Hamburg Hotel Billing Dispute
Hello everyone!
I would like to request some advice from those who are currently living in Germany.
Back in 2025 I made a reservation online at a Hamburg hotel for 10 nights for 3 adults. The total was around 1,800 euros. I received an email confirming the reservation which also included the total price to be paid at the Hotel.
This month, I arrived at the hotel. I was very tired because of the long trip. I did the check in at the front desk and they charged my card. Next morning I noticed the email from Bank of America but it turns out they charged an extra 500 euros.
I spoke to the front desk and they said that the initial price I got last year when I made the reservation online was wrong. They had an issue with their system and that's why the total price was lower. They said the new total that I was charged was the correct price.
I told them that I don't think it's fair to do that because the guest comes to the hotel with the assumption that the price they got when they made the initial reservation is the correct price. If I had known about this before the cancellation window closed a month before the check in date, I would've cancelled and made a new reservation somewhere else. They claimed they sent an email informing about the new charges but I never received anything from them. If they didn't receive a response they should've called me to confirm that I was okay with the new rate but they said they didn't need to do that because the email was enough. The only email I have is the original confirmation email I received a few minutes after I made the reservation online last year. They said they sent me an email from a different email address to inform me about the issue which most likely was flagged as Spam because it didn't come from IHG. They showed me the email that they allegedly sent me but I never received that email.
I contacted IHG Reservations at their 1-800 number and the Guest Relations department agreed with me that they should honor the rates originally shown on their website. They told me the hotel modified my reservation 1 day after I made it last year to increase the rate. They spoke to the hotel to try to convince them to honor the original rate but the hotel management refused to do it.
I've read that Germany has good consumer protection laws but I don't know if they also protect tourists. I don't want to do a credit card chargeback because that's the nuclear option and I don't even know if I have a good winnable case, especially with Bank of America, which are known to have a bad dispute resolution process.
Is there anything I can do to recover the extra 500 euros that they charged me?
That amount might not be a lot for some people but it is for me.
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!