I called to cancel a duplicate hotel room at the Sheraton, using the information noted on the confirmation receipt I received not two hours ago. This same information is noted on my original confirmation email sent back in early January.
I understand not wanting the online booking form to be abused, but not having the option to cancel online is kind of annoying.Cancellation Policy - Hotel Changes/Cancellations
Contact Experient at 800-967-8852 (US & Canada) or 847-996-5832 (International) or via email at animeboston@experient-inc.com for cancellations or changes. Please see your hotel cancellation policy to see when you need to start contacting the hotel directly.
Anyway, I called and spoke to an agent, using the Experient number noted above, who explained that there was no way that she could cancel my room over the phone and that everything had to be done in writing via email.
While I haven't been charged yet, it makes me really uncomfortable knowing that there's some disconnect between parties when, as I said, I just got this email a couple of hours ago. It's possible I spoke to some n00b agent, but jumping through hoops to hopefully cancel my room is really concerning.
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Edit (2/23):
I sent them an email following this post, received an automated reply that I would hear back from someone in 1-2 business days on my "inquiry."
In the mean time, I tried calling again and got a different agent. Unfortunately, it's still the same song and dance that I can't cancel my room without written confirmation via email. Agent explained, after "speaking to his manager" that the wording on the e-mail was misleading and that they cannot break protocol by cancelling rooms over the phone.
Seriously?