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With hotel prices rising, here's what to do if your reservation goes up

Mission Pacific Hotel, a Joie de Vivre Hotel, and The Seabird Resort, a Destination Hotel, to Debut in Oceanside, Calif.
Posted at 5:14 AM, Jun 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-15 07:12:44-04

(WXYZ) — Airfares, rental cars and hotel rooms are all going up in price right now, but what if your hotel raises the low rate you book months ago?

That's what happened to Latisha Walker, who got a great deal on a Miami Beach hotel for just $411 for a 3-night girls getaway.

She booked it through the travel site Agoda.com.

"It was booked, it was paid, I got a confirmation number," Walker said.

But when they arrived in Miami, she got news the hotel had canceled their reservation.

"They said that was through a third party. They said we canceled with that third party back in January," she said.

A hotel clerk said the low rate was in error since it was spring break season and the pricing was too cheap.

The worst part is that she said she didn't know the rate was going up until she arrived at the hotel. They ended up having to pay triple the price – $1,939.14.

CNBC said hotels nationwide are raising rates back up to pre-pandemic levels this year.

Travel experts say to protect yourself, avoid reservations that say rates subject to change, save a copy of your booking receipt and if you prepay, it's a contract so they have to honor it.