Hotel bumped us to another hotel at midnight!!

[rabbitwoman]

This has never happened to us before, can anyone shed light on it?

Me and some pals went for a girls weekend away. We booked and paid for our rooms months ago.

four of us on Friday night, booked into our hotel, two per room. We were joined on Saturday by two pals, and tried to check them in when they arrived, around midday, but were told the extra room wasn't ready yet.

So we all went out for the day, came back around 11pm - to be told the hotel was overbooked, our third room was no longer available and two of our party was now being moved to another hotel.

The staff on duty seemed utterly bemused that we were furious. As if we were being unreasonable. We suggested at the very least they cover our bar bill while we waited for the taxi to take our friends off to another hotel, but no, not possible apparently.

Anyone had this happen to them before, anyone shed any light?

I suspect the hotel has a policy not allowing staff to offer on the spot compensation as it leaves them a bit vulnerable. Not saying that’s right but I imagine it wasn’t down to those individual staff members.

I can see the argument that overbooking shouldn’t be allowed if payment is taken in advance. But the fact is that it is currently allowed and many hotels do it. So as it stands I guess we always have to be alert to the possibility?

I suspect that because the room wasn’t ready (normally it’s check in from 2 pm) the desk staff may not have started the actual check in process so there was nothing on record that the guests had attempted to check in, or that they wouldn’t be attempting check in until 11 pm, so it looked like a no-show. I would expect different staff on shift in the evening from lunchtime.

This is different from your original OP where you said they first attempted check in at midday. It sounds as if what happened, shouldn’t have, but that the hotel’s systems didn’t allow for adding this sort of updates/notes.

Personally, I'd have asked for a refund for the room and slept on a duvet on the floor of one of the other rooms, especially if I'd had a few to drink.

I agree, it's outrageous.

To add, it may have been better if your friends had left their luggage in the hotels storage. The person dealing with bookings/reception during the early evening probably wasn’t aware of your friends arrival at lunchtime before check-in started or that their luggage was in your room, but hopefully left luggage would have been a hint for them.

At the very least, this hotel failed to explain coherently why they did what they did. I've been sent to another hotel even with a prepaid booking quite few times - hotel full, sending you to a comparable hotel/room elsewhere. BUT I've almost always had the hotel arrange the taxi and comp the taxi ride, unless the alternate hotel was very close - and even then they've usually offered to walk me over/have someone transfer my bags.

If you feel you want to complain, I'd double check to make sure that (1) your friends' reservation started on Saturday, not accidentally on Friday like the other 2, (2) there's no time limit for check-in on your friends' booking confirmation, or if there is it is after 11 PM. I would NOT assume that your request to have your bar tab comped was denied because someone in your party seemed drunk; it's more likely that the people on staff after 11 PM may not have had the authority to grant an unusual request. Whenever I've been bumped form a hotel because they overbooked, they have admitted the error and comped me a taxi to the replacement hotel (and usually offered a drink while I waited).

The one time this did not happen, the hotel had clearly stated that check-in closed at 10 PM and even though I emailed them to say that my flight was delayed and I would be there, they gave the room away. They called me a taxi and offered me a drink while I waited, but did not comp the taxi.

I have had this happen twice at Holiday Inn when on business. Moved out from central London to the Kings X hotel. I was likewise very cross. The taxi was a mini-cab who did not know where he was going and I did not feel safe. Morning after I complained and refused to pay the bill and told them I would challenge any charge they made (they had the CC details at the point of booking). No charge was made. I understand this is common though bad practice that some chains will overbook and take a risk that they can make more money where some customers do not turn up.

Perhaps the new arrivals were the most pissed of the group

The hotel bar was likely closed at 11 anyway

So the group were likely asking not just for a free tab for the entire group (the cheek!) but also for the bar to reopen just for them

Haha sorry for not including every single detail from what was just a quick anecdote sympathising with the OP's situation. For some reason it didn't occur to me that anyone would come along and blame the bride and groom for a hotel not honouring their booking on their own wedding night, but Mumsnet never fails to disappoint! 😂

And not one of their wedding guests have to their room for the newly weds? 🤔

we were all at the overbooked hotel

and no one offered to give up their room for the newly weds. Lovely

That would be convenient.

How do you think the other hotel would feel about this hotel sending them all their most pissed guests?

Maybe the hotel was much more appropriate for 2 trashed farts?

@nomas I make a point of printing anything like that out now wherever we are going. I prefer to have hard copy paperwork rather than relying on having everything on my phone. A bit old school but it suits me.

Wow, why on earth would you assume no one offered to give up their room?? Where did I say that?! Every guest aware of the situation offered, including me and my husband, but the bride and groom are lovely people and didn't want to inconvenience their guests - as most had travelled a long way and therefore already stayed there the night before, so would have had to pack up their stuff after the wedding and then move hotels, plus they had booked a suite and none of the normal rooms were at all special, however the hotel they were moved to did at least have a suite available for them.

Gosh Mumsnet really is at its finest today! 😂

Unbelievable
so the bride and groom, after their wedding, packed up, booked a taxi and headed off to another last minute hotel in a different town to their guests.

Sure

I’m the same. My colleagues used to laugh at me for printing boarding passes prior to flights until one day when the airline app wasn’t loading the digital boarding pass and the machines at the airport weren’t printing boarding passes. They all had to queue for the check in desk for
boarding passes whilst I went on through security and to a cafe for breakfast. 😂

Well they'd never unpacked in the first place as the room wasn't available remember - so they simply got a taxi to the new hotel (owned by the same company as the first one) after the wedding. I assume the guest who had tried to check into the hotel for them with their suitcases half way through the day simply brought them back to the wedding venue - the wedding was not at the hotel, it was at another local venue with no accommodation. They had got ready in their own house / family's house nearby. Not sure why it's so unbelievable to you!

You aren’t sure what’s so unbelievable about having literally just got married, they have their reception, head to their suite to be told - no room here, you’re going to another hotel in a different town. And all their wedding guests who were staying at the hotel, stood forlornly at reception and waved them off.

Poor sods!

Booking a hotel is asking them to hold a room ffs

No, if you read my posts then you will see that a guest tried to check in for them an hour after check in started, half way through the wedding reception, so that the room and suitcases would be there waiting for them at the end of the evening. They were told that the room wasn't available as it had been double booked, but that a suite had been arranged for them at the sister hotel in the next town over. This was about 4pm. The bride and groom were therefore aware of the situation early on, guests offered to give them their rooms in the original hotel, but the bride and groom declined and had a lovely send off from the wedding reception venue (which was not the hotel - a fact you seem to have missed) at the end of the day in their taxi to the new hotel.

Honestly I think this might be the last time I ever bother posting on Mumsnet. People are crazy 😂

In an ideal world, yes, but not if you book a room and the t&cs say the hotel may give away your room if you are very late, especially if you have not guaranteed the reservation with a credit card or informed the hotel of your late arrival. Most hotels have a specific check-in end time, and arriving significantly after this without notice can lead to your room being resold.

(OP’s situation is different, it’s not known whether the staff were told they were going to be late).

So all rather different tone to….

I know a bride and groom who were bumped from their hotel room on their own wedding night! The hotel were very matter of fact that they regularly over book, and they hardly even apologised. They had double booked the suite and the other party had checked in half an hour earlier, so that was that! It meant they ended up staying in a different town to all their wedding guests (we were all at the overbooked hotel).

🤭

Did the B&G complain? They should have been compensated.