Difference between booked price for hotel room and charged price

A current travel related post got me thinking about this situation.

Twice in the past 9 months, I have gone to pay a hotel bill (either in person or on their TV "Pay My Bill " screen) and found a discrepancy between the rate I booked and the rate I was charged. I typically print out my confirmations so as to have it in hand rather than scrambling through my confirmation emails as I check-out. However, I don’t always actually check my documentation. After I have randomly discovered discrepancies, I am going to make sure that I consistently check the rate charged vs the rate I booked.

I don’t think the errors were intentional. Both times, once in Hawaii and the other time in Hong Kong at a hotel where I am known by name, the situation was corrected immediately. I just thought that I’d share my random experiences - maybe save someone else a few bucks! (The Hawaii situation totaled over $200, Hong Kong was about $50 US.)

Mistakes happen. The Expedia reservation we made minutes before arriving (changed hotel plans- long story) hadn’t cleared and the hotel charged us directly-oops. A phone call got the matter resolved (darn- would have saved a few bucks directly with the hotel that time, win some/lose some). Credit card paper bills all reconciled.