The Plaza at $14.50 a night

[dalawa]

Nice to see that you're pimping out a scam company Alan. I hope the little money you get from them is worth the selling of your integrity. Maybe you should do a little more research on your advertisers. Before you pawn them off to your sheep.

In b4 Dan.

[Dan Druff]

Looks like "Dante" is back (dalawa).

He was just trolling me on my site last week.

Anyway I don't think Alan meant any harm here. I just want to be sure this company is on the level.

[Alan Mendelson]

If anyone has a problem CONTACT ME. And you all know how to contact me as do my TV show viewers. My direct email and office phone number are on my website.

$29 flat fee. And that is below the "public" $30 fee that the company charges.

Have a complaint? Tell me.

[dalawa]

.

Anyway I don't think Alan meant any harm here. I just want to be sure this company is on the level.

Once again Todd you and Alan miss the point. As an owner of a site you have to research all your endorsements before you align with them. (Falcone and Jasep you tool)

[Alan Mendelson]

Once again Todd you and Alan miss the point. As an owner of a site you have to research all your endorsements before you align with them. (Falcone and Jasep you tool)

I haven't missed anything. If you bought this package and didn't get what was offered, tell me.

[Dan Druff]

Okay, so I am dealing with a rare bout of insomnia right now, so I decided to read the Yelp reviews for Casablanca Express: http://www.yelp.com/biz/casablanca-e...woodland-hills

Here are my findings:

- There are no complaints about the Plaza trip, which has apparently existed for a year or more. This is good news for anyone wanting to utilize the offer Alan is advertising.

- Casablanca Express has 4 stars on Yelp. However, this is inaccurate and badly skewed because "Julio" (an employee at Casablanca) has asked customers to post reviews on Yelp. Nearly every review mentioning Julio has given 5 stars, and it seems obvious to me that Julio asks any apparently happy customer to review him on Yelp (perhaps even with further incentives). So you can basically take the 4 star rating and throw it in the trash. One of those 5-star reviews accidentally mentions that Julio asked them to review him!

- Most of the criticism of this company comes from their "3 day, 2 night free Hawaii trip" offer, which is tied to a timeshare presentation, has loads of hidden "fees and taxes", and the trip itself isn't what it appears to be. Basically you are forced to take a Monday or Wednesday flight, sometimes with 2-3 layovers, and arrive at Hawaii late at night. That's Day 1. Your hotel is far from the airport, and far from any tourist attractions. Also, you will probably sleep late because of getting there so late the previous night, leaving you minimal time to see Hawaii. That's Day 2. On Day 3, you are forced to fly back in the afternoon, so you can't really sightsee. That's Day 3. Yuck. I wouldn't do this for free, let alone all the "fees and taxes" you have to pay. There are also accusations that they give you a hard time at the timeshare presentation (which occurs before the trip) if you simply want the trip and refuse to buy the awful timeshare. One of the reviews complained that they were "shamed" by the high pressure salespeople that they "showed up only for the free trip" and were bad people for doing so. Wow. There were also accusations that, if you don't buy the timeshare, you are then hit with all kinds of high pressure "upgrade your trip" offers for a lot of extra money.

- It seems that they are very sensitive to bad Yelp reviews. If you give them a bad write-up there, you will be immediately contacted on Yelp by Julio, who will try to make it right in some way. This is known as the "negative check-off" or "squeaky wheel" scam, where only the loud complainers are made whole, in order to give the impression that the company listens and solves problems.

Coincidentally, a friend of mine called me last year, and told me he was considering taking the Hawaii trip mentioned above. I didn't realize it was Casablanca Express, but it all matches, both detail-wise and the fact that the office is in Woodland Hills. I talked my friend out of it, telling him that it was "ridiculous" to do all of that flying for one day of sightseeing in Hawaii, and that there was likely hidden fees and other scam-like BS involved. Looks like I was right.

Bottom line: From all appearances, it looks like you can probably safely take the Plaza trip without trouble, but stay far, far away from anything else this company has to offer.

[Dan Druff]

Also, make sure there isn't a process with paying them first for a "certificate", and then having to use the certificate (which you receive in the mail) for a booking.

There were a few complaints about that process on a different section of Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/casablanca-express-las-vegas-2

I'm not sure if it's the same as this deal. Many people complained that they bought "discount travel packages" and then had to deal with these certificates, or in some cases, were not given what they were promised.

But those deals seemed a bit different, as they promised a "$100 gift card" and other crap that this deal doesn't seem to have. So maybe this direct purchase for $29 is easier and simpler.

I don't know. I have to admit that I'm a bit suspicious of this (because I can't see how it's worth Casablanca's time for such little money), and in general I hate dealing with companies with so many bad reviews and accusations of misleading people.

If I have the time tomorrow, I'll pretend to go through the motions here and see what they tell me.

[dalawa]

If I have the time tomorrow, I'll pretend to go through the motions here and see what they tell me.

They are a timeshare corporation. And they charge a $15 a day resort fee on top of the initial charges.

[Dan Druff]

I have decided to call this place after they open and pretend I want to book.

I will report my findings back here. That should answer a lot of questions.

[Dan Druff]

Well, I just called up.

Sorry, but it's a big scam, and it's not as advertised on the site.

I wish I recorded the call, but I'm sure I could duplicate it if I called back again.

Here are the facts, and I even had the representative verify with a supervisor for me:

- You are not buying 2 nights at the Plaza directly for $29. You are buying a CERTIFICATE which you can later redeem for 2 nights at the Plaza, meaning that there's a time-consuming extra step involved. There is also 30 days advance notice required to activate the certificate, and it's only for nights Sunday-Thursday. Here are some details from their own website about this: http://bookmyplazastay.com/plaza-hotel-activation-form/

- The guy immediately tried to upsell me to a $50 package, which involved "gift cards" and other crap. When I asked for details about the gift cards, he seemed confused and couldn't provide them accurately. When I said that I wasn't interested and just wanted the $29 package advertised on this site, the guy told me, "You'd be wasting your time with that. With the $29 package, you have to put a $25 deposit up front anyway, so it would be $54 right now. So why not just go with this $50 one?" He told me that I couldn't book the $29 package through him, and that had to be done "on the website". When I told him of the ad on this site, he still argued with me, but finally changed his tune and said he would book the $29 for me.

- I asked what he meant about the "$25 deposit". He explained that you have to pay BOTH $29 for the Plaza room, PLUS a $25 "refundable certificate fee" to have the certificate generated. You supposedly get the $25 back once you "activate" the certificate AND complete your vacation. This makes no sense, as you are basically giving them an EXTRA $25 to guarantee that you will show up. So you're actually being "fined" an additional $25 if you end up choosing not to use the two rooms you purchased! When I insisted that this made no sense, and was completely non-standard in the travel industry, the guy argued with me that "every hotel charges a deposit". I explained that hotels charge a deposit which is always less than or equal to the cost of the entire reservation (meaning you are never out MORE money for staying home than showing up), he argued with me and said that wasn't true (LOL).

- I asked him if there were any blackout dates. He said there were none. When I asked, "What about the week of New Year's", he replied, "Oh, well, yeah, that's a blackout date. Well... ummm... I guess any major holiday that falls on a Sunday through Thursday is a blackout date. But nothing else!"

- I asked about resort fees. He replied that there's a $13 per night resort fee, which is "standard at any hotel and we can't control that". When I told him that the ad on this site stated that all taxes and fees are included, he denied such an ad could exist, and said that "You pay resort fees at every hotel in the world. That's standard." Even worse, he lied about the resort fee. It's actually $15.

- When I told him about the ad here which does not mention any of the above, I was told they would not honor it. I was told that the "terms and conditions on the website explain it all". I then asked for his name, and he refused to give it to me until I pressured him and asked why he was hiding it from me. He finally reluctantly told me.

BOTTOM LINE:

- Company is super shady

- They try to upsell you

- You have to pay $54, not $29, but $25 is supposedly "refundable" once you complete the vacation

- You will have to pay $15 in resort fees per night

- You have to get a "certificate" first and wait 30 days to redeem it

- The representatives will say anything and make up details as they go along, in order to make a sale


Alan, this is a huge bait-and-switch. Call yourself and pretend you want to book, and you will run into the same mess I did.

I realize that your ad states that it's Sunday through Thursday, and the guy you interview briefly mentions that you need to "give 30 days notice" for the reservation, but they left out so many other major details and restrictions, including the resort fee and the $25 "refundable certificate fee" (plus the whole hassle with the certificate itself). Also, they try to immediately upsell you when you call in.

I suggest you take down this ad from both this site and your show.

[Dan Druff]

Additional warning: They see your number when you call in, even if you have caller ID blocked. 800 numbers can do that.

I called from a throwaway internet number, knowing that this was likely. Indeed, the guy repeated my throwaway phone # back to me at the beginning of the call, without my giving it to him.

[jbjb]

If you want to stay on the cheap and you're forced to pay (non comped) and want quiet, just stay at MSS.

[Dan Druff]

I should also mention that Sunday-Thursday at the Plaza tends to go anywhere from $30-$55 after taxes on most midweek nights (and they may not even book you for dates that are busy anyway), so it's not like you're saving big money here.

I just used booking.com for two random weeknights in September, and it came out to $143.36 after taxes & resort fees. This "deal" would require $84 after resort and certificate fees, with $25 supposedly being returned to you later.

And of course you have full cancellation powers with booking.com or any other similar site, and none with this deal.

So if you're really, really poor, and you still want to travel to Vegas, I guess maybe you could take a chance on this thing, but it looks like a lot of risk, a lot of hassle, potential blackout dates, and even the possibility that you will get there and your room won't exist via some error (this happens fairly often with wholesalers). And of course this is a shady company with a bad reputation, and that's exactly how they came off when I called them.

Also, you have no power at the hotel itself, as you are prepaid. You will typically get the worst rooms available, and they won't compensate you in any way if things go wrong. Under normal circumstances, a hotel will remove some of the bill if you have issues during your stay.

Bottom line is that I wouldn't go for this even if I were poor.

[Alan Mendelson]

I am pulling the ad.

edited to add: Thanks Dan for your work. I had a brief discussion with the company and they and I saw what you posted. That brief conversation was enough for me to see that they did not reveal "the fine print." Their advertisement has to be changed to include "the fine print."

They consider the $25 refundable deposit to be the same thing as when you check into any hotel and you have to present a credit card to cover room charges. While that might be true, it was not revealed to me. Caesars for example will put a $200 hold on my credit card even though I am 7 Stars.

They also did not reveal to me the "resort fee" and their position was "everyone charges a resort fee." I told them I would not accept an ad that ignored the mention of the resort fee.

So until the "fine print" is added, the advertisement has been pulled.

[Rob.Singer]

Moral of the story: Don't go to LV unless you can afford it.

[Alan Mendelson]

Moral of the story: Don't go to LV unless you can afford it.

No Rob. Not everybody goes to LV to gamble at $25 video poker or even 25-cents video poker. Some go to hang out and maybe see a show and enjoy the sites.

[dalawa]

No credit for your boy who first brought it to your attention?

Standard for you.

[Alan Mendelson]

Dalawa I wouldn't call them a scam company unless you would also say Caesars and MGM are also scam companies. They are charging resort fees and room deposits the same way Caesars and MGM do. Unfortunately it wasn't clear in their advertising message. The ad will be edited.

Their ad had nothing to do with timeshares.

[Rob.Singer]

No Rob. Not everybody goes to LV to gamble at $25 video poker or even 25-cents video poker. Some go to hang out and maybe see a show and enjoy the sites.

If somebody chooses to go to LV and stay in a dump while they're there, that tells me they have little respect for themself. As I said, who goes to a city like that and stays in a room worse than what they have at home?

It has nothing to do with gambling.

[Alan Mendelson]

Rob, I wouldn't call the Plaza a dump. Is that what you're saying?

There are also people who would never make a motor home their residence -- even if the motor home is as pricey as you say your motor home is.

Be careful who you criticize.