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Original poster

Would you respond to abusive email from hotel?

323 replies

digginforturnips · 13/07/2023 09:26

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?

OP posts:
Quveas · 13/07/2023 12:39

noglow · 13/07/2023 11:25

Hang on, so you agreed to pay the extra £100 then didn't? And checked out really early deliberately to avoid it?

I think that's very dishonest of you. I know they've been shit but your behaviour isn't squeaky clean.

This.

I would never have agreed to pay them then snuck out. By agreeing to the terms you put yourself on the back foot.

tescocreditcard · 13/07/2023 12:39

Why did you really check out at 5am?

LotsOfThingsToThinkAbout · 13/07/2023 12:40

@Smellslikesummer

WaitingForNothingGood
Where was this? If it was outside the UK then you might get different advice and opinions?

Why? (Genuine Q

The law is different in different countries. If it the UK and the OP agreed to the extra charge then I think that the contract and she is liable to pay. I don't know if she signed anything. It's unusual for the B&B not to have her credit card details.

Blueblell · 13/07/2023 12:48

They should have given you whatever room they had available if they had overbooked your room type. They shouldn’t have charged you

Superdupes · 13/07/2023 13:29

I would put in your complaint to whoever you booked with first. Then leave a review put in as much detail as possible otherwise they will come back and try to make it sound like you were the problem. Don't reply to the email.

SheilaFentiman · 13/07/2023 13:37

Leaving at 5am is very standard to catch a flight.

I have booked through eg booking.com and not been required to give a further credit card on arrival as the room has already been paid. Only if I wanted to charge stuff to the room like dinner

Ihavekids · 13/07/2023 13:46

I dont see how you could have known for sure whether there was other hotels available in the area. You were offered an option of an upgrade for 100 and you took it and agreed to pay. You then did a runner without paying.

If this was a large chain then meh, no big deal, just ignore all emails.

If this was a small family run affair then I think you've been really out of order. The hotel didn't act perfectly either, but at least they were honest. If it's the case that it's a small business personally I'd ring and pay the extra as I'd agreed to do.

Poor form all around.

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.

Gwenhwyfar · 13/07/2023 13:48

Put the whole thing on Twitter.

SheilaFentiman · 13/07/2023 13:48

OP may have had a quick search on booking.com or whatever whilst standing at the cheCk in desk.

ManateeFair · 13/07/2023 13:49

You probably should have had the argument about the £100 extra upon checking in, rather than agreeing to pay it and then leaving, but the hotel is clearly in the wrong to have put you in the situation in the first place. I stay in a lot of hotels and if you book at a standard price and then only have premium rooms available when you arrive, the normal procedure is for them to give you a premium room at no extra cost.

I suspect this guest house might do this to guests quite frequently.

Bossmum94 · 13/07/2023 13:50

if you name and shame them on here I expect they would get a barrage of bad reviews 🤣

tt9 · 13/07/2023 13:55

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 13/07/2023 09:50

Who's to say the cheaper rooms were overbooked? Or even exist at all? They might do this to every person. Sounds like a complete racket.

exactly. this was my first thought. sounds like a scam

NotmyRLname · 13/07/2023 13:58

You are all CFs.. you agreed to stay in the room and to pay for it. Instead you snuck out without honouring your side. They should have honoured the original room rate too but they didn’t and you accepted that.
neither of you come out of this smelling of roses. I wouldn’t respond and let them complain.

Bossmum94 · 13/07/2023 13:59

LotsOfThingsToThinkAbout · 13/07/2023 12:40

@Smellslikesummer

WaitingForNothingGood
Where was this? If it was outside the UK then you might get different advice and opinions?

Why? (Genuine Q

The law is different in different countries. If it the UK and the OP agreed to the extra charge then I think that the contract and she is liable to pay. I don't know if she signed anything. It's unusual for the B&B not to have her credit card details.

I doubt very much she would be liable to pay as she can very much argue she felt she had to sign under duress. I'm sure trading standards would love to hear about this too because I don't think they would like it too much.

rozzyraspberry · 13/07/2023 14:02

Sounds like you arrived off a flight, so far from home, and were given the option of either paying £100 or having nowhere to stay. Not sure what else you could have done other than agree to pay.

Hotel definitely out of order. They should have given you the upgrade for free.

They must have known they had overbooked (if they actually did) before you arrived.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 13/07/2023 14:09

mondaytosunday · 13/07/2023 10:06

While I agree they should have upgraded you without charge, did you actually agree to paying the extra? In that case you should have paid it, or made your position clear upon arrival. There must be something about verbally agreeing and then availing yourself of the service means you have accepted the new terms.
And you should have responded to the emails stating your position rather than ignoring them.

Agree.

You basically left without paying in full. That's pretty low.

Mirabai · 13/07/2023 14:11

I would write a review of experience complete with quotes from the abusive email.

Mirabai · 13/07/2023 14:13

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 13/07/2023 14:09

Agree.

You basically left without paying in full. That's pretty low.

Show quote history

They overbooked so they had to put their overflow into a more expensive room (so they say I suspect it’s just a scam). Their mismanagement is their problem.

jusdepamplemousse · 13/07/2023 14:18

They are either hopeless or scam artists. The term is bait and switch. Leave an honest review for them with whoever you booked via. You shouldn’t have agreed to pay, no, but you were put under pressure no doubt to do so. Total brass neck of pursuing you like this is insane!

SamW98 · 13/07/2023 14:19

Leftphalange100 · 13/07/2023 09:34

I think they are really CFs - they should have told you on arrival that they were sorry they had overbooked your room, but they had an upgraded room available and the upgrade would be free of charge. Cannot believe they are trying to charge you for their mistake!

I wouldn't respond to them. I would complain to the booking site. Imagine if they do that to loads of rooms a year just banking on the fact people will pay the extra so their not stuck?

Absolutely. I guarantee this isn’t a one off. It’s a scam and they’re grabby chancers and should be reviewed as such so anyone else booking knows exactly what they are.

Their mistake, they need to put things right.

Can not believe there’s people calling out the OP. This is one of those scenarios where I can not understand anyone seeing another POV other than the hoteliers are complete CF’s

Scienceadvisory · 13/07/2023 14:23

I'm surprised so many people are siding with the hotel. The hotel have behaved in an awful manner - the only thing they should have done was offer the OP a free upgrade since they had overbooked themselves. The OP really didn't have a choice. It's not easy to just get a new hotel (to the same standard and the same price) on the day. So it was either say they would pay the extra or end up with nowhere. The OP did the right thing. And all the posters who are shaming her are clearly easy marks for scammers.

Amazing how people view things in such a negative manner too. All this talk of the OP doing a runner and sneaking out. Have posters seriously never heard of early morning flights?

Scienceadvisory · 13/07/2023 14:25

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 13/07/2023 14:09

Agree.

You basically left without paying in full. That's pretty low.

Show quote history

There's nothing to say the OP didn't pay the contractually agreed amount. She just didn't give the extra they tried to scam from her.

WomanStanleyWoman2 · 13/07/2023 14:26

SheilaFentiman · 13/07/2023 13:48

OP may have had a quick search on booking.com or whatever whilst standing at the cheCk in desk.

Or noted the lack of choice in the area when she made the booking in the first place.

BalletBob · 13/07/2023 14:26

Laughing at all the "how dishonest" and "pretty low" comments. Some people really are pushovers. No wonder businesses like this try it on all the time.

OP didn't have any choice but to agree under duress to the company's attempt to extort a further £100 from her. Where else was she supposed to go?

I wouldn't waste a second feeling bad about it. Their mistake (or a deliberate scam) and they should obviously have taken the alleged loss on the chin. I'd write an emotionless, completely factual account of what happened on TripAdvisor and Booking.com, attach a screenshot of the email they've sent you and then block them.

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