYTHING YOU SEE HERE IS TRUE. PLEASE LISTEN TO THESE REVIEWS AND DON'T GET SCREWED OVER LIKE I DID.

This company is an absolute ripoff. I tried to get a confirmation to print on their web site and couldn't. Then I tried to cancel online within a half hour of the booking and nothing. I tried calling their phone numbers listed on the site and got nothing but voicemail with no option to speak with someone or leave a message. I even tried emailing from their site. My next call after trying all this - again within about an hour of booking - was to call my credit card company. Despite disputing with my credit card company twice and speaking directly with the hotel involved to verify that I had attempted to cancel the reservation (before the arrival date), this charge has now been put back on my card. Of course they have no record of my attempt to cancel - they have no way to do it once you have put in a reservation.
Someone needs to close these guys down!

I booked a hotel room in Medford, Oregon through a legitimate hotel website. When I realized that the hotel did not have a pool I decided to cancel the reservation. I googled the hotel and came up with a phone number that appeared to be for the hotel. When I called to cancel the room the person took down my confirmation number and said he cancelled the room. He then proceeded to book me a new hotel room. Not until a day later did I find out that he had never canceled the original reservation and had no way of doing so because it had not been made through reservation counter.com. I would have never booked another room if I was not under the impression that my original reservation had been canceled. I was mislead to think that I was dealing with the hotel, but was actually dealing with a third party reservation booking company. I called reservation counter.com, but was eventually hung up on after asking to speak with another person. The woman said that she had never heard of anything like this before and it was very "rare". Pretty sure there is no way that I am going to get my money back for the hotel room that I never stayed in. Waiting to hear back from the original hotel to see if they will take pity on me. I could not dispute the charge for the hotel room that reservation counter.com booked because I actually stayed in that room. I could only dispute the charge for the original hotel room I booked even though it was not their fault because they never knew that I wanted to cancel. Beware of the phone numbers listed under the ad section in search engines because they are not always the numbers for the actual hotels.

It was very similar experience for me. I was referred to this firm by a hotel chain that had no rooms in my area of need, and thought that I was dealing with a second firm with a property nearby. It turned out to be these folks. I did have to prepay, and I got no confirming email. Later I made a 2d reservation for my son's family -- for the same type of room, same time slot -- at that 2d hotel. I got the same price, did not have to prepay. The hotel told me the booking came through Expedia. But Expedia denied this, could not get me an email confirmation, said I'd have to deal with the Expedia "affiliate network" involved, at another point called a "partner." It seems plausible that fees are being split several ways from the extra money this firm brings in with this quasi-legitimate business model. Only the actual hotel loses ... and the customer, who has to prepay, gets no award points, and can likely expect less favorable room location. This firm billed to our credit card as "TRAVRES*Rescounter.com [protected] WA, " but obviously flies numerous flags of convenience.

I was the guy who booked the room in Medford. I disputed the claim with the check card company that I used to book the rooms. Unbelievably they refunded my money. I could not believe it. I could not dispute the charge for the room that I booked with reservation counter because I actually stayed in that room. But the original room that I booked with the actual hotel company was disputed and upheld because I never stayed there. If you want to get any money back try to dispute the charge with the credit card company.

I called the Holiday Inn in Orange Park, Florida to make reservations when I was unknowingly transferred to reservationcounter.com. The room rate I was quoted and the rate online was $87/night. I called Holiday Inn 10 days later to confirm my reservation prior to check in and was informed that my reservation was made through Expedia. I explained to Holiday that I did not use Expedia but in fact had called the chain directly. The representative stated they would not transfer a customer to a 3rd party. What appeared on my charge account was reservation counter and I was charged $97/night. This website/3rd party booking agency is a SCAM. I spoke to Pablo (a “manager”) with reservationcounter.com who stated he could not refund the increased charge and was extremely rude and unprofessional. This is a warning to all consumers DO NOT USE reservationcounter.com THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS!

This company is a scam. They charged my credit card and I didn't make reservations. Now I have to file a dispute to get my money back. SCAM

As everyone has commented this company is not on the legit side, they somehow have inserted themselves between the hotel chains and places like Expedia and yourself. They do in fact claim to work for the hotel chain and make you think you are speaking directly with the hotel you are making a reservation with. They are immediately charging your credit card so you make it extremely hard to cancel you the transaction. They you have to dispute the charge and depending on what happen like did you or did not actually stay at the hotel. Also as other have noted they charged use to be under Reseverationcounter.com and TSP Reservationcounter.com today they are now charging your card under ESCOUNTER.com. and this company can not be found on the internet it is just another company this company created since it old name is obviously getting a bad rap due to websites like this. My wife and I are both season travelers and usually book directly with hotel chains and this companies website came up as a Marriott actually website and they did a very good job of making it look like they were the actually Marriott location we were booking with, we even asked about out Marriott rewards and they said they had it and it was on the reservation. However, when at the hotel and asked if they had the reward card they said no and it could not be added since the reservation was not booked directly. Marriott just said the reservations was made by the third part. As others also found out if you did in fact book directly the cost of the room would have been far less this company is adding fees to your booking and as we learned the Hotels will not do anything for your nor will the recognize you as a frequent user so they can not extend you any benefits. The only thing people can do is file complains with their state's AG and any other agency who deal with this kind of fraud.

Here is some information about this company they appear to be a UT company but their state registration has expired https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=7177186-0151 http://www.bizapedia.com/ut/RESERVATION-COUNTER-LLC.html People need to file complaints with the Utah AG officer since they have jurisdiction over this company

For those who want to file a real complaint, the best place it with Utah. http://consumerprotection.utah.gov/complaints/manual.html I would recommend anyone having issue with the company you should file a formal complain the state of Utah.