Your Reservation At This 4 Star Hotel? It's Now At A Motel Down The Street.
Travel guru Christopher Elliott has 5 tips for avoiding what he calls the "newest hotel scam." It's called "walking," and it's the hotel version of being bumped to another flight due to overbooking. What's the scam? Well, travelers used to be offered a "comparable" hotel if theirs was overbooked — but lately, hotels have been trying to save a few bucks by booking guests in inferior hotels — and keeping the difference.
From MSNBC:
"Walking" is a practice that's as old as the hotel industry. When a resort is overbooked, it typically sends a guest to a comparable property, covering the cost of transportation, a phone call and accommodations. But somewhere along the way - probably at the start of the current recession - the word "comparable" was conveniently dropped, and hotels quietly began sending guests to lesser properties.
...
It's easy to understand why a hotel would want to walk a guest "down" when it's overbooked. The property must cover the cost of your room when you're "walked" and even though it often pays a discounted industry rate, it can save a few bucks by sending you to a lesser property and pocketing the difference.
So, what do you do? Elliott has a few tips than can help you negotiate to get the best alternate hotel possible — but don't lose your temper. You're at the mercy of the hotel — and the nicest guest may well get the best room.
Walking down [MSNBC]
(Photo:Great Beyond)
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Comments:
I guess I was lucky to have "walked up" by the Kendall Hotel in Cambridge, MA. They were oversold by Hotels.com.
Back in my hotel employee days I was frequently the person who chauffeured the "walked" to their new hotel. It was always an awkward ride over there but we ALWAYS sent them to a comparable hotel.
As for why hotels will walk someone, to keep full occupancy they have to overbook by a small percentage because there are always more people who don't show up than new people looking for a room.
Can you not just cancel the reservation, chargeback to the card and book the cheaper hotel yourself?
OK, somebody help me out if you can. What is the difference between a hotel and a motel? Is it like a boat and a ship in that one can fit in the other, but not the other way around?
@AutoTuneShouldBeACrime_GitEmSteveDave: The way it was explained to me was that a hotel has hallways and the rooms are all entered from the hallways, whereas a motel has no hallways and the rooms are entered directly from the outside.
@hypochondriac: Most of these places won't offer a refund if you don't show, so it seems "fair" to me to let the seat / hotel room sit empty since it's already been paid for. Of course, this isn't as profitable as selling what you don't have, hoping someone won't collect.
@Kensuke Nakamura: I've been unable to chargeback my card in the past when canceling rooms after the no-obligation cut-off time.
@pb5000: oh boy, I used to work the front desk of a schmancy hotel in downtown Chicago. We walked people all the time. One time a woman was so enraged she sat down on the floor of the lobby and said if she saw us check in ONE guest she was going to throw a (bigger) fit. I was completely on her side, I would be pissed too.
The article doesn't say (I think), but I'd be curious if this [being walked to a lower-caliber hotel] is happening more often to those who scored a discount through sites like Priceline.
If that's the case, are these customers being "walked" to a hotel with a rate that coincides with the terms of the Priceline deal?
I see this hurting Priceline.com et al down the road. Sure, they may make it right later, but who wants to deal with this crap after a long trip?
@AutoTuneShouldBeACrime_GitEmSteveDave: It's gotten to the point where it's not all that simple to explain. The word "motel" is a portmanteau meaning "motor hotel." Originally, this type of lodging was found along the growing US highway system, whereas a hotel would be found within a city (not counting resort hotels such as those found in the Catskills). The inside/outside entrance thing is not an absolute - two weeks ago, I stayed at a "Baymont Inn" that had two floors with outside entrances, and one with inside hallways and entrances, but it was most definitely a motel. I've stayed at many a Hampton Inn with inside doors, but I'd still put them firmly in the motel column.
Hotels tend to have things like room service, bellhops, real restaurants, etc. If they have parking at all, it's an additional charge and may only be available by valet.
Oddly, these days many motels offer free WiFi, but hotels charge exorbitant daily rates.
I love Chris Elliott. Does he still do that consumer column in Nat Geo Traveler?
What?! People walk?! HAH!
When I tell people they have to walk 50 feet to get from parking to a building they nearly go ballistic on me, demanding better parking.
People are so lazy, and apparently people don't' realize that you won't always get front door parking.
@GitEmSteveDave: motels are where you take hookers. hotels are where you stay with your family on vacation.
i currently work for a hotel company and have worked in the consumer affairs department prior to taking my newest role.
when this happens the guest has an option @ our hotel chain, which is not what is described above. our policy is:
The status assigned to a reservation when a confirmed reservation can't be honored on the day of arrival. Guests are given a choice of 2 options:
· The hotel arranges reservations at another hotel and pays for one night's room and tax.
· The hotel arranges reservations at another hotel. The relocated guest is responsible for room and tax charges. The guest receives a QAR (Quality Assurance Relocation) certificate offering a complimentary 1-night stay.
either way the guest is being compensated more than fairly.
My parents did the #1 suggestion a few years ago. The airline screwed up and it took 2 days to get them from Canada to London with an unexpected stop in Paris. When they finally arrived disheveled at their London hotel they were told that a room would not be available for them until late afternoon. My parents then settled into the lobby, unpacking suitcases,taking out toiletries, and making beds out the couches. A room was found within 15 minutes.
@AutoTuneShouldBeACrime_GitEmSteveDave: Overall, hotels are classier than motels. Like danger the pirate ★♥ has a fake star and a fake heart. (tha... said, hotels are where you take your family on vacation. The last time I was in a motel, I was out of town for a friend's wedding. It was only one night, and it was pretty good for $70. Now, if I were going on vacation, you betcha I'm booking a good hotel. The last hotel I stayed at was a W. Fantastic hotel, good service. I had returned from a long day of walking around the city, and then at 1 am, I remembered a little restaurant I passed X amount of blocks away and I didn't want to venture back out go get any food unless I knew it was open. I called the concierge, described what it looked like and what kind of food it served, and she told me she would call me back in a moment. Two minutes later, she calls back with the name of the restaurant, it's precise address and the hours. I bet if I asked for a menu to be brought up, they would have sent one.
I'd never stay in motel during my vacation, unless it was a road trip and I was staying for one night. And knowing about all the horror movies I've seen, I'd take down the paintings, barricade the adjoining door (if there is one) and sleep with a knife under my pillow.
@nataku83: Exactly. Essentially, they get double money on that 1-2 percent of bookings, more than enough to cover whatever the cost of bumping people back.
@lotussix:
You are serious?
Option 1 - Guest is sent to another hotel, and pays the original hotel their rate, while staying at a potentially worse hotel.
Option 2 - Guest isn't refunded the cost of the original? They are only given 'store credit'?
If I am wrong on option 2, and they get the credit AND a refund, I agree with you.
If they don't get the refund, this is not fair compensation.
@danger the pirate ★♥ has a fake star and a fake heart. (tha...: Wait, wasn't Vince Shlomi/Offer busted in a hotel?
@rpm773:
But the fact that the hotel did not honor the reservation when you showed up for it should be a mitigating circumstance.
@idip: Though the practice is called 'walking,' it doesn't necessarily involve any real walking. The guests are usually driven to their new hotel.
@hypochondriac: I just do not get the business practice. You sell more than you have only works when you make or buy widgets. I can't sell more seats then there are in say Giant stadium. What would they do send me to Philly?
@rpm773: But the reserved room isn't available. They're not delivering the goods you ordered, and you're declining (in this case) a substitute not of "equal or greater value."
@hypochondriac: You know, I can kind of see that argument -- space is tight on an aircraft, and there are only so many flights per day, and we can count on a small number of people not using the tickets they purchased. Laying aside for a second the fact that airlines issue non-refundable tickets now, and many of them offer you zero leeway if you miss your flight, despite the fact that you are apparently not denying them any business by canceling, I still have a problem with the way airlines do it.
Go to most major air carriers, and look at the price for a one-way ticket on a given flight. It's astronomical. Going trans-atlantic costs thousands of dollars, just for a coach ticket. Now, look at the price for a round-trip, on the same route. Suddenly, it's hundreds. Airlines will charge 5 times as much for a one-way ticket, and the only explanation I can find is that they're banking on one-way travelers being more inflexible on their need to travel. But why would anyone buy a one-way ticket?
So people buy round-trip tickets (making sure that the useful ticket is the departing ticket, because airlines have caught onto this and will often kill your return ticket if you don't use the departure ticket). Now you have someone booking a seat on an aircraft that they had no intention of ever filling, and the airlines then act all surprised and complain that they HAVE to oversell in order to provide travel opportunities to more customers.
@lotussix:
"· The hotel arranges reservations at another hotel and pays for one night's room and tax."
But does the guest still owe YOUR hotel money?
Thank you for posting this article!
I had a family member work in a hotel briefly and I remembered him telling me about having to walk people so I was familiar with the concept before it happened to me. There were two occasions where I was on vacation, showed up and told that I was out of luck because a guest decided to extend their stay and they were totally booked. Never mind that I had a printed confirmation and a deposit put down on the room.
Both times the people at the front desk were a jerk to me about it without being provoked. Both times I did what my family member told me to do if I were ever in this situation. I would ask them to find me a room at another hotel and both times they denied me that they could even do that until I got on my cell phone and called their corporate number. In both cases the corporate number was more helpful and would get me a room in another hotel but never received an apology, transportation to the next hotel and I was never comped anything. Not that I asked for it. I just wanted a place to lay my head after a long day of travel.
Had I not known about "walking", I would have probably been sleeping in my rental car because it was a holiday weekend, I was a late arrival (as noted in my reservation) and this was before you could find an internet connection on just about every corner.
By the way.. tripadvisor.com is a great place to leave feedback about this, when it happens, to warn other people to stay away from hotels that practice overbooking.
I think more consumers should know how to protect themselves especially while traveling. It is a horrible feeling to get to your destination and have the feeling that you are just hanging because part of your reservation fell through.
@Kensuke Nakamura: If you're walked, you do not pay for the room - the hotel does. So, the article is misleading. There is nothing to "pocket" by the hotel. A walk is a cost to the hotel. It's all risk management - they assume a certain liability by over booking the hotel expecting the rooms to wash (i.e. level out by the time the last guest has checked in). If the gamble does not pay off, you stay for free in whatever place they put you up in. If you're a multi-night guest, many times they will require you to come back the next night to complete your stay (i.e. they will only pay for your stay somewhere else if they do not have room to offer).
@Murph1908: They are honoring a reservation by providing you a room - even if it's not at their hotel.
Overbooking allows the plane and/or hotel to stay fuller, because some people invariable fail to show up. In fact, it works so well - i.e. it increases the profitability so much compared to not overbooking - that they can afford to take VERY good care of the few people who do end up getting bumped. When they choose instead to shortchange those folks, it is simply a case of greed and bad customer relations, and should absolutely not be tolerated.
@lotussix: You're asking your guests to take that extra time out of their trip to work around your needs, and foot the bill for actually getting to the next hotel, and back to yours on the next night. In all honesty, had you told them this would be the arrangement up front, they would have made the entire reservation elsewhere.
The two things missing from that to make it "fair" would be in addition to what you offer, refunding the first night's stay, and paying for transportation to the other hotel, and back to your hotel when a room becomes available.
@meske: They're not honoring the reservation you made and the one they said they could give you -- so they legally have to give you your money back, whether it's past their cut-off time or not.
@tc4b: nope. they sure don't. we made the error, we will pay and not charge a fee for cancelling or changing the original reservation with us.
the complimentary one night stay can be used at any property. i've known guests to have been walked in chicago and use their certificate in maui.
we treat our guests right.
@danger the pirate ★♥ has a fake star and a fake heart, now ...: You obviously never vacationed with my family.
Once we made it to our destination, my dad would drive around for another 2 hours going from motel to motel until he found the absolute cheapest one (or until our whining got too loud to ignore).
@nataku83: I suppose people will more likely cancel 24-hours ahead of time, which for many hotels is acceptable notice for a refund.
Jerry: I don't understand. Do you have my reservation?
Car Rental Assistant: We have your reservation, we just ran out of cars.
Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here, that's why you have the reservation.
Car Rental Assistant: I think I know why we have reservations.
Jerry: I don't think you do. You see, you know how to TAKE the reservation, you just don't know how to HOLD the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.
I really don't know what the big difference in hotels/motels is. Of course my lodging standards aren't that high. The average Super 8 room puts my first apartment to shame! I've stayed in cheapo chain motels and a Sheraton once; the Sheraton was nicer, but not 5 times as nice. When I travel I just want a place to rest my head that has a bathroom and internet access.
Good picture on this one, Reminds me of the T-bird motor lodge in town here. If i was bumped there, I would not be a happy camper. Is there a sub star level? It is a nebula hotel.
@Wuhao: it depends on the property, but transportation vouchers are usually provided.
this usually does not happen, but we will oversell our hotel for some of our top tiered frequent stayers who have "guaranteed availability" as one of their benefits. when it comes down to it, we'd honestly rather walk a first timer or non frequent stayer than one of our loyal members.
people no-show and cancel all the time and to compensate for that, properties are oversold.
from our website:
Q. What is Hyatt's Reservation Guarantee?
A. When booked on Hyatt.com and prepaid with a credit card, Hyatt will have a room reserved for you when you arrive, or will provide you, at no cost to you:
A free night at a comparable hotel
Free transportation to and from that hotel
One free telephone call home to advise your family where you can be reached
@lotussix: to clarify, this would apply to all reservations, not just the prepaid ones on our website.
@Alessar: See my post below - you get to the crux of the matter, at least from where I see it. You wrote this:
and you're declining (in this case) a substitute not of "equal or greater value."
If I booked a $100 rate on a $300 room via Priceline.com, and the overbooked hotel "walks" me to a $100/night hotel, is the room of lesser value than to what I agreed?
My question is: what am I booking? The rate for the night, or the room at the hotel? If the former, I don't think the hotel is outside the terms of the contract.
I'm not saying...I'm asking.
@pecan 3.14159265: Oh, staying in motels isn't that bad as long as you're careful. We took a road trip from Dallas to Chicago and stayed in different motels along the way - some big, some small. We almost always stay in motels without much problem. Interestingly, I've had more difficulties staying in hotels, like the 4 or 5 different ones I've "lived" in in New York City.
@redskull: sounds like my childhood.... I'll never forget the time (in 1983) that we ended up in a motel in the boonies of Vermont with no airconditioning on one of the hottest days of the summer. The television was black and white with rabbit ears and the beds were lumpy. I was reminded of the Bates Motel. Really.
DangerThePirate is correct. Anywhere south of Laredo, TX, a "motel" is rented by the hour and is where you take your girlfriend, secretary, etc., for sex. Always. A "hotel" is where you stay for the night while on business.
@danger the pirate ★♥ has a fake star and a fake heart, now ...: A 5* hotel concierge told me once. All hotels have hookers. All of 'em.
And some of them set up shop for weeks on the executive floor.
[www.vrbo.com]
hotels are evil.
Never understood the over booking thing for airlines or hotels. They know how many people fit....