Infuriating thing about Total Rewards offers: "Not available" even when hotel is not sold out

[Dan Druff]

This has been going on for a few years, but seeing regnis and Alan post about the situation in this thread reminded me about something I wanted to complain about for a long time.

So here goes.

Total Rewards offers, especially ones with open ended dates (such as "Stay between 2/1/17 and 3/31/17 and get...") have a redemption limit regarding the number of customers accepting them.

Once the redemption limit is reached for a certain date, it becomes UNAVAILABLE on that date for you.

If you wait until fairly close until that period actually starts, you will often find few or no dates available.

This occurs DESPITE the hotel being wide open as far as standard rooms being available.

The explanation?

"The offer is sold out, but the hotel isn't."

Huh?

An offer should be an offer. It should always be good unless the hotel literally cannot accommodate you.

It also doesn't make sense. They are making the offer because they want you down there to gamble. Whether a lot of people or few people redeem it shouldn't matter. You will still be playing either way.

This occurs less often when it's an offer attached to a specific small date period (such as 2/14/17-2/18/17), but this still happens plenty.

Here is your course of action if you run into the dreaded "offer sold out" or "offer unavailable" problem.

IF UNAVAILABLE ONLINE, do not panic. This seems to happen frequently when the offer is actually available. Simply call 1-800-CAESARS or contact your host.

IF THE 800 NUMBER REP TELLS YOU IT'S UNAVAILABLE, ask for a supervisor. Sometimes they can find a way to push it through by getting creative. For example, if you need 4 nights, but only 2 are available, sometimes they can make 2 nights on the offer and 2 nights regular non-offer comped stay.

IF THE 800 NUMBER SUPERVISOR CANNOT MAKE IT AVAILABLE, you need to contact your host. The host has additional power to force it through.

IF THE HOST CANNOT MAKE IT AVAILABLE, you are probably screwed, but if you have enough of a good play history, you may be able to talk your host into giving you some sort of concession comps for it.

[Alan Mendelson]

Frankly I've never pressed it when an offer is not available and I happen to be going anyway. If I see an offer in the future that I really want I book it way ahead of time so I get it -- for example New Year's Eve.

If I need to be in Vegas I'll go with or without an offer. Usually my offers are worth about $250 in dining or free play and that won't be a tipping point for me. If I get it, great, if I don't, it doesn't matter.

[regnis]

In my case recently, as I said, I just called the general reservation number. The girl that helped me couldn't figure out why all dates were coming up unavailable. It was a $300 offer. So she just put a $300 folio credit on my account and booked a room. I didn't have to go any higher up the ladder. Room wound up being a suite which I didn't ask for or need. But it is very annoying as I tried to make the reservation the day I received the offer.

I had to be in Vegas anyway so I also would have just booked the free room. But it was worth the one phone call.

By the way, we used most of the credit to try Giada's at Cromwell. While I like her on TV (and her cleavage), the restaurant was just average and way over-priced. Nice looking place--good service--but food just not up to the prices.

[maxev]

Big pet peeve of mine as well.

I don't know of any other casino offer that has so many restrictions on when you can use an offer.

Into the TR madness online, you also start digging into different Caesars properties and room types and number of beds. All of that can matter in finding one that displays OFFER AVAILABLE.

Lately, sometimes you see that orange OFFER AVAILABLE and when you attempt to book, it comes up saying that the offer isn't available after all.

And then I give up and just call the TR rep.


max

[Dan Druff]

BUMP

This just happened to me again, and now it is much more frustrating because I no longer have the Seven Stars comped rooms (since that benefit is gone).

Same BS maxev mentioned above (almost exactly a year ago), where it says OFFER AVAILABLE online, and yet it's not at all available in reality.

On Wednesday I called about this, and I spoke to both a regular rep and a supervisor. Both told me they couldn't help me.

On Thursday I contacted my host. She also told me she couldn't help me.

I tried one more shot today and got another supervisor at the CCS (800 number). He was able to force through a reservation at one of the "lesser" Vegas properties, which I accepted out of desperation. At least he got something through for me, which is more than I can say for everyone else.

These offers really suck balls. They just about never work, even if I try to book them immediately upon receiving them.