To have wanted to choose the hotel room I book? Help me understand the hotel policy.

[Raeburn]

Having seen a beautiful hotel suite with a great view advertised by the hotel on SM. I tried to book via the hotel website.
Said suite doesn't appear on the website.

I contacted the hotel, to ask if the suite ( 'room with the view') is in use ( I considered that under COVID perhaps it was booked long term or being used by the hotel manager) however, the response is that the room is available but I can't choose to book it.

I can book a 'suite' but it may not be this one and I will only find out when we check in. The other 'suites' don't look like this one at all.

I've thanked the hotel and chosen not to book for fear of being disappointed in not getting the 'room with a view'.

How is this a good business model, please help me understand. ( I would have paid more for this suite than the other ones).
Is there a reason why the prime room is not available as a choice? I feel a bit bemused by the policy.

I always find that odd as well, you have to book a room "like" the one you want.

Personally I'd phone back and say can I have that one yes or no.. otherwise I won't book, give them to option to understand the loss of business? Maybe!

I used to be a hotel receptionist and we were definitely able to book specific rooms...unless there was something else, like if it was a room with disabled / wheelchair access and we had to keep it vacant in case a wheelchair user needed it. Or, sometimes, a single woman travelling alone had to be in certain rooms in our hotel. Near the lift and stairs, but not right by them iirc.

Maybe it's the only one with specific disabled facilities, so they keep it for people that request/need these. Or they keep it for people that request adjoining rooms. Or they have an arrangement with a particular travel site. There could be a number of reasons.

If they are an expensive hotel but they can’t go to the bother of checking to see if the room you want is available or not, then if day their customer service will be very average....

Do you mean you tried to book direct with the hotel but they didn't have the room available that you'd seen on another website?
That happens, like Expedia will say it doesn't have rooms of a certain type left in a certain hotel but Booking will. Etc.

Maybe it doesn’t really exist

Surely they could book you a suite with a request for this specific room? I guess that doesn’t guarantee you the room with a view but good hotels do generally do their best to honour requests IME.

You have room classes so standard/suite.

Your booking a class of room not a particular room so with my hotel we would allocate you your personal choice but not guarantee it. This is because balancing arrivals/departures is a hotel management skill and if you offer specific rooms it becomes more difficult to fill, especially in smaller hotels. Also it covers the hotel if theres a maintenance issue.

I had this, wanted a specific room as seen online but hotel wouldn't guarantee it, even when I was going to pay a deposit! No idea why but the receptionist was shirty about it (was for DH's big bday), took my business elsewhere!

Some hotels, especially smaller ones, do allow you to book specific rooms on their websites. It's something I look out for and I've certainly chosen those hotels over the alternatives so that I can book the room I want.

Obviously not as important in larger hotels/chains where rooms are standardised, but in smaller hotels, particularly boutique hotels, I think it's rapidly becoming the norm.

Do you mean you tried to book direct with the hotel but they didn't have the room available that you'd seen on another website?

No, I'd seen the photos of the room on the hotel's FB page. I couldn't find the room on the hotel's own website, so I emailed the photo of the room and asked if it was available.

Yes it is available for the date I want, no I can't choose to book it. I can book a 'suite' but this particular one won't be guaranteed. The photo of the 'suite' on the website is nothing like the one I wanted to book.

No it isn't anything to do with disabled access.

Perhaps it is saved for someone who books for a much longer stay?

Given the many city hotel rooms available and reduced I struggled to understand the 'business model' of turning down a booking and of not flagging up the most gorgeous of suites on their website with a premium charge to book it.

Ah ok.
Odd.

Some hotels are useless. A few years ago I booked a room in a seaside resort to attend an event. It was off-season. I requested a room with a view of the sea (think esplanade, wide bay, breakers) and they said they would see what they could do. I was willing to pay extra for it. I was given a room with a view of the bins. I asked reception if I could be moved to a sea view room, but was told that they didn’t open them off-season!