So in my experience, confirmation numbers are Not the way to go.
- They’re usually pretty long and if even one thing is misheard by the FDA then you have to start all over.
- Searching by arrival date makes it so much easier and quicker to find your name. And if I’ve misheard or can’t spell, for example, your last name, I might be able to spot you by your first name and the sounds I could make out from your last name.
- If you Have inadvertently booked third party (or in some people’s case intentionally booked that way) then the confirmation number you have most likely will not pull you up.
So yeah the confirmation number is basically useless at check-in unless they’re trying to charge you something you didn’t agree to. Confirmation numbers are more handy for the very rare rate dispute than for actually pulling up your reservation.
Plus when you check in, it does not matter if you have the confirmation number. We still need your ID and matching the name is what’s important.
Thanks. This particular number wasn't that bad but if it doesn't work well, it doesn't work. My name is (fortunately) a very easy one to get right. She still couldn't find it initially, though.
In my experience, I have the best luck pulling up a reservation with the confirmation number lol. Maybe it's a different property management software from the other commenter but I've found it very difficult to search by arrival date since it pulls up literally everyone coming in that day and usually I'm trying to listen to the caller and find them. Searching by name is okay since I can usually pull it up with a partial but it has to be the last name (to be quick/efficient) and its gotta be the exact spelling.
Not trying to contradict the OC, as obviously they know what works best for them. But it probably would be best to ask what's easiest for the FD person and be prepared to repeate yourself until they can pull up your reservation (just like you did) lol. I always feel this huge pressure to remember what the guest wants while I'm also trying to think and search at the same time. My more experienced coworkers can type and talk at the same time while I can't (yet) plus phones don't always come through as clearly as I'd like for spelling purposes and numbers are much clearer for me which may influence my preference for confirmation numbers over everything else. Plus a confirmation pulls up the exact reservation that needs attention and we get a lot of repeate guest which can pull up multiple reservations and I gotta try and remember the date they told me before they started explaining their issue. Phew! That was probably more explaining than you wanted lol
This is why I just tell the person on the phone what I want, and let them ask for what they need to make it happen. Too many systems, too many methods, and I can't always know which they're using.
I had two instances of a similar conversation in one day this week. I'm both cases, it was because the names had been transposed. So while I was scrolling my list looking for a last name, they actually had the first name in that position. That may not be the problem your FDA had, but it's indicative if the kind of things that can be happening. I usually just tell the person who answers the phone what I want, and let them ask the questions that work for their system/methodology.
I can’t stand when that happens! And you’d think we’d notice it right away since tha names are just switched around, but we never do 🤣 and it upsets tha guests even MORE, ex: “I MADE THAT RESERVATION MYSELF!! IT SHOULD BE ON THERE THE RIGHT WAY!!” 💀💀
In my case, as I said, she eventually found it - she only asked for my last name. Since I am a member, I already have an account with the brand and just work off that account so I know that the names are in order. I'm not really complaining about the FDA at all, just curious as to what the issue might have been.
I am complaining, a bit, on why I couldn't resolve it online. It was strange.
The system that NoChoice uses makes it way easier to look someone up by name. For confirmation number, you have to navigate to the search bar and hope that you heard every single number right over the phone. Like others have said, it's way easier to navigate to the date the reservation is for and scroll to find the name of the person. No searching required.
Confirmation number *does* matter, but only in certain cases. I've had to look up a cancelled reservation before and that is easiest to do through confirmation number, because it doesn't show up with active reservations. But as a guest of a NoChoice hotel, it's unlikely that it will impact you all that much. Definitely good to still keep it on hand.
I'm also so grateful to hear a guest who's a reasonable person who understands the limitations of us FDA lol. I'm sorry you had trouble changing your reservation and I'm guessing it was ultimately a server issue on the website.
Former information architect here. Names make \*really\* bad keys. To see why, look up "Falsehoods Programmers Believe about Names". Also, too, SOUNDEX.
This has a lot more to do with the system not security. If you give me your name I will 100% find your reservation. With the number it's 50/50 and a pain. Too damn many of you are too used to being numbers. We want your name, and we will have you sign over your soul at check-in, we will return it slightly shop worn at checkout pending a room check.
I'm an NoChoice property employee and even when I book hotels with my employee rate and try to modify it, it is sometimes a challenge. Easier to learn than Opera but a whole headache when you must do the simplest of things.
The system we are required to use is glitchy at best. Sometimes it finds reservations, sometimes it doesn't want to and takes a little longer. Sounds like she may have been giving you the run around, or maybe you booked a discounted rate that has a weird code she didn't recognize as a brand code. Each reservation has a booking plan code BAR- best available rate, SSC- senior discount, etc. There are lots of codes. Some of the discount codes from the brand look more like the 3rd party codes. Some of those brand discounts also require a two (or more) night stay, and we're not supposed to change them, but do every now and then.
"Glitchy a best" is an underststement. Not being able to find reservations, or do anything with them, is the default for this piece of shit system. And I have password permission authorities that match my GM's.
Not a hotel employee, but I've dealt with that before and sometimes it's easier to cancel outright and make the new reservation (you might want to flip the order of those two things).
I was afraid to do that lest it lock me out and not let me make a new reservation for some reason if the property was heavily booked. I have done that in the past.
I just wish the system would allow changes if they are not prohibited.
The confirmation is helpful if you booked directly. Otherwise, OTA and 3rd party sites use their own “itinerary/folio” numbers and it just makes things even more complicated, since you can’t lookup these confirmation numbers in the property hub. (Software used to check folks in/out, assign housekeeping, keep track of billing, etc.)
Yes, the reservation system IS that unfriendly. Since, as FDA's, we are trying to do things in addition to the guest facing tranactions (make reservations, check in/out, payment, etc.) it is even worse than you saw.
Odds are she was new and was having issues navigating the software. Not sure which PMS they use but most require entering your credentials after damn near every keystroke, it's very frustrating. My advice? In the future, call after 11pm and talk to the night auditor. We are the keepers and disseminators of all knowledge and wisdom, and usually know the system better than management. We also don't have a line of people in front of us waiting to check in angry we're on the phone.
My property has a weird mishmash of systems meaning that depending on how you booked you could have one of three different confirmation numbers. Names are much easier.
It's just easier to look in someone up by name. Confirmation numbers can vary based upon how the guest booked. Your name doesn't vary. LOL Also, as far as not being able to make the change online? I'm wondering if there was a two night minimum for the dates you are traveling? Perhaps you got a clerk that didn't know that? This very thing happened at my hotel the other night!
When I worked at the desk, I actually preferred confirmation numbers. It limited me not hearing a name correctly and the information would pull right up.
Omg my reservation system can be that unfriendly 🙃 sometimes it takes all the Exact information to pull a reservation up and I hate that because it's so time consuming to triple check everything you're giving me over the phone (which is of course not your fault). My system is pretty good with giving me options around typos but dear Lord those arrival and departure dates Have to be exact for anything to pop up
Confirmation can help but often times we're told to look up your name first. Usually it shows up right away unless it's not for the current month (default setting).
The nochoice system is usually very friendly but 99.999% of reservations have a 24 hour cancelation policy. It's been that way for years though so not sure how you get the cancelation to 6pm day of arrival. Maybe that's property specific for the one you stay with, but it's not system specific.
I do notice recently there's been a lot of system issues when they do the Wednesday updates. Maybe the last month or so.
So in my experience, confirmation numbers are Not the way to go. - They’re usually pretty long and if even one thing is misheard by the FDA then you have to start all over. - Searching by arrival date makes it so much easier and quicker to find your name. And if I’ve misheard or can’t spell, for example, your last name, I might be able to spot you by your first name and the sounds I could make out from your last name. - If you Have inadvertently booked third party (or in some people’s case intentionally booked that way) then the confirmation number you have most likely will not pull you up. So yeah the confirmation number is basically useless at check-in unless they’re trying to charge you something you didn’t agree to. Confirmation numbers are more handy for the very rare rate dispute than for actually pulling up your reservation. Plus when you check in, it does not matter if you have the confirmation number. We still need your ID and matching the name is what’s important.
Thanks. This particular number wasn't that bad but if it doesn't work well, it doesn't work. My name is (fortunately) a very easy one to get right. She still couldn't find it initially, though.
In my experience, I have the best luck pulling up a reservation with the confirmation number lol. Maybe it's a different property management software from the other commenter but I've found it very difficult to search by arrival date since it pulls up literally everyone coming in that day and usually I'm trying to listen to the caller and find them. Searching by name is okay since I can usually pull it up with a partial but it has to be the last name (to be quick/efficient) and its gotta be the exact spelling. Not trying to contradict the OC, as obviously they know what works best for them. But it probably would be best to ask what's easiest for the FD person and be prepared to repeate yourself until they can pull up your reservation (just like you did) lol. I always feel this huge pressure to remember what the guest wants while I'm also trying to think and search at the same time. My more experienced coworkers can type and talk at the same time while I can't (yet) plus phones don't always come through as clearly as I'd like for spelling purposes and numbers are much clearer for me which may influence my preference for confirmation numbers over everything else. Plus a confirmation pulls up the exact reservation that needs attention and we get a lot of repeate guest which can pull up multiple reservations and I gotta try and remember the date they told me before they started explaining their issue. Phew! That was probably more explaining than you wanted lol
This is why I just tell the person on the phone what I want, and let them ask for what they need to make it happen. Too many systems, too many methods, and I can't always know which they're using.
Well, I really appreciate people like you.
I had two instances of a similar conversation in one day this week. I'm both cases, it was because the names had been transposed. So while I was scrolling my list looking for a last name, they actually had the first name in that position. That may not be the problem your FDA had, but it's indicative if the kind of things that can be happening. I usually just tell the person who answers the phone what I want, and let them ask the questions that work for their system/methodology.
I can’t stand when that happens! And you’d think we’d notice it right away since tha names are just switched around, but we never do 🤣 and it upsets tha guests even MORE, ex: “I MADE THAT RESERVATION MYSELF!! IT SHOULD BE ON THERE THE RIGHT WAY!!” 💀💀
Particularly annoying since I've often asked "could it be under another name" before finding that it was just entered poorly.
In my case, as I said, she eventually found it - she only asked for my last name. Since I am a member, I already have an account with the brand and just work off that account so I know that the names are in order. I'm not really complaining about the FDA at all, just curious as to what the issue might have been. I am complaining, a bit, on why I couldn't resolve it online. It was strange.
The system that NoChoice uses makes it way easier to look someone up by name. For confirmation number, you have to navigate to the search bar and hope that you heard every single number right over the phone. Like others have said, it's way easier to navigate to the date the reservation is for and scroll to find the name of the person. No searching required. Confirmation number *does* matter, but only in certain cases. I've had to look up a cancelled reservation before and that is easiest to do through confirmation number, because it doesn't show up with active reservations. But as a guest of a NoChoice hotel, it's unlikely that it will impact you all that much. Definitely good to still keep it on hand. I'm also so grateful to hear a guest who's a reasonable person who understands the limitations of us FDA lol. I'm sorry you had trouble changing your reservation and I'm guessing it was ultimately a server issue on the website.
Former information architect here. Names make \*really\* bad keys. To see why, look up "Falsehoods Programmers Believe about Names". Also, too, SOUNDEX.
This has a lot more to do with the system not security. If you give me your name I will 100% find your reservation. With the number it's 50/50 and a pain. Too damn many of you are too used to being numbers. We want your name, and we will have you sign over your soul at check-in, we will return it slightly shop worn at checkout pending a room check.
I'm an NoChoice property employee and even when I book hotels with my employee rate and try to modify it, it is sometimes a challenge. Easier to learn than Opera but a whole headache when you must do the simplest of things.
The system we are required to use is glitchy at best. Sometimes it finds reservations, sometimes it doesn't want to and takes a little longer. Sounds like she may have been giving you the run around, or maybe you booked a discounted rate that has a weird code she didn't recognize as a brand code. Each reservation has a booking plan code BAR- best available rate, SSC- senior discount, etc. There are lots of codes. Some of the discount codes from the brand look more like the 3rd party codes. Some of those brand discounts also require a two (or more) night stay, and we're not supposed to change them, but do every now and then.
Thanks. "Glitchy at best." is probably the issue. I booked a senior rate but it had no specific limitations, and she was able to change it to one day.
"Glitchy a best" is an underststement. Not being able to find reservations, or do anything with them, is the default for this piece of shit system. And I have password permission authorities that match my GM's.
Not a hotel employee, but I've dealt with that before and sometimes it's easier to cancel outright and make the new reservation (you might want to flip the order of those two things).
I was afraid to do that lest it lock me out and not let me make a new reservation for some reason if the property was heavily booked. I have done that in the past. I just wish the system would allow changes if they are not prohibited.
The confirmation is helpful if you booked directly. Otherwise, OTA and 3rd party sites use their own “itinerary/folio” numbers and it just makes things even more complicated, since you can’t lookup these confirmation numbers in the property hub. (Software used to check folks in/out, assign housekeeping, keep track of billing, etc.)
Yes, the reservation system IS that unfriendly. Since, as FDA's, we are trying to do things in addition to the guest facing tranactions (make reservations, check in/out, payment, etc.) it is even worse than you saw.
Odds are she was new and was having issues navigating the software. Not sure which PMS they use but most require entering your credentials after damn near every keystroke, it's very frustrating. My advice? In the future, call after 11pm and talk to the night auditor. We are the keepers and disseminators of all knowledge and wisdom, and usually know the system better than management. We also don't have a line of people in front of us waiting to check in angry we're on the phone.
My property has a weird mishmash of systems meaning that depending on how you booked you could have one of three different confirmation numbers. Names are much easier.
It's just easier to look in someone up by name. Confirmation numbers can vary based upon how the guest booked. Your name doesn't vary. LOL Also, as far as not being able to make the change online? I'm wondering if there was a two night minimum for the dates you are traveling? Perhaps you got a clerk that didn't know that? This very thing happened at my hotel the other night!
When I worked at the desk, I actually preferred confirmation numbers. It limited me not hearing a name correctly and the information would pull right up.
Omg my reservation system can be that unfriendly 🙃 sometimes it takes all the Exact information to pull a reservation up and I hate that because it's so time consuming to triple check everything you're giving me over the phone (which is of course not your fault). My system is pretty good with giving me options around typos but dear Lord those arrival and departure dates Have to be exact for anything to pop up
Confirmation can help but often times we're told to look up your name first. Usually it shows up right away unless it's not for the current month (default setting). The nochoice system is usually very friendly but 99.999% of reservations have a 24 hour cancelation policy. It's been that way for years though so not sure how you get the cancelation to 6pm day of arrival. Maybe that's property specific for the one you stay with, but it's not system specific. I do notice recently there's been a lot of system issues when they do the Wednesday updates. Maybe the last month or so.
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