These complaints are crazy.

1. I created Hotel Express in 1986 and sold it in 1992 - I have not owned this company for over 20 Years. It is a Great Company and is in 60 countries worldwide. When I did own it I only sold whosales at $3.95 each less than $4 -- I had 8,000 distributors that sold the membership for $49.95

The company with over 4 Million Members and less than 40 complaints is doing much better than any other company with 4 Million Members - Come On People - Join the REAL WORLD -- ONE complaint per 100,000 Transactions What a Joke that People actually beleive that a company that gets less than one complaint per 100,000 members is Bad --

Most complaints are on issues with the Hotels and each hotel general manager or owner signed a legal contract to provide the 50% discount. The ACTUAL COMPLAINT needs to registered against the Individual Hotel not the publisher of the Hotel Program Hotels Etc or Hotel Express.

As a Publisher of the program it staes in the fron of every membership book, if you have a complaint take it up with the Hotel that Signed the Agreement to offer the discount. The hotels do not pay anything to Hotel Express or Hotels Etc, they get their listing for FREE for offering the discount.

Ask yourself this " If a Hotel Runs an ad in the Los Angeles Times" then refuses to abide by their offer DO YOU Place a complaint against the Los Angeles Times? Of Course NOT!!!! The Same with Hotels Etc and Hotel Express. I sold Hotelx Etc to Shawn Pigg in Atlanta GA over 10 years ago.

4 Million Members 3,999,971 Satisfied Members 39 unhappy -- WOW and this is BAD??? Go Figure. Keith Monen

These complaints are crazy.

1. I created Hotel Express in 1986 and sold it in 1992 - I have not owned this company for over 20 Years. It is a Great Company and is in 60 countries worldwide. When I did own it I only sold whosales at $3.95 each less than $4 -- I had 8,000 distributors that sold the membership for $49.95

The company with over 4 Million Members and less than 40 complaints is doing much better than any other company with 4 Million Members - Come On People - Join the REAL WORLD -- ONE complaint per 100,000 Transactions What a Joke that People actually beleive that a company that gets less than one complaint per 100,000 members is Bad --

Most complaints are on issues with the Hotels and each hotel general manager or owner signed a legal contract to provide the 50% discount. The ACTUAL COMPLAINT needs to registered against the Individual Hotel not the publisher of the Hotel Program Hotels Etc or Hotel Express.

As a Publisher of the program it staes in the fron of every membership book, if you have a complaint take it up with the Hotel that Signed the Agreement to offer the discount. The hotels do not pay anything to Hotel Express or Hotels Etc, they get their listing for FREE for offering the discount.

Ask yourself this " If a Hotel Runs an ad in the Los Angeles Times" then refuses to abide by their offer DO YOU Place a complaint against the Los Angeles Times? Of Course NOT!!!! The Same with Hotels Etc and Hotel Express. I sold Hotelx Etc to Shawn Pigg in Atlanta GA over 10 years ago.

4 Million Members 3,999,971 Satisfied Members 39 unhappy -- WOW and this is BAD??? Go Figure. Keith Monen

I just wanted to say that I was an affiliate it with hotelsetc and they are a very decent and reputable company and Shawn the CEO is top notch decent guy who cares about his company and customers, anybody saying this is a scam is just an angry pissed off individual who probably didn't get the world and i'm sure is pissed off at many other companies they have dealt with. This is a joke, a scam give me a break 4 million members. 

Im not sure why so many people are dissapointed with "Hotels etc.", so im here to tell you my encounter with the company. A couple of my friends are signed up to the club and recommended i should join, since theyd saved quite a lot of money by being a member, and thought i would benefit.

I initially joined and loved it, they have loads of different appealing deals, many of which i capitalised on! You can even see on their website the amounts of money you could save on certain hotels if people would just look.... Thankyou for reading, and i hope everyone has a pleasent experience with the company.

We are thinking of starting to work with Hotels etc, as the idea seems attractive and not necessarily has to be a scam.
A hotel works with commissions, which are somewhere between 10-20%. This means if the hotel 
receives a booking of $100 then the hotel pays to the intermediar lets say $15 commission.
Or the intermediar gets directly paid by the customer, and the intermediar pays to the hotel $85.

In the case of Hotels etc, we give a discount coupon of $15, and the guest pays $85 to the hotel.
So instead that the guest pays $ 100 ( which he would pay though a standard channel like Hotels.com )
he pays only $85, so actually he got a profit. The hotel still gets it's $85, and 'Hotels etc' makes its profit by selling the Discount card for a fixed price to the customer. I would say it is a win-win for everybody, and I think I will start working with them.

Thank you for your report and I am sorry to here about your experience.

Allow me to go over a few things with you.

1. If you read the other comments then you would of noticed that my information is publicly displayed because we have nothing to hide.

2. If you called any other number than 1-877-967-7283 then you did not call us.

3. You mentioned a guy answered the phone which makes me believe that you called or have been calling a distributor and not us because we only have ladies that answer our lines.

4. If you received an old scratched up card then you most likely purchased from a distributor and it must of been an old card, because our cards for the last 6 years has a very nice design with a picture of a hotel in the background.

5. If you purchased from a Spanish commercial, that was not us. It is a website called hotelsetctvo.com. Which was one of our old distributors that is no longer selling our product.

If you or anyone purchased from a Spanish radio or tv station and you are owed a refund , please email shawn@hotelsetc.com so I can help you get it back.

The issue that most members have is our 50% off hotels because the property gets sold, new management is brought in and the old management was not informed of the agreement, however with new and improved technology we are working with our properties to resolve that with promo codes or private booking numbers.

Most of our providers have switched to our new system but this leaves another issue. If you don't tell the property the code that is listed then you will not get a discount.

I would recommend calling our office number at 18779677283 and speak directly with us so we can resolve it.

We have 10,000 distributors around the globe and sometimes we have a distributor that does not operate to our standards so we shut them down. If that does occur then we need to hear from you so we can help you.

Also if you do not put a name on your post it makes me feel that your report is fake. Leave your name so we can help. Without a name it makes me feel that you could be an ex-employee that is upset because they lost his or her job. So for future reference if you are going to say bad things about a good company then don't sign your post As RIP,which also makes me feel this is a false complaint.

I really like this website but it should be a law that people have to sign their real name so we know if it is a real complaint.

This is what we are going to do to resolve this issue. All of our hotels will be entered into a booking portal which will guarantee your discount 100% of the time. Right now we have millions of card carrying members and only and handful of complaints, so our system and discounts do work, but we still want to help those that need help, so please call us before posting bad comments and trying to ruin a good company.

Thanks and have a great day

You people really think you'll be getting away with this much longer?  Reading all the recent reports against your FAKE company gives me no doubt  of it. 

I purchased the membership card and once I received it- that was the first red flag. The quality of the card was horrible! The card was all scratched, and the letters were scrapped. Looked like something made and designed by a cheap company form China.

I contacted all the Hotels in my State that were on the website, but none knew of Hotels etc. 

I even spoke with Hotel owners, and one told me to stay away from them, because they we're a scam company. Apparently, other people had called for the Hotel etc discounts. 

Mad and upset, I called them on the phone. The same guy picked up the phone. I explained what had happened and that I wanted a refund asap. He changed his customer support tone to a rude tone saying: this is ridiculous! We'll send you a refund in 30- 60 days, and hung up on me!

So I visited my bank, reported them. And got my money back instantly!

My advice stay away from these people! They are rude, unprofessional and after your hard earned money! STAY AWAY! 

I have already reported them on this website. I will now take the next step in reporting them to the police and gov! 

What you do is illegal! And I will make sure to spread out the word to everyone of my 2,000 + co workers who you people are! And hopefully those 2,000 + will tell more and more people!

I am willing to be contacted by the media, a consumer advocate, lawyer or government authority to help further my cause or to help with an investigation against the business or individual I am reporting. Send me the contact information if a lawyer is interested in my particular case or is possibly starting a class-action lawsuit. 

RIP Hotels etc

I must say after reading these Scam Reports about HE, it just blew my mind.

I use to work for Hotels Etc and even tho I do not work for them any longer, I felt it is my duty to express my opinion about Hotels Etc and there products.

I worked for HE for several years and happened to had the experience to work with Mr. Shawn Pigg. 

Mr. Pigg is not only the most honest person I HAVE EVER MET, but he cares very much about his company. He takes pride in what he does and so does each and everyone of his employees (team as he calls them). 

I have watched Mr. Pigg delete every discount in the system and start over from scratch because he felt that he could do better and offer better. For someone to do what he has done with Hotels Etc. is unreal and I personally think you are a fool if you are even attempting to report Hotels Etc. 

I just had a chance to read Mr. Piggs reply on this page and it just makes me truly realize how lazy people are. The system is very easy and for you to experience an issue over and over again means you are not FOLLOWING directions. . It is not hard to do. Call the number or visit the site and give them the special promo code, corporate code, or discount code, that is required. Some you have to mention you are a member and some you have to print out a coupon. 

For someone to say they sold you a membership card to something that does not exist, I am going to say that is the most far fetched story I have heard and as for discounts on airfare, Mr.Pigg has not allowed anyone in the company to promote airfare discounts in 5 years, so I really have to argue with that.

Now lets go to the next point.. Refund.. If you are going to accuse a company of not giving you back a refund, I would check your statement before you place derogatory marks like this on the internet. 
Hotels Etc does not sell the membership card on their site and they have not done so in many many years. It would be wise to look at your receipt and call the company with whom you paid. 


Listen I don't work with Hotels Etc. any longer and I have not spoke with Mr.Pigg since I left, but one thing for sure is that HE is a great program and I think everyone should have it.. Even if you only use it once per year, it is a life time of savings.

I saved a boat load of money on Restaurants, hotels, and theme parks, movies and attractions. .I don't fly so I don't know what kind of prices they have on flights, but I do no that they do not promote airline discounts anywhere on their site. If you heard something with airline discounts then it must of been spanish and was not ran by Hotels Etc.. 

This is my point of view on this report rather you like it or not. God Bless

I really appreciate the feedback that we receive from my members, good or bad. There are a few things that I want to bring to your attention.

1. If you purchased from a Spanish T.V show then you did not purchase from Hotels Etc. Inc

2. If you are dialing a Spanish phone number then you are not calling Hotels Etc. Inc

3. If you are not calling 1-877-967-7283 then you are not calling Hotels Etc., Inc

4. If you have an issue with a discount did you report it? If not then how do we know it is not working?

5. Did you read any other posts on this site? Do you see my email? Why did you not reach out to me direct so I could help you?

6. I am not saying you are wrong, I am saying we are not perfect but we try very hard and that is why we have millions of satisfied members.

7. There is also a contact form on our website at www.hotelsetc.com which you can fill out and I promise you will get a reply...why? Because I personally look at every single customer service email that comes into this company. Why? This is how I know what we can do to improve our system to better prove to YOU that our system works.

8. People that are part of Hotels Etc., Inc knows that I am personally involved in day to day operations even with thousands of distributors and millions of card carrying members.

9. I don't know any other way to explain our great great customer service and great company Except saying you have direct contact to the CEO to try to resolve the issue. My email is shawn@hotelsetc.com

Let me ask you a question. How many CEO's of a company as big as Hotels Etc., Inc would put there email for anyone and everyone? Now that is great customer service. Have a great day!

My family & I have been using the Hotels Etc Gold Card since 1997 when Shawn Pigg took over the company. We travel 2-3 times per month even if it is just a weekend Beach trip to the Oregon Coast. We have saved thousands of dollars on our travels such as saving $60 per night on a 3 day stay in Seaside, Oregon on the 4th of July. We saved over $50.00 per ticket on the Beattles Vegas show, sitting in the 3rd row. I can list you discounts over and over that my family has gotten. Anybody who slams a company that works as hard as Hotels Etc to get you the best discounts and does not have the guts to enter their  name makes them the scam.  I have purchased a card for everyone in my immediate family and they tell me all the time about the great discounts they get. I love comparing my discounts with every other travel company on the web and I beat them everytime! I would be glad to challenge any other company to match Hotels Etc prices with a one time price! Bring it on!

sincerely,

Richard Samuels

I bought a membership card to use when I travel, to get hotel or to rent a car.

The membership is good for nothing  the places I tried don't know anything about this. When I called customer service the people to who I spoke with, just said I will find out and I call you back that never happened.

I want my money back and those companies out of business or stop them from ripped us off.

First I would like to thank you for posting this because it simply shows we are a real company.

My name is Shawn Pigg and I am the CEO of Hotels Etc. I am also the one who invested a great deal of money to acquire the discounts that we have in our system. Each discount in our system has agreed to be part of our program and agreed to honor the discount listed.

If you we're having issues did you report them to us? We are unable to look into the issue if we don't know about it.

There is also an instructional video in the members area which shows you how to use your membership. Each discount provider offer their own discount instructions which is very important to follow. I can tell you that I do not think we have any properties that you can just show up to and get a discount. Typically there is a promo code or contact person you need to mention.

We may have 1 every now and then that does not honor the discount and we delete them from our system, but I have never heard someone following directions be turned down 8 times.

I took a look in our CRM and I could not find any notes on you or anyone calling in and requesting support in regards to this issue.

Our office is there for you. My staff is very trained to help you use our directory and we want to help you save your money, that is why we are here.

Thank you again and have a great day!

I have never written a bad comment in my life, but I have to for Hotels etc. 

At first I was so excited and all because of all they offered. 
We we're leaving for Florida a week before I found out about Hotels etc, so I decided to join.

When we arrived at FL we went straight to the hotels they said they were affiliated with.
long story short- none of the 8 hotels we went to recognized the Hotels etc (fake) gold membership card. 

Little did they know that I am an attorney.

I have been  a member of Hotels etc. for over 8 years and have saved thousand of dollars.

I have saved money on show tickets such as $55 per ticket (4) for a savings of over $200 for seeing the Elvis show in Vegas.

Terry Fator show, saved $35 per ticket (4) for a savings of $140.00

Comfort Inn I have saved over $3,000 in hotel savings all over the west coast including saving $100 per night on the 4th of July in Seaside,Oregon

I could go on and on about how much money my family and I have saved with this Gold Card over 8 years of being a member. I believe anyone who writes a negative about Hotels Etc has a grudge against them and cannot support the facts. Also you mention the old owners names in this report and they have not been involved with Hotels Etc. in the past 8 years. Shawn Pigg is the CEO and has done a fantastic job in bringing the company forward and saving my family money on movie tickets, tires, restaurants,attractions, hotels, car rentals, groceries and more. What else can you ask for in a card that you pay a one time fee for and it keeps on giving year after year. Anyone not getting their money worth is a FAKE!

One of our contracts is as followed. This contract is from one of the largest hospitality groups on the globe, WHG.

Agreement as followed: WHG participating hotels offer a rate platform designed to improve discounts and overall rate integrity. The discount offer to Hotels Etc members will be 20% below the lowest available unrestricted daily rate accessible to the general population. This would include in most all cases rates available through the call centers, the brand websites, hotels direct, standard GDS rates, and 3rd party distributors such as Expedia and Travelocity. These rates are restricted to select organizations under contract with the global sales department with WHG.  These rates are not offered or available to the general public. Discounts at Non-North American Properties may vary and could b less than 20% off the lowest available rate. Discounts are generated via the use of a special booking ID number assigned to your organization.


If you would like to receive proof of the discounts, please email me personally and I will show you proof before you even consider joining Hotels Etc.

shawn@hotelsetc.com

 We appreciate your input and I apologize that you feel the way you do. Allow me to explain a few things. First of all, I have to disagree with you that our members do not get a discount. We have contracts with companies from all over the globe to provide our members with a discount that is not available to the public. You can view the terms and conditions at www.hotelsetc.com/add

As far as a car rental not giving a discount, that is totally incorrect. We have been dealing with all of our car rental providers for 14 + years. Most likely you were not following the terms and conditions of our discount provider, i.e. enter a discount code, corporate code or preferred rate. If you do not enter the discount code then the discount will not be honored.

Our portal is set up the same across the board. Once you enter the members area you will have four tabs across the top. The first tab is a description about that discount provider, the 2nd tab is discount instructions which explains exactly how to obtain your discount. The 3rd tab is the terms and conditions the company supplies and the 4th tab is the most important. REPORT THIS DISCOUNT. If in the event that you had an issue with a discount supplier, we make it very easy for you to report htem to our research department by filling out 3 lines. Once you submit that form, our staff will contact that providers and try to get the situation resolved. If we are unable to get the situation resolved then we will delete them from the program.

I understand we are unable to please everyone and that is why we offer a 30 day money back guarantee. Now, lets talk about that. First of all, if you were to contact us at the corporate office about any of these issues then we would of assisted you, just as we do over 4 million other members/employees around the globe. As you may notice, Hotelsetc.com does not sell membership cards to the public, you have to go through one of our distributors. So when you purchased you actually purchased from one of our distributors. We do not have any log of your purchase because you bought directly through them. If you returned your membership card as you say you did, and the distributor did not return your money, Why didn't you call us at the corporate office to make us aware of this. As of right now, we do not know who you bought from, and if there is an issue we want to resolve it, but we can't because you did not notify us. So this now leaves other customers at risk of not getting a refund if needed. If you would please send me all the contact information of the company that you received your membership card from i.e. name, address, phone, email or anything else you can provide so we can contact them and resolve this situation.

I just kindly ask you not to bash a company like you did until you exhausted all your options. Just because our membership card does not suite your needs, does not mean it does not suite somebody else needs, wants and desires. Consumers can always see proof that we beat best available rates at www.hotelsetc.com/proof

We also allow you to browse our directory before you even join,
http://hotelsetc.com/guest/view_discount_directory

I would like you to email me the information of the distributor/business you purchased your card from so we assist you in receiving a refund. Once we assist you with the distributor then I kindly ask that you make an updated post on this thread informing others that you were assisted.
If anyone around the globe ever has a problem with Hotels Etc. you can email me directly at shawn@hotelsetc.com and I will personally see to it that the situation is resolved.

We have hundreds of companies that join Hotels Etc. daily. We are a large portal of private discounts. We allow discount providers to submit their company for free as long as they provide our members with a discount that is not available to the public. If they agree, and we confirm their discount is exclusive to our members, then we list them at which point you have access to them. We do have companies that slide into our system sometimes without offering a discount that is better than the public rate, if this occurs, let us know, and we will delete them. Our discounts are not available to the public and our discount database continues to grow daily.

Thank you for your input.
Shawn Pigg
CEO
Hotels Etc.
shawn@hotelsetc.com

I just got my membership to Hotels Etc.  I have been planning a trip to Vegas for a while and thought this membership might help.  I spent many hours going thru every nook and cranny of the site and my conclusion on if it can save you any money...

In a word - nope.

I have found the exact same prices for all the hotels on Orbitz, I4Vegas or other popular sites.  I used their special certificates that claimed up to 30% off and contacted the hotels directly to again find the exact same rates.  One hotel I finally found saved me about $2 (less than a 1% savings).  With my membership fee costing me $40 per year I certainly don't feel it's worth it.  

The car rental rates were the same problem as well.  I finally found one car that was $20 cheaper than Orbitz but then I found a coupon for $20 off so again, no advantage for the membership.

I guess if you're too lazy to do a bit of looking around on your own this site might serve a purpose but for me it was aggravating to find it of no use.

I'd challenge any hotels etc. employee to find me a discount of at least 5% better than what I can find on my own.  Good luck finding 20-50% better as you claim.  Heck, I'd be surprised if you could find a 2% advantage.

Unfortunately, it states I'm not allowed to post my personal info so just post a hotel and price here and I'll come back with a site I find the same price elsewhere.  Challenge on? 

We believe that this was posted by a previously terminated employee, how ever Hotels Etc is working hard to obtain deeper and better airline discounts. As far as refunds go, if we do get any, their refund is posted as soon as the package is returned. However, refunds are rarely requested because our policy is to under promise and over deliver. Check out our site at www.hotelsetc.com

I  have been a member for over 10 years now and use Hotels etc every time I travel.

They do not get good airline discounts, but as far as hotel discount, car rentals, attractions, movie theaters, and the rest of the discounts, they work great.
 
I have save thousands and thousands of dollars with Hotels etc and when people write bad things like this about a company really upsets me.

I do not even see anybodies name on this report. People like this ruin ripoffreport.com.

If you are joining Hotels Etc. for airline discounts, don't count on it. matter of fact do not count on getting an airline discount ANYWHERE. I travel every week and use my Hotels Etc. travel card all the time but not for airline..

I was just looking at Hotels Etc. and they do not even mention anytype of airline discounts, so I think ripoffreport.com needs to investigate these matters before they post comments live. This is not good practice.

I hope the owner of Hotels Etc. sees this, because this should not be posted. Matter of fact, I am going to email Hotels Etc. and let them know this is on this site.

Thanks,
Maria Jones (SEE I PUT A NAME)

 Hotels Etc. has a 30 day refund policy. We will be more than happy to refund any monies owed if the product is returned in 30 days. We are unable to look up this persons account because no name was provided.

Our company does not promote a certain discount off airfare. Most of our members receive great discounts on airfare, however if you read our main site, it says, you will receive airfare discounts.  As far as you paying more than the public rate, that is because you did not enter the discount cod that was provided in the members section.

The comment that are representatives were rude when a refund request was made, is as far away from the truth as possible. Hotels Etc. CEO listens to calls and monitors members requests and concerns. 

I will also assure you that if you called in a spoke with someone in management, they would of assisted you in this matter.

It is our policy if someone calls up yelling, screaming and verbally upset with any of our employees, we inform them that we have to disconnect the call.

This would be the only reason why someone would be rude on the phone.
www.hotelsetc.com