1. First, I booked a Deluxe King Room online, which Ctrip showed as having the largest area (some hotels list a range, but this one specified an exact 28.6 square meters). However, the room I was assigned upon arrival was a Cloud King Room (26.9 square meters). I only realized this myself by looking at the fire escape plan behind the door, which showed my room was the smallest and a lower-grade room than what I booked on Ctrip. The hotel did not inform me beforehand.
2. I went downstairs to the front desk. The front desk staff asked if my room included a sofa, stating that if it did, it would be a Deluxe King Room. However, my actual room matched the pictures of the Cloud King Room listed on Ctrip. The hotel offered no further explanation, so I requested Ctrip's intervention.
3. I uploaded photos of my room, the hotel's fire escape plan, and the room images from the official website to Ctrip. Ctrip apologized, acknowledging that my request was reasonable, and began negotiating with the hotel. While I was on the phone with Ctrip's customer service, the hotel front desk knocked on my door, offering to show me other Deluxe King Rooms and provide an explanation.
4. After communicating with Ctrip, they told me the hotel said a Deluxe King Room was now available and I could switch rooms. I explained that I had booked a Deluxe King Room on their official website, implying I shouldn't have to wait for someone else to check out to get the room I paid for.
5. Ultimately, Ctrip deemed my request reasonable and offered an apology and compensation. I stated that by the time the issue was discovered and resolved, I had already been in the room for nearly two hours, and I didn't want to inconvenience the hotel by switching rooms. The matter ended there.
From start to finish, we resolved the issue calmly and rationally. Considering the scarcity of rooms during the holiday period, we booked in advance, and we didn't expect such deceptive behavior. We specifically chose a slightly larger room because it was a pet-friendly hotel, so there's no need to dismiss our concerns by saying there's only a small price difference between a higher and lower grade room. Before checking in, the only references we had were the pictures and the area stated. (If you cannot provide what's advertised, to avoid disputes, you could consider listing a range like 28.6-29.8 square meters, as other hotels do, to prevent misunderstandings.) The discrepancy between the pictures and reality is not the consumer's fault, and post-event haggling and shirking responsibility should not be your way of resolving issues.
Finally, I offer my experience for everyone's reference, as a factual account without any bias or subjective factors. Happy National Day, everyone! 🎉
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