Travel lodge. Am fucking fuming

[IAmNoAngel]

I am currently bedding down in the car park of the travel lodge at Birch services on the M62 as the room I booked and paid for over a month ago has been double booked and there are no rooms left.

Am especially pissed off as have driven here straight after a 6.30 start this morning and a long day at work... in Nottingham. So a nice tiring drive as well.

I have stayed here a lot. I never will again. Cunts.

That late at night, with a fair distance to go with road closures, I'd probably have made the same call as the op. I'd not have been happy though.

Or I would have sucked it up myself if I had made the decision not to drive.

And the taxi back to collect her car, the cost of parking without a room overnight? How do you know she could afford two taxis across Manchester and parking out of her own pocket?

Nobody made the OP sleep in the car park, they didn't provide her with an alternative without her needing to self fund and be the other side of the city.

You would think that if rooms are rebooked after a certain time, there would at least be a system for holding rooms where someone has contacted to say they will be arriving late.

Assuming that contact is made before the time when a room would be rebooked-which is what Op did, isn't it?

C8H jeez people like to be awkward for the sake of it, don’t they.

Ok I give up. She had no other options at all apart from sleep in the car with her jacket over. No other possible options available to her at all.

As far as I am aware there were no closures on the m62 yesterday. There are lane and hard shoulder closures overnight but the motorway itself remains open . My
Company is working on there at the moment.

nicknacky overnight road closures do not always have clear diversions! I was fuming at 11pm on Friday night because my junction off the M6 was closed with absolutely no indication of an alternative route. Sat nav was useless because it kept trying to tell me to get back to that same junction.

Paying for a taxi and claiming back is fine - if you have the cash to spare.

The OP made a responsible decision to stop driving for a sleep when she felt she was too tired to drive. It was absolutely the right decision, and perhaps fewer road accidents and deaths would occur if more people were as sensible.

If they refused transport, then they are in breach of their own T&C (see post above) for not paying her taxi fare for her.

C8H jeez people like to be awkward for the sake of it, don’t they

Insisting that the OP should have self funded or self organised new accommodation/transport after a very long day with a client/work to see in the morning? Rather than holding the culprits to blame?

Yes some people do apparently.

glue I’m giving up. If you say black on the website someone has to say white. Yes I’m sure you once had problems with a diversion, but generally they are well signposted.

I can’t speak for every single diversion ever created.

C8H Hold the culprits to blame? What good does that do her at midnight if they aren’t giving her any more assistance? She shouldn’t have to do it herself but she was in a situation she had to deal with it herself.

Totally outrageous. At the very least they should have offered you hot coffee/tea, pillows and a duvet. I totally understand why you didn't want to drive to the other hotel. No-one should have to travel from Nottingham to Manchester under those circumstances. Even in a taxi.

You should also mention this on the Travellodge facebook page and Trip adviser.

PS. It happened to me in Rhode Island in the US, also with a pre-booked late arrival. It seems some hotels will happily sell your room regardless of whether you've already paid.

Giving up when you are wrong is perfectly sensible, nicknacky. Roadworks which cause disruption all day and night are generally well sign posted. Overnight only closures are often not at all well sign posted.

Ok I give up. She had no other options at all apart from sleep in the car with her jacket over. No other possible options available to her at all.

This!

Except she did because as we have established:

TL's own T&C state that they provide alternative accommodation and transport.

There were no closures on the motorway last night.

she had to deal with it herself.

She did - and having been in comparable situations late at night, not knowing the roads, needing to be in proximity to a client I can understand why she made that call. I wouldn't but I suspect I have a bigger budget to play with for travel.

The focus should be on shitty service from TL, not the OP who was basically stuck late at night with bugger all help from the company who had already taken her money for a service.

Nicky "jeez people like to be awkward for the sake of it, don’t they.

Ok I give up. She had no other options at all apart from sleep in the car with her jacket over. No other possible options available to her at all."

no one is saying she didn't have other options. We are saying she shouldn't have to use them when she has a prepaid confirmed booking and many of us are saying that hotels should not be allowed to have this kind of policy.

Jaxhog what’s the significance of Nottingham? OP had finished that drive by then.
There are no circumstances in which I would sleep overnight in a car park. I would have a short nap if necessary to make me safe to drive, but for the sake of another half hour, a whole night? No chance. And OP was already dangerous if she couldn’t do another half hour - what if she’d been delayed a bit on the roads?
This doesn’t alter the fact that TL handled this in a very crap manner and they should make a full refund plus some other goodwill gesture, but sleeping in a car in the circumstances described is stupidly risky and irresponsible too.

Do we always pay up front. Sometimes they just take your card details with a view to concluding after your visit.

I've spoken to customer services who are 'investigating' and at this time cannot quarantee a refund!!! They will 'try' to get back to me today or tomorrow! I have told them I will be getting a refund even if I have to take them to small claims court.

You're right, they didn't make me sleep in my car, that was my decision. I quite like my car and my life and have no intention of writing off either in an accident due to tiredness, whilst navigating roadworks in an unfamiliar area looking for the holy grail of a bed for the night.

There were no closures on the motorway last night.

The OP said "roads" not motorway. And again, unfamiliar place with road closures warned I would not set off in the hope they were wrong.

I'm wondering how many people have found themselves out in the cold after a long day plus traveling and needing to be up for work early next morning with a client?

According to the signs on the motorway, yes there were closures and I didn't fancy driving around to find out if they were telling the truth.

And to be fair Angel you were probably in competition with first come first serve on the scarce rooms with the other customers who had been double booked.
Did you see the Chair/CEOs contact details earlier in the thread I would email him perhaps with a link to the thread!

Can't believe their response

This is what twitter is for. Name and shame.

If the op has a smart phone like most of us done she could have used that. And road closures always have clear diversions.
This part of the motorway network frequently has overnight closures. They aren't always publicised over the internet. Yes there are diversions but (in my experience of the North Manchester area) they are extremely badly signposted and the whole point of them is to get you back on the motorway at the next convenient junction.
If you don't know the area it's extremely awkward and inconvenient & can lead you miles out of the way. You don't need this sort of aggro when you are so tired you can hardly stay awake.

As an aside, there is also a Travelodge at Audenshaw, just off J23 of the M60. Google Maps tells me its less than 10 miles from Birch. As long as the M62/M66/M60 junction is open it's a very easy journey, but an absolute nightmare when it's not.

.

It beggars believe that they would reallocate the room when you have already paid AND told them you will be late. I expect their "apology" will include the words "breakdown of communication".

I am horrified to learn this is common policy for hotels. It really does call for some sort of regulation in this sector.

"As an aside, there is also a Travelodge at Audenshaw, just off J23 of the M60."

What makes you think they would have an available room at 1am, given that you know that they double book to ensure that they do not have empty rooms?

No closures last night? Just found this on FB

Smart Motorways: Manchester
22 hrs ·

Tonight's slip road and link road closures are as follows:-

Full carriageway closure of M60 junctions 15 to 17 clockwise 21:00 – 06:00

Full carriageway closure of M60 junctions 18 to 17 anti-clockwise 22:00 – 06:00

Full closure of M62 link to M60 clockwise & anti-clockwise 21:00 – 06:00

Full closure of A580 link to M60 clockwise 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 11 clockwise entry closed 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 13 anti-clockwise entry closed 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 14 anti-clockwise exit closed 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 15 anti-clockwise exit closed 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 16 clockwise entry closed 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 17 anti-clockwise entry closed 21:00 – 06:00

M60 junction 18 anti-clockwise entry closed 00:00 – 06:00

All diversions will be signed.

NOTE these closures are those implemented by the Manchester Smart Motorway Scheme. For journey planning and the most up to date information please see www.trafficengland.com/ before you travel.