Page 8 | To warn you that Travelodge routinely 'overbook'!!

badger2005 · 2023-11-07T17:33:43+00:00

We had booked to see a show, and ages ago I also booked a travelodge so we'd be right next to the venue. When we turned up ready to book into our travelodge (about 5.45pm) we were told that they had had to move us into a different travelodge in another place - miles from the venue! This wasn't because of any kind of emergency - they just overbook on purpose apparently and you just get booted out even if you have booked a room in advance. When we got back home, travelodge sent me an email asking for feedback, and I asked if I could have a refund. That seems to me like the absolute minimum - I booked into a hotel and they reneged on the booking - surely I should get a refund?! But they just blanked me. I don't know if I can get a refund - I'm guessing I will just be talking to a computer about it forever if I try. I've found out since that not all hotel chains do this. I'm NEVER booking Travelodge again. Just warning you all!

Happylady165 · 08/11/2023 15:43

Just to confirm I worked at travelodge 10 years ago and they used to make us do this ALL THE TIME. It used to fill me with anxiety being on a shift with 2/3 over bookings and then I’d be on the phones for hours to other hotels getting them to hold the rooms. Have sometimes had to turf out families that have travelled miles. Was horrific for staff and guests. Sometimes we’d phone up in advance just to check everyone was still coming.

NIGHTMARE.

Str0ngH3art · 08/11/2023 16:11

The thing is this has never happened to me in any other hotel ever. Neither has it happened to anyone in my family.I’m in my 50s and have stayed in loads of hotels. Only time I’ve ever had it happen was with Travel Lodge so they clearly do it more and don’t manage it well.

And yes the rooms really are grotty. Holiday Inn Express was so much nicer and cheaper. Premier inn is so much nicer too.

myusernamewastakenbyme · 08/11/2023 16:34

I worked for De Vere hotels 30 years ago and this used to happen back then....I was the poor sod on reception who had to break the news to the person turning up late...it was awful and i felt so bad...we would put them up in a nicer hotel and pay for taxis etc (Cambridge City Centre) so lots of lovely hotels to send them too....really shoddy and id be furious if it happened to me.

Hecate01 · 08/11/2023 17:36

badger2005 · 08/11/2023 12:21

Plus with the 'all hotels do it' idea - I'd really like to know if all hotels do it to the same extent. Is there a chain where it happens only really rarely? If so maybe I'll try to book with them instead.
My guess is that travelbodge do it quite often, which is why we have so many stories here from people using them, and also why they won't offer an automatic refund. If it was rare, the number of refunds would mean that they could do this for peanuts. But I bet it is quite frequent. Anyone know how many bookings end like this with travelodge?
I should add that the 'please provide feedback' email from them was one where it was automated, but tailored for people whose bookings are moved. Must happen quite a lot!

Honestly it depends where the hotel is and how busy it is. Today we are on -6 rooms so prayers for the reception staff this evening.

Should add we are not Travelodge and throughout the week this is a regular occurrence, the majority of our bookings are corporate Monday to Thursday.

Desolatewardrobe · 08/11/2023 19:32

Dontpresstheredbutton · 08/11/2023 09:52

It doesn’t help of course that some hotel chains make it very difficult to cancel bookings, so the no-shows can be self-inflicted! I’ve paid the advance rate for a Premier Inn room but not been able to make it, so tried to cancel even though I knew there wouldn’t be a refund - impossible. Maybe these rates should come with a small incentive to cancel - some allow rebooking at a later date but that’s not the same thing.

In case anyone is reading this that is in this situation again, even the cheapest Premier Inn bookings are movable at the same hotel to a different date, although you will pay any additional room rate if applicable. You can call them to cancel and change, or cancel and amend the booking on the Premier Inn app.

I don’t work for them! But I’ve had to do quite a lot of chopping and changing with PI bookings in the past.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 08/11/2023 20:27

Travelbodge

It’s not just luck. The main reason you haven’t been turned away from a hotel you booked is that Premier Inn’s Revenue Management team know exactly what they are doing and are good at their jobs.

How can you call it 'being good at their jobs' when they're basically just hoping that a certain proportion of people don't turn up? If anything, it sounds like the hotel has been lucky.

This could magnificently backfire on the dodgy hotels who double-sell rooms if enough people realised that TL and others treat your booking as for their benefit rather than for yours and thus started just turning up on spec instead. That way, if you don't get a room, you're no worse off than if you'd booked and been turned away; but the hotel would have killed the golden goose and be unable to plan and budget for customers.

I know that you currently get worse rates if you turn up on the day, but if the tradition of people bothering to book became a thing of the past - for the abovementioned reasons - market forces would have to drive prices down before long.

Seriously, what is the point in booking something that the provider doesn't reserve for you? Utterly futile, apart from to commit yourself to having to pay without the hotel ever committing to their side of the agreement.

liveforsummer · 08/11/2023 20:29

Even if they no show, don't they get the money anyway

Depends if they've booked flexi rate where you can cancel up to pretty much the last minute (although they've paid more for that) but if they have over booked and some no show but have paid they still have more money than if they'd only charged and booed for the amount of rooms

spottedinthewilds · 08/11/2023 20:32

Happened to us too about 10 years ago. Turned up after 5 hours drive at 11.30pm with a 9 month old baby. They wouldn't do anything to help us. It was Christmas so there was nothing. Meant we had to carry on further for 3.5 hours and turn up at my dada house in the middle of the night.

BarbaraofSeville · 08/11/2023 20:42

You could have had a hell of a sad face story in the tabloids with a nod to Jesus, Mary and Joseph with that experience @spottedinthewilds

CatamaranViper · 09/11/2023 13:31

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 08/11/2023 20:27

Travelbodge

It’s not just luck. The main reason you haven’t been turned away from a hotel you booked is that Premier Inn’s Revenue Management team know exactly what they are doing and are good at their jobs.

How can you call it 'being good at their jobs' when they're basically just hoping that a certain proportion of people don't turn up? If anything, it sounds like the hotel has been lucky.

This could magnificently backfire on the dodgy hotels who double-sell rooms if enough people realised that TL and others treat your booking as for their benefit rather than for yours and thus started just turning up on spec instead. That way, if you don't get a room, you're no worse off than if you'd booked and been turned away; but the hotel would have killed the golden goose and be unable to plan and budget for customers.

I know that you currently get worse rates if you turn up on the day, but if the tradition of people bothering to book became a thing of the past - for the abovementioned reasons - market forces would have to drive prices down before long.

Seriously, what is the point in booking something that the provider doesn't reserve for you? Utterly futile, apart from to commit yourself to having to pay without the hotel ever committing to their side of the agreement.

Edited

But many, many, many people know that this is the standard, and that still doesn't stop is booking rooms in advance. You're not going to change the whole process.

They are good at their jobs by using the data and making decisions based on historic booking trends, current occupancy, rates, booking rates, city events etc.
If they get the figures wrong and overbook by 20 instead of 5 for example, they're in the shit. If they overbook by 5 and end up with 15 rooms sat empty, they've fucked up

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 09/11/2023 14:11

But many, many, many people know that this is the standard, and that still doesn't stop is booking rooms in advance. You're not going to change the whole process.

No, I realise that the culture of pre-booking isn't going to change any time soon; but there are also many, many people who don't know that booking a room does not mean that room has been reserved for them.

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 15:06

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 09/11/2023 14:11

But many, many, many people know that this is the standard, and that still doesn't stop is booking rooms in advance. You're not going to change the whole process.

No, I realise that the culture of pre-booking isn't going to change any time soon; but there are also many, many people who don't know that booking a room does not mean that room has been reserved for them.

I didn't know this and I would be absolutely furious if this happened to me. Particularly if I needed to be close to the airport or a wedding venue or something and was arriving at an antisocial time.

dylanschicken · 09/11/2023 15:31

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 09/11/2023 14:11

But many, many, many people know that this is the standard, and that still doesn't stop is booking rooms in advance. You're not going to change the whole process.

No, I realise that the culture of pre-booking isn't going to change any time soon; but there are also many, many people who don't know that booking a room does not mean that room has been reserved for them.

What does book a room mean if not to reserve?

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 15:38

dylanschicken · 09/11/2023 15:31

What does book a room mean if not to reserve?

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That's exactly what I understand it to mean.

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 15:40

From a legal point of view, you've entered into a contract where you agree to pay money and they agree to provide a service.

If you show up and they are unable to provide the service, they've broken the contract, irrespective of whether they take your money or not.

StarlightLime · 09/11/2023 15:42

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 15:40

From a legal point of view, you've entered into a contract where you agree to pay money and they agree to provide a service.

If you show up and they are unable to provide the service, they've broken the contract, irrespective of whether they take your money or not.

That's why they book out to alternative hotels, usually upgraded, taxis paid for, etc.

Hoptimist · 09/11/2023 15:43

Gosh, this has never happened to me. Never stayed at a Travelodge, but I have at Premier Inn. Does Premier Inn do this? It’s shocking really.

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 15:54

StarlightLime · 09/11/2023 15:42

That's why they book out to alternative hotels, usually upgraded, taxis paid for, etc.

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Not always, according to this thread.

And not always useful, e.g. the people flying from Gatwick who were bumped to a Travelodge that was further away from Gatwick than their actual house.

CatamaranViper · 09/11/2023 15:59

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 15:40

From a legal point of view, you've entered into a contract where you agree to pay money and they agree to provide a service.

If you show up and they are unable to provide the service, they've broken the contract, irrespective of whether they take your money or not.

Yeah tbf they cover this in their T&C's. Most of the time they will find you a room of the same or better quality and offer to cover any financial loss (taxi etc). The good places also offer some other nice bits such as upgrades, meal vouchers, bottle of wine etc.

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 16:00

CatamaranViper · 09/11/2023 15:59

Yeah tbf they cover this in their T&C's. Most of the time they will find you a room of the same or better quality and offer to cover any financial loss (taxi etc). The good places also offer some other nice bits such as upgrades, meal vouchers, bottle of wine etc.

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Your loss may well be non financial though, and they know this.

What you are referring to is compensation for breach of contract, but compensation is not always enough.

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 16:01

And just because something is in their T&Cs doesn't mean it's defensible from a legal point of view.

They pretty much rely on no one reading the T&Cs.

Picklewicklepickle · 09/11/2023 16:10

I stayed in a Travelodge a few months ago for a gig at Wembley stadium, there where loads of other big events in London that weekend too so hotels were busy and even more expensive than usual. We got back about midnight, I went to reception to use the vending machine and overheard a similar conversation, the bloke was absolutely livid as they were arranging a taxi to another hotel for him and I didn’t blame him. The staff just shrugged and said this always happens.

CatamaranViper · 09/11/2023 16:10

MargotBamborough · 09/11/2023 16:00

Your loss may well be non financial though, and they know this.

What you are referring to is compensation for breach of contract, but compensation is not always enough.

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Oh I'm aware, I've had to deliver the bad news to many people that they're being outbooked. Even though it's not my fault, I've received all the abuse and heard all the reasons why it shouldn't be them.

ClareBlue · 09/11/2023 16:10

liveforsummer · 08/11/2023 07:53

Many hotels do this as do many budget airlines. It works out for them the majority of the time as they tend to get more late cancellations/no shows than the overbook. For them this continuous full income far outweighs the occasional disgruntled customer. Even those will often still use again after a time as they are frequently the only or cheapest option. Sucks when it happens to you though but for most it's one of the factors that help keep prices low

Yes. I got kicked out of an easy hotel mid stay and they wouldn't even find a replacement. Swore I would never use them again but have booked 3 times the same hotel as it is the cheapest and most convenient location for my regular trips to the town. You soon forget if they provide what you need in the future.

Girlontherailreplacementbusservice · 09/11/2023 16:15

CatamaranViper · 09/11/2023 16:10

Oh I'm aware, I've had to deliver the bad news to many people that they're being outbooked. Even though it's not my fault, I've received all the abuse and heard all the reasons why it shouldn't be them.

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So if hotels insist on over booking why don't they off an incentive and ask for volunteers like airlines do? Or at the very least don't pick on people that have paid in full month's in advance for a non cancelable room?
There are times when I would happily move a few miles to a better hotel but at other times I have booked a particular place for a reason and don't want to be shunted to a different town.