WWYD? Hotel Over booked

[FlightlessDuck]

2) The ability to make a reservation (as a customer), and have to pay a penalty (minimum of one night) if you cancel?

Well, Disney already does this one. Or is it you can't cancel? I forget.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, Disney already does this one. Or is it you can't cancel? I forget.

I know this is a Disney board, but this is a factor at other hotels also. I might make plans a couple months out, but a couple weeks before, something comes up. I'd hate having to pay for a night that I can no longer use. I'd rather be walked.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I have absolutely no problem with a 24 hour cancellation penalty...
I do have a problem with any company/corporation selling something that they can't provide. They are hoping to get paid twice, for the same room.

If I don't know what I am doing 24 hours prior, or if things come up that are THAT last minute, then hey... okay, I should be responsible.

The thing is, hotels are actually over-booking, and still getting paid for no-shows, and others are showing up, and are not getting the accommodations that they are counting on.

I don't care if they call a taxi and have a room waiting for me a block away.
IMHO, that isn't okay.
I am not getting any younger.
Life and Traveling can be hard enough without dealing with that kind of stuff - for THEIR financial benefit and convenience.

 

[here757]

The military motel .. shades of green
It’s their policy if a day is booked. Well in this case overbooked they will put u up in another Disney motel..
Now personally I’ve been secretly wishing it happens to us and we got the grand Floridian.. lol pipe dreams! I wanna say it would be a value motel.. Allstars. Type thing

 

[sam_gordon]

I have absolutely no problem with a 25 hour cancellation penalty...
I do have a problem with any company/corporation selling something that they can't provide. They are hoping to get paid twice, for the same room.

If I don't know what I am doing 24 hours prior, or if things come up that are THAT last minute, then hey... okay, I should be responsible.

The thing is, hotels are actually over-booking, and still getting paid for no-shows, and others are showing up, and are not getting the accommodations that they are counting on.

I don't care if they call a taxi and have a room waiting for me a block away.
IMHO, that isn't okay.
I am not getting any younger.
Life and Traveling can be hard enough without dealing with that kind of stuff - for THEIR financial benefit and convenience.

But the OP didnt pay a deposit, so no, the hotel isnt getting paid twice. We havent heard of anyone who paid for a room, and got walked.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Ugh that stinks. Was this at Disney?

No. Downtown Chicago. They wound up walking two of my guests on Wednesday.

Well, to be fair, the corporate traveler isn't paying for anything to begin with. I travel for work often and if I was bumped to a comparable hotel in the same area for the night, its not much skin off my nose. If it was leisure travel and I booked the hotel because of amenities on my own dime, that's different and I can empathize with that.

But there is skin off my travelers' noses. They're volunteer physicians who don't get paid when they come to our office for our meetings. They work a full day, take a flight from around the country, and arrive via taxi from O'Hare. When they get walked, it's not a pleasant start to a multi-day meeting that starts at 7:30 the next day. And because it's multi-day, they had to move back over to the hotel we'd contracted with.

And no amount of "free" anything helps get that traveler happy -- we pay for the room and their meals during the meeting travel period. Leisure travelers can get upgrades, free meals, and a free night, and it would make a difference to them.

 

[dominiondad]

We once had to travel for a medical appointment to a city about 3 hours away. We could have made the drive up and back, but becuse the appointment was causing some stress, I looked to see if I could make the trip a little nicer. I found a good deal on a very nice hotel (rhymes with Citz-Rarlton), so we went up the night before, had a nice dinner, then hit the appointment the next day. Only problem - when we got there, we were walked. We are now three hours from home and going home just to drive back the next day was out of the question. They moved us to a decent hotel, but nowhere near what we booked, the rack rate is about half of the hotel we booked. Had I known we were being moved, we wouldn't have gone. As we were paraded past the important guests down a back hallway to literally walk to another hotel, I remember it actually felt humiliating.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The thing is, hotels are actually over-booking, and still getting paid for no-shows, and others are showing up, and are not getting the accommodations that they are counting on.

Hotels are only getting paid for no-shows if the person prepaid or deposited the room - and then didn't show up.
THe other part I quoted makes no sense, especially if there are no-shows.

 

[nkereina]

But there is skin off my travelers' noses. They're volunteer physicians who don't get paid when they come to our office for our meetings. They work a full day, take a flight from around the country, and arrive via taxi from O'Hare. When they get walked, it's not a pleasant start to a multi-day meeting that starts at 7:30 the next day. And because it's multi-day, they had to move back over to the hotel we'd contracted with.

And no amount of "free" anything helps get that traveler happy -- we pay for the room and their meals during the meeting travel period. Leisure travelers can get upgrades, free meals, and a free night, and it would make a difference to them.

I don't know what to tell you. It is what it is in the hotel industry. Perhaps they can ask the manager for a future credit they can use on their own leisure travel when they're paying for themselves? Otherwise, perhaps you should book them in boutique hotels or non-chain hotels that may not encounter overbooking.

Hotels are only getting paid for no-shows if the person prepaid or deposited the room - and then didn't show up.

Most hotels (especially chains) will require at least a credit card hold to guarantee the reservation. A "no show" is someone who does not cancel before the cancellation deadline, or doesn't cancel at all. When that occurs, the hotel charges the person whatever the penalty is (usually the equivalent of one night's rate) to the credit card used to guarantee the reservation.

 

[Wishing on a star]

If the OP didn't pay a deposit, or didn't leave a credit card on file for a one-night cancellation fee....
Then I would argue that they did not have any guarantee of a room, and are really not out any money.
I would think it is a rare hotel that doesn't have a one night deposit, due at booking, or a clear cancellation policy.

We are not frequent business travelers, but we do travel for personal reasons, fairly often.
I am thinking that there is usually, if not always, a deposit payable upon booking, credit card on file, etc...

 

[sam_gordon]

If the OP didn't pay a deposit, or didn't leave a credit card on file for a one-night cancellation fee....
Then I would argue that they did not have any guarantee of a room, and are really not out any money.
I would think it is a rare hotel that doesn't have a one night deposit, due at booking, or a clear cancellation policy.

We are not frequent business travelers, but we do travel for personal reasons, fairly often.
I am thinking that there is usually, if not always, a deposit payable upon booking, credit card on file, etc...

While I have had to put a credit card on file, it's rare that I've had to pay a deposit for a run of the mill room. Maybe at vacation locations (Disney, Vegas, etc), but your typical Hampton Inn, Courtyard, Comfort Inn, etc, I haven't seen a FORCED deposit. I do think many of them are giving you a non-refundable option for slightly less money, but that's not what we're talking about here.

 

[Judique]

Lets make this a Disney hotel. If I booked my Coronado Springs resort room with Priceline and you booked your CSR room with Disney, and the resort was overbooked. One of us is getting moved to a different resort hotel, who do you think should be moved? Me or you? My room was booked through the 3rd party and I got a better price than you did. I think it is really the same thing. WDW makes more on your room, and knows you have a level of loyalty that I may not have. Frankly, if I was the manager at CSR I would bounce me in a heartbeat if I had to make the choice who got moved.

Doesn't everyone have to pre-pay for Disney hotel rooms a certain number of days in advance? So therfore if I no show for a reservation Disney makes their money anyway. Makes me wonder if Disney doesn't overbook (or at least not to the same extent) as other hotels. Anyone know?

The thing is, if someone is getting moved from one WDW resort to another, it's been my impression that WDW will move you to a resort that's at least comparable, if not an upgrade, from where your original booking is. I don't think, for example, that if CSR is overbooked that they'd walk a guest to one of the All Stars, no matter who they booked with. WDW has many resorts on the property, so they have a wide variety of choices available. The OP's situation is quite different.

A few years back, on these boards there were a boatload of people that Disney moved from some of the value resorts. They were moved to OKW and Saratoga Springs into mostly one bedroom units. Disney called them in advance.

I haven't heard of any Disney guests being walked to something below what was booked. I have heard of lots of extra compensation.

I was walked a couple of times. Both hotels I was walked to were higher in price from what I'd booked. Both were fine. In both cases I was called on my cell before arrival and had the chance to discuss the situation. Once was because I had booked 2 queens and they ran out of two queens - they gave me the option of a King room but we declined because of preferring to have our own beds and the hotel alternative was very nice.

Another time I wasn't walked, but was outright left out in the cold rain and dark night with a prepaid reservation. That was Best Western and I will never stay in a Best Western again ever. Plus it was over two weeks before my paid room night was refunded and I BOOKED on their own website.

 

[gopher101]

I thought of thread because I got walked today. I get why, someone extended their stay in the room we needed (Handicapped accessible walk in shower 2 queen beds). What I don't get is why we weren't called to inform us. Thank god I had called yesterday to confirm my room. Was told when I asked why I was not called, was told it wasn't my shift. Booked directly though hotel like 2 months ago. Their first solution is we have a room you need with a king (no dice- my dad, sister, and I cannot all share a bed). Than they wanted to move us to their sister hotel- does not have our room type. Wanted to move us about 20 mile from I-10 into Tallahassee (no dice way too far out of the way). At that point I asked for a refund (pre paid). Was walked to a the only hotel in area that had a walk in but not handicapped accessible. When I asked if it had a chair to sit in the shower, the associate told me the new hotel would have one, they did not. Thankfully the new hotel made us something my dad could sit on to shower. The new hotel won our business with how nice and friendly everyone was. I was not mean, nasty, or yell (just so everyone knows) to the first hotel but they lost my business for the whole chain.

Crankydad if you do not mind answering my questions (if you don't I understand, if you do Thanks.) If the hotel extends a stay, do they not see who has that room booked to find a new solution before the person shows up? Or is it fly by night? Was I too strict with my demands (same room type- same area)? And finally what would you have expected your own employees to do, and would you want me to talk to you? Not to get anyone into trouble, but so you could know what happened.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Was I too strict with my demands (same room type- same area)?

Well, obviously not - because you ended up with what you needed.