Page 13 | Would you respond to abusive email from hotel?

digginforturnips · 2023-07-13T08:26:46+00:00

Stayed at a small guesthouse recently for two nights. The hotel had overbooked their cheapest rooms. They told us on arrival that we could either pay the £100 extra for an upgraded room, or they could cancel our reservation and find another hotel. There was no availability nearby. We were seriously unimpressed, but after a long journey had no real choice other than to say we’d pay. Owners actually seemed really nice other than that. We checked out at 5am and did not pay the £100. Hotel has sent us 6 emails asking for the money, which I have ignored all of them. Then today I got a long and very angry email from them telling us how we are dishonest, untrustworthy, unhonourable people. They told us they would be leaving bad reviews of us, and they would be filing a complaint with the booking website. What would you do? Would you email back? Contact the booking platform for advice?

Praguemum · 16/07/2023 03:34

If it's booking.com, they are very strict with their member hotels. The contract they sign states that if a hotel is overbooked, it must provide accommodation of the same or higher value in either their own or another suitable establishment. I'd report them to the booking site.

WomanStanleyWoman2 · 16/07/2023 08:10

pollymere · 16/07/2023 00:28

Actually... If it WAS booking.com or similar, I've had the full side of the story from a hotel I stayed at.

Basically, they work on a percentage of no-shows which is why their rooms are so cheap (if they exist at all which has also happened to me).

A decent hotel will give them five rooms to sell for example at £100 each but they'll sell for less than the hotel itself at say £90. But they'll sell 8-10 rooms instead.

I got to a hotel at Check-in and was told I might not get the rooms I'd booked. The people behind me didn't. Unfortunately the hotel had no rooms to offer them due to the over booking.

What this hotel did was say you'd been sold a room that didn't exist. They told you they had "deluxe" rooms or whatever available but they were £100 more than you'd paid. This is not their fault. If you didn't book directly with the hotel it is not the hotel that offered you a £100 room for £50. The hotel will lose £100 if they give you a free upgrade but probably won't lose anything if you cancel on a room which doesn't exist or is also possibly non-refundable.

If you agreed to a room at the higher price which was £100 more, then you entered into an agreement with the hotel directly to pay that instead of your original agreement via the booking site. I would say you basically skipped without paying in a Guest House... So, yes you probably do owe them the money.

You don't say whether you were actually charged by the booking site but it may be the Guest House received no money as they may have had to cancel that booking to give you a room...

There is nothing in this post that suggests it is not the hotel’s fault. If they can explain this policy issue to you, by definition they are aware of it, and are therefore complicit in it by remaining on the platform. Occasionally it will bite them on the arse. Well, tough luck, frankly.

If you’re rich and daft enough to say “Awwh, it’s not their fault” and cough up an extra hundred quid, that’s your choice. The OP has done nothing wrong. If the booking platform has caused the issue, the hotel needs to take it up with them.

cyncope · 16/07/2023 08:19

pollymere · 16/07/2023 00:28

Actually... If it WAS booking.com or similar, I've had the full side of the story from a hotel I stayed at.

Basically, they work on a percentage of no-shows which is why their rooms are so cheap (if they exist at all which has also happened to me).

A decent hotel will give them five rooms to sell for example at £100 each but they'll sell for less than the hotel itself at say £90. But they'll sell 8-10 rooms instead.

I got to a hotel at Check-in and was told I might not get the rooms I'd booked. The people behind me didn't. Unfortunately the hotel had no rooms to offer them due to the over booking.

What this hotel did was say you'd been sold a room that didn't exist. They told you they had "deluxe" rooms or whatever available but they were £100 more than you'd paid. This is not their fault. If you didn't book directly with the hotel it is not the hotel that offered you a £100 room for £50. The hotel will lose £100 if they give you a free upgrade but probably won't lose anything if you cancel on a room which doesn't exist or is also possibly non-refundable.

If you agreed to a room at the higher price which was £100 more, then you entered into an agreement with the hotel directly to pay that instead of your original agreement via the booking site. I would say you basically skipped without paying in a Guest House... So, yes you probably do owe them the money.

You don't say whether you were actually charged by the booking site but it may be the Guest House received no money as they may have had to cancel that booking to give you a room...

Of course it's their fault, they've knowingly entered into a scam with booking.com, to scam customers - and have even proudly explained how the scam works to you in detail?

VeneziaJ · 16/07/2023 08:21

MissFraser82 · 13/07/2023 13:48

I think you are in the wrong and its pretty disgusting what you did. They made a mistake overbooking, but you were given a choice. Pay the extra or find somewhere else. Its not like they dumped the extra money on at check-out without prior notice. You made your choice. Its basically theft as you used a room that you haven't fully paid for, and made yourselves liars.

How is it reasonable for the B and B owners to mess up their own booking system and then try to force a pre booked customer to pay for their mistake! A verbal contract (possibly even written if conducted by email) was formed whereby the guest house agreed to provide a room on a certain date at a stated price and the OP paid making it binding. Any mistake my the guest house is on them!

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 16/07/2023 08:50

What this hotel did was say youWhat this hotel did was say you'd been sold a room that didn't exist. They told you they had "deluxe" rooms or whatever available but they were £100 more than you'd paid. This is not their fault. If you didn't book directly with the hotel it is not the hotel that offered you a £100 room for £50.'d been sold a room that didn't exist. They told you they had "deluxe" rooms or whatever available but they were £100 more than you'd paid. This is not their fault. If you didn't book directly with the hotel it is not the hotel that offered you a £100 room for £50.

So are you saying that Booking.com will have listed this hotel's room without their knowledge or agreement? Do they force hotels to sign up with them at gunpoint?

Surely, if you're a respectable business and, if associated businesses which you may personally consider dodgy want to work in connection with you, if you value your reputation and ethical stance, you simply turn them down?

What is the actual point in booking anything if this supposedly means that you are not booking something? How are you any worse off if you just turn up on-spec and hope for the best? Or alternatively just book with a place that does understand what the concept of booking means - and will reserve you the item or facility that you have agreed with them to reserve for you.

inamarina · 16/07/2023 09:08

pollymere · 16/07/2023 00:28

Actually... If it WAS booking.com or similar, I've had the full side of the story from a hotel I stayed at.

Basically, they work on a percentage of no-shows which is why their rooms are so cheap (if they exist at all which has also happened to me).

A decent hotel will give them five rooms to sell for example at £100 each but they'll sell for less than the hotel itself at say £90. But they'll sell 8-10 rooms instead.

I got to a hotel at Check-in and was told I might not get the rooms I'd booked. The people behind me didn't. Unfortunately the hotel had no rooms to offer them due to the over booking.

What this hotel did was say you'd been sold a room that didn't exist. They told you they had "deluxe" rooms or whatever available but they were £100 more than you'd paid. This is not their fault. If you didn't book directly with the hotel it is not the hotel that offered you a £100 room for £50. The hotel will lose £100 if they give you a free upgrade but probably won't lose anything if you cancel on a room which doesn't exist or is also possibly non-refundable.

If you agreed to a room at the higher price which was £100 more, then you entered into an agreement with the hotel directly to pay that instead of your original agreement via the booking site. I would say you basically skipped without paying in a Guest House... So, yes you probably do owe them the money.

You don't say whether you were actually charged by the booking site but it may be the Guest House received no money as they may have had to cancel that booking to give you a room...

That complex system of overselling rooms via booking.com or whatever shouldn’t be the guest’s problem.

If I book a room for price X, then that’s what I expect. It shouldn’t be a gamble for the guest whether they get their room or not.

If the hotel is aware of the fact that booking.com is routinely overselling rooms, than they need a better system to deal with it at their end, rather than just leaving guests stranded or demanding substantial price increases on the spot.

Pherian · 16/07/2023 09:12

If you didn’t sign anything saying you would say that extra £100 - then good luck to them. Sounds like they tried to pull a fast one.

inamarina · 16/07/2023 09:13

cyncope · 16/07/2023 08:19

Of course it's their fault, they've knowingly entered into a scam with booking.com, to scam customers - and have even proudly explained how the scam works to you in detail?

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Yes, I find it bizarre that they (allegedly) explained to the customer in such great detail something that’s basically a scam 😵‍💫

Againstmachine · 16/07/2023 09:21

inamarina · 16/07/2023 09:08

That complex system of overselling rooms via booking.com or whatever shouldn’t be the guest’s problem.

If I book a room for price X, then that’s what I expect. It shouldn’t be a gamble for the guest whether they get their room or not.

If the hotel is aware of the fact that booking.com is routinely overselling rooms, than they need a better system to deal with it at their end, rather than just leaving guests stranded or demanding substantial price increases on the spot.

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Absolutely it's not the guests problem that booking are overselling the rooms, that's the hotels problem to deal with booking.com.

Cradduck · 16/07/2023 09:30

I’m sorry, but are some people actually plain frickin stupid? Of course OP didn’t enter into a valid contract for the new room. She owes the hotel nothing.

Lots of posters on here claim to “know” the answer but have zero idea. I’m a Cambridge educated lawyer, but it’s shocking how little some people understand the law.

Againstmachine · 16/07/2023 11:28

Cradduck · 16/07/2023 09:30

I’m sorry, but are some people actually plain frickin stupid? Of course OP didn’t enter into a valid contract for the new room. She owes the hotel nothing.

Lots of posters on here claim to “know” the answer but have zero idea. I’m a Cambridge educated lawyer, but it’s shocking how little some people understand the law.

Well why don't you tell people the answer instead of sneering like the Cambridge educated lawyer you say you are.🤔

ReallyTryingTo · 16/07/2023 12:20

Overbooking was their problem not yours.
Sounds like you drew the short straw because you arrived after the other guests, so were kind of backed into a corner.
In my opinion they should have honoured your booking by letting you stay in the room for price of smaller room.
That same thing has happened to me and our price was honoured but we ended up with much nicer room.

Kim145 · 16/07/2023 15:37

As an owner - you have a legally binding contract for a service - its the property problem to sort out - also if booked through air, expedia or booking.xon etc as part of the contract we sign if we cock up and overbook we must pay for either an internal upgrade or to book out - they have no leg to stand on

Kim145 · 16/07/2023 15:41

Groupon pay very little to the hotel - say its a normal price of £100 - Groupon push for 50% off, then only pay the hotel £25 and that's a month after - so yes you will get a crap room - best way is ring us say you have seen it on Groupon at £50 will you match it?

Nanaof1 · 16/07/2023 16:21

Anaemiafog · 13/07/2023 10:09

You did agree when you arrived though.

Sounds too much like extortion to me. You either agree to pay us an inflated charge or have fun finding another hotel, which they probably knew were fully booked. Maybe they were fully booked with other guests who refused to pay the extortion. This could be how they treat all the guests, or the major portion of them.

Nanaof1 · 16/07/2023 16:48

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 14/07/2023 02:00

No, it means more than that. Pity those who don't comprehend.

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Oh, we comprehend. Some people will pay for extortion because they feel they have no rights or enough confidence to know when they are being scammed.

That is all.

misssunshine4040 · 16/07/2023 18:15

Hotels perform reservation checks daily.
Basic rooms are upgraded to premium rooms to encourage more sales of basic rooms.
There is usually a 10% overbooking leeway which allows for cancellations.
Booking.com do not scam people or are in cahoots with a hotel to con people out of money.
Booking.com have information pulled from the hotel's booking system and allocate reservations accordingly.
Every time a booking is made the hotel receives confirmation and it is up to them t ensure the room is available and if not take action.
The hotel are entirely at fault here

MarkWithaC · 17/07/2023 11:24

I wouldn’t contact the hotel - they’re not worth the effort. They’re definitely at it.

Leave an honest review, and contact an industry standards body if there is one.

SkySecret · 17/07/2023 15:04

Cradduck · 16/07/2023 09:30

I’m sorry, but are some people actually plain frickin stupid? Of course OP didn’t enter into a valid contract for the new room. She owes the hotel nothing.

Lots of posters on here claim to “know” the answer but have zero idea. I’m a Cambridge educated lawyer, but it’s shocking how little some people understand the law.

Thiiisssss with bells on!

how are people so dumb to talk about contracts like this? Putting someone under duress to enter a contract that they don’t want to enter, and is disadvantageous to them (and advantageous to the person putting the pressure on) is not a valid contract ffs!

And that’s before addressing the fact that the hotel are the ones who are breaching the original contract in the first place!

SkySecret · 17/07/2023 15:07

Againstmachine · 16/07/2023 11:28

Well why don't you tell people the answer instead of sneering like the Cambridge educated lawyer you say you are.🤔

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They did…. “OP didn’t enter a valid contract for the new room. She owes the hotel nothing”

Quite straightforward really. A contract already existed and the hotel was obliged to honour it. I.e. provide a room of the same or higher standard as the one the OP paid for.

sunglassesonthetable · 17/07/2023 15:39

Quite straightforward really. A contract already existed and the hotel was obliged to honour it. I.e. provide a room of the same or higher standard as the one the OP paid for.

Tbh the large majority on this thread get this. Cambridge educated or not.

It's only a resolute few that insisted differently and they're long gone.

OhMerseyMe · 17/07/2023 15:49

Their mistake, not yours - DO NOT pay! I would leave a review for them stating exactly what happened. This could be a scam where they bank on people paying the increased fee when, in fact, they have the room you booked available. Again, not your fault so don’t pay! Ludicrous business model!

SkySecret · 18/07/2023 21:47

sunglassesonthetable · 17/07/2023 15:39

Quite straightforward really. A contract already existed and the hotel was obliged to honour it. I.e. provide a room of the same or higher standard as the one the OP paid for.

Tbh the large majority on this thread get this. Cambridge educated or not.

It's only a resolute few that insisted differently and they're long gone.

I know, I’m far from being Cambridge educated 😂

sadly it’s those who know the least that shout the loudest…!