Fed up...hotel have messed up our booking

kte

Just wanted to moan (so I apologise) as am feeling fed up today...

We booked our wedding venue last year, choosing it because there was a hotel 5 mins walk away - we have lots of guests coming to stay and didn't want people to travel between venue/hotel etc. so everyone could relax and have a drink.

We had half our room reserved at the time and went in in early Jan and reserved the rest (about 30 in total), putting the important ones for immediate family reserved against a credit card. We went in to see them on Sunday and it turns out that our Jan reservations were never processed, meaning some of our wedding party have been able to book the rooms kept for immediate family (they don't seem to have any against our credit card) and the hotel is now full. So we're stuck with not enough rooms, splitting up the party and/or having to find somewhere else and then laying on transport to move about 60 people around, most of whom will have wanted to come and have a drink so can't drive. Thing is we really all wanted to stay together to make a weekend of it as we don't all get together often.

I'm gutted as lots of the hotels in the area are booked up (its a Saturday in August). If we'd known we couldn't all stay in the first place we would have picked a different venue where there were rooms on site.

I swing between thinking it's not a big deal - if anything is going to go wrong I'd rather it be this! and then feeling really sorry for myself as we picked the venue so carefully to make sure this didn't happen

Just so annoying as there seems little point shouting at the hotel as there are no rooms so not much we can do, they don't seem to be doing anything other than saying sorry you've only got 17 rooms (most of which are now booked for our guests and not us!)...and stupidly we didn't have the Jan reservations in writing as we stood with the woman while she put it into the computer and she said it had all gone through fine...so I guess we don't have a leg to stand on...or should we be making a big fuss?? Any thoughts?

picklepick

If i were you id be making a big fuss... perhaps you could ask them for some sort of discount for the inconvenience and distress thats been caused to you as a result of this?
With a little money off you can put this towards the transport for the other guests...

I guess your only other option is to try and find somwhere else and ask the hotel if you can have your deposit back as they've mucked up? i think this is going to be even more stressful though!

TugaGirl

I’m sorry this is happening to you L!!
I would make a big fuss about it! I work in a big named travel company, where we contract hotels to put our guests in, sometimes our guests get overbooked, only because the hotel mocked it up.
I bit of “shouting” and threatening to move all of our guests out (in your case, your wedding) is often enough to make them overbook other guests. Normally last to book.
Get the manager to move out other guests and book your wedding party in!!

Good luck, I hope you can sort it out. J

Horace

As the hotel has upcocked, tell them to sort it out, even if it means that they pay for rooms elsewhere and bus your guests to and from your wedding. Offering them some bad publicity may also help you get your guests into the hotel - after all it is the hotel's fault for double booking.

kte

Thanks for the comments...my dad spoke to the assistant manager who was far more apologetic than the person previously spoken to...they say they're doing all they can and are hoping other rooms that people have reserved will become available - the thing is we can't afford to wait around to find out. They're now at least acknowledging that it's their fault, the problem is that the other guests in the hotel I believe are part of a wedding actually being held in the hotel, so I'm guessing they will give them priority to some extent (I'd be really mad if my wedding was held there and they didn't give me rooms!)

We have found another hotel just up the road who could make up the remainder of the rooms for us, which whilst not ideal is not a bad option. I'm going to see it tomorrow and we're going to have to book the rooms asap if we like them (as they're another hotel that our venue recommends for wedding guests!).

I think you're right, we should push for them to lay on the transport to move guests and help pay some of the other room costs (or reduce theirs!)...your replies were all really helpful - it sometimes hard to look objectively when you're caught up in the emotions of what it going on!

Horace

Well done on finding an alternative, at least the hotel have now acknowledged that they made a mistake. Certainly push for transport or rooms its the very least they can do.

Good luck and try not to stress too much about it.