Cancellation of Hotel Wedding Rooms

Diver2

My g/friend and I are getting married in October.
A couple of months ago, we booked (and paid for in full on a credit card) three rooms at a hotel adjacent to the church where we are getting married for the Friday and Saturday (my girlfriend and her family are staying there on the Friday and Saturday night). These three rooms included a honeymoon suite. They were basically at our price point, our chosen location, and perfect for our needs. My family have also subsequently booked rooms there for the Saturday night.
We’ve just received a letter from the hotel owner stating that he wants to cancel our rooms and refund the money to our credit card. Nightmare! He’s stated in the letter that they want to have some underpinning work undertaken on the hotel (have some suspicions on that story, but that’s not the main point of this post). He’s offered to refund our money.
The problem that I have is that all other accommodation in the area is a reasonable distance further away, and will probably cost more (i.e. around £30/night) more than that which we had booked. Also accommodation with available wedding suites is much more restricted.

I spoke with the hotel manager and he mentioned perhaps paying “something” that is reasonable towards other hotel costs, but I suspect that this promise might amount to little when he finds out the scale of cost.
What are my consumer rights in this situation? Can he just refund the money to the card and be done with us? My current stance is the hotel should fund (directly) alternative accommodation. We have a contract and they need to fulfill it.
Not at my calmest at the moment though!
I also plan to call the credit card company when the g/friend comes home from work to see what their take on the situation is.
Any and all advice appreciated!
Regards and thanks in advance.

Andy

PS – Wedding insurance not yet purchased – doh!

mountainofdebt

My immediate thought would not be so much as the rooms but what the effect of the proposed work will have on the hotel itself (assuming you're having the reception there)

Are they cancelling all the rooms?

Personally I would check with local hotels to check availability as I think you may have more of a bargaining position in asking the hotel to delay work if there aren't any available (personally it wouldn't bother me about having a 'honeymoon' suite but that's just me)

Why do you think there could be another reason the hotel want's to cancel the rooms?

ALIBOBSY

I would start by contacting a few other hotels. Don't start with how much per room, but come in with the fact you will be block booking 3 youself and other relatives will be booking as well. Given the time of year I would have thought a hotel would jump at the chance to book out that number of rooms at once and you should be able to negotiate on room rate.

Ali x

themull1

Do you have wedding insurance, because unless it mentions what the hotel will do if they had to cancel your rooms in your contract, they aren't obliged to pay you any compensation.

Freddie_Snowbits

Sorry but as the Hotel has cancelled and given you your money back, there is little you can do.

visidigi

If the hotel does refund, ask for everything in writing and all the reasons why its been cancelled. Just in case he's cancelling you for a bigger amount of money from someone else, if hes trading on the day you were due there you would have grounds to sue.

Its not nice having this sort of stress on your wedding plans, im sure you really could have done without it.

Good Luck with everything

ayayay

It amazes me the bar room lawyers on this site spouting nonsense. You have a contract which they are bound to fulfill. If they don't they have to pay you compensation, which includes paying you the full additional cost of any replacement rooms, additional costs of transport (and because they knew it was for a wedding) compensation for disappointment. (the exception is if their terms and conditions properly brought to your attention exclude this type of loss). If they don't you can sue in the small claims.

visidigi

I don't necessarily agree with everything ayayay says, especially as any hotel with such terms and conditions allowing such compensation is not one I have ever been or considered staying at BUT in saying that - they say its having underpinning work - is this being done and paid for by the hotel insurance? Like I said previously, don't waste your time arguing the case now (more important things to be doing for your wedding) but ask for it in writing and come back to it - no point arguing on something they can't currently do - especially if you are short on time..

Equaliser123

ayayay wrote: »

It amazes me the bar room lawyers on this site spouting nonsense. You have a contract which they are bound to fulfill. If they don't they have to pay you compensation, which includes paying you the full additional cost of any replacement rooms, additional costs of transport (and because they knew it was for a wedding) compensation for disappointment. (the exception is if their terms and conditions properly brought to your attention exclude this type of loss). If they don't you can sue in the small claims.

Yes, but subject to the principles of contract law including (and especially) the obligation to mitigate losses.

Equaliser123

Should also say that I think wedding insurance is massively overrated as, in cases like this, it doesn't actually provide you with any additional remedy.

Diver2

Thanks for the advice so far all.

When we booked the rooms, we were not given any T&C’s (and having checked their website am still not aware of there being any), just a receipt and a schedule of rooms and dates. How do people think that this effects our position?
Just to clarify, not all the hotel is being closed (just some accommodation blocks where we are staying). They are still planning to have a wedding there that weekend (not ours, we have a church and separate reception facility), which makes the whole “underpinning” story a little fishy!
In relation to our duty to mitigate loss, the hotel has a swimming pool, health spa etc that my g/friend was planning to use on the day before the wedding. The options that the hotel manager has mentioned do not have these, nor do they have a honeymoon suite, they are just pubs with associated accommodation. They only thing that is close by that has these is a much more expensive four star hotel (the hotel we are dealing with is a three star hotel)!
Thanks for the advice so far, anymore in light of the information above would be appreciated!

Kind Regards

Andy