Hotel Connect in administration - hotel bookings affected

[juliebro]

Not sure if this has already been posted, but I wanted to alert people....

Hotel Connect have gone into administration and some hotels are not honouring bookings.

We have found out as we had booked 3 nights in Belgium through ASDA Travel for next week. ASDA called me yesterday to tell me that the hotel is still holding our booking - but they are not prepared to give us the rate that they gave Hotel Connect (who ASDA dealt with). ASDA will cover the original cost but we are being told we will have to pay the difference - amounting to almost £170.

ASDA have told me that they have lots of customers in a similar situation and that hotels in the US and Canada are not being particularly co-operative and almost all are asking for additional payments - or have cancelled the bookings.

ASDA are being helpful to us and trying to find us an alternative hotel at the original price - but we are so disappointed with the hotel's reaction that we don't feel inclined to pay the extra and may just book another hotel.

I hope no-one else on here is affected - but if you have booked your hotel through a 3rd party, it's worth checking to make sure that Hotel Connect were not involved.

 

[juliebro]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/t...lConnect-failure-could-hit-holidaymakers.html

More info available on the above link

 

[wayneg]

Have Asda offered you a refund or can you claim on credit card?
Seems a bit strange to me, OK Hotel connect have gone but your booking is with Asda not them, I would have thought they had to supply at agreed rate. Are they just trying it on to get more money from you instead of standing the loss themselves? I don't know the legalities with a 3rd party supplier.

Another thread here about them http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=45072408

 

[juliebro]

Have checked ASDA T&Cs. They state that they are merely agents.

It's definitely the hotel who are asking for more money as I've also been in direct contact with them myself.

Stupidly (with hindsight) we paid with a debit card rather than a credit card as there were extra charges for cc payment.

This morning the hotel have reduced the amount they are asking us for - so I'll go back with a counter offer (later today or tomorrow) and see where we end up.

I really like the hotel we booked. We stayed there last year. So I don't really want to have to go elsewhere - but also I don't want to have to pay a huge amount extra.