We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Lastminute.com
wary
Posts: 791 Forumite
Something that has got me wondering ...
A couple of years ago, we booked a B&B in Scarborough for the August bank holiday weekend via LASTMINUTE.COM. I did think it a bit strange why they were letting their room this way as being in a good location in a popular seaside town, they should have no problem letting it themselves, whereas presumably the LASTMINUTE.COM price would be cheaper and they’d also take their cut. It certainly wasn’t a last-minute booking either as we booked it weeks in advance.
With about 4 days notice, my wife received a call from the B&B owner saying our booking was cancelled supposedly due to a flood. When I phoned a couple of days later, she knew exactly who I was, implying that we were the only ones that she had cancelled ... which kind of left me suspicious. We tried to find alternative accommodation but not surprisingly, everywhere was fully booked.
How does LASTMINUTE work? Do they take a sizeable chunk of any booking, as opposed to a flat annual membership fee, for example?
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I did wonder whether they’d used LASTMINUTE as a kind of insurance policy, just in case they didn’t manage to book it themselves, although surely LASTMINUTE would get suspicious if they cancelled too often. Alternatively, if they had to cancel someone due to a genuine flood or an accidental double-booking say, we would have been the obvious ones to cancel (as opposed to whoever happened to be booked in the impacted room) if they were making least money from us ... or am I altogether just being too suspicious?!?
A couple of years ago, we booked a B&B in Scarborough for the August bank holiday weekend via LASTMINUTE.COM. I did think it a bit strange why they were letting their room this way as being in a good location in a popular seaside town, they should have no problem letting it themselves, whereas presumably the LASTMINUTE.COM price would be cheaper and they’d also take their cut. It certainly wasn’t a last-minute booking either as we booked it weeks in advance.
With about 4 days notice, my wife received a call from the B&B owner saying our booking was cancelled supposedly due to a flood. When I phoned a couple of days later, she knew exactly who I was, implying that we were the only ones that she had cancelled ... which kind of left me suspicious. We tried to find alternative accommodation but not surprisingly, everywhere was fully booked.
How does LASTMINUTE work? Do they take a sizeable chunk of any booking, as opposed to a flat annual membership fee, for example?
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I did wonder whether they’d used LASTMINUTE as a kind of insurance policy, just in case they didn’t manage to book it themselves, although surely LASTMINUTE would get suspicious if they cancelled too often. Alternatively, if they had to cancel someone due to a genuine flood or an accidental double-booking say, we would have been the obvious ones to cancel (as opposed to whoever happened to be booked in the impacted room) if they were making least money from us ... or am I altogether just being too suspicious?!?
0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 353.5K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.1K Spending & Discounts
- 246.6K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.1K Life & Family
- 260.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards