Hotels.com room not available upon arrival

s12blade

Hi there guys.

Just wondering if someone could help with advice/pointers on how I go about with a problem I experienced with Hotels.com.

I'm a sucker for a bargain when it comes to travel abroad - so much so that I'll book flights with Thomson, return with Thomas Cook and return to a different airport.

Anyways - Holiday abroad for 9 nights - we turned up to our hotel "Aquis Marine" @ Kos - to be advised there wasn't a room available - Hotels.com shouldn't have sold us the hotel - Hotels.com were notified on 12th July that there was no rooms available and to stop selling rooms - we booked the room on 14th July.

Bearing in mind this was 1AM - children and partner crying - we were moved to a hotel which was no where close to our original booking (by this time it was around 2AM).

The following morning, we woke up to breakfast and advised to go back to our original hotel and talk to HOtels.com from there. I suffer from sleep deprivation epilepsy and unfortunately had a seizure that very morning - this has never happened to me on holiday before - it was all down to the fact that hotels.com couldn't confirm where we were to be based the following night... Fortunately for me, my children weren't there to see my episode (hopefully they never will).

So, after getting my head together, we then went back to the originally booked hotel where I spent over 6 hours in the reception of the hotel, trying to sort this mess. Finally, Hotels.com had found us a hotel from Thursday (this was actually a Wednesday), so, where were to sleep the Wednesday night ???

It was an absolute nightmare and I've complained to the CEO of HOtels.com and still awaiting a response. Hotels.com did however issue us with £150 as a goodwill gesture, but no apology. It cost us £127 in food, chaser telephone calls, taxis etc.

What are my options ? I believe that the only way is complaining to Hotels.com...

Thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.

dzug1

The main option is to do nothing - you've already received more in 'compensation' than you paid out so have 'won' in that sense. And taking it further will be stressful and you seem to react badly to stress. Is it worth it?

s12blade

I understand, but I shouldn't have had to pay £127 to notify Hotels.com of their error, pay for a meal in our original hotel (they wouldn't accept our original all inclusive booking and rightly so) and the remaining fees in taxis ??

Their good will gesture to make it even in that case should be around £150 + £127 in sorting this error ? The fact there is no apology really grinds my gears.

p.s. the £150 wasn't a cash amount - it was £150 of a next booking which will expire by 21st July 2015.

NiftyDigits

I would certainly continue with your complaint. £150 off your next booking is unacceptable. It's a shame that you don't have any evidence of the seizure that you had, as I would attribute that to them and include it in any claim.

I believe that they have offices in London; 407 St John St., Greater London, Greater London, EC1V 4EX, United Kingdom +44 20 7019 2502

So you can can go to Small Claims if they refuse to budge.

Be reasonable in what you request in recompense, but be firm in what you think is fair.

lea2012

You are correct that you need to complain via Hotels.com as they are who you paid for your booking, and they are your main point of contact. It may however that they are not really the ones to blame.

When you switched to the different hotel on the first night, who arranged that? Hotels.com or the original hotel?
If it was the original hotel that moved you then I would hazard a guess that they have overbooked you maybe and hotels.com will then need to try and get some more compensation from them?

Either way it might take a while to resolve. Normally I would suggest asking them to look into it further and ask for more,such as the £150 in cash or the £150 vouchers and £127 on top in cash. But if it's likely to affect your health and make you more stressed then it's not worth it.

hollydays

s12blade wrote: »

Hi there guys.

Just wondering if someone could help with advice/pointers on how I go about with a problem I experienced with Hotels.com.

I'm a sucker for a bargain when it comes to travel abroad - so much so that I'll book flights with Thomson, return with Thomas Cook and return to a different airport.

Anyways - Holiday abroad for 9 nights - we turned up to our hotel "Aquis Marine" @ Kos - to be advised there wasn't a room available - Hotels.com shouldn't have sold us the hotel - Hotels.com were notified on 12th July that there was no rooms available and to stop selling rooms - we booked the room on 14th July.

Bearing in mind this was 1AM - children and partner crying - we were moved to a hotel which was no where close to our original booking (by this time it was around 2AM).

The following morning, we woke up to breakfast and advised to go back to our original hotel and talk to HOtels.com from there. I suffer from sleep deprivation epilepsy and unfortunately had a seizure that very morning - this has never happened to me on holiday before - it was all down to the fact that hotels.com couldn't confirm where we were to be based the following night... Fortunately for me, my children weren't there to see my episode (hopefully they never will).

So, after getting my head together, we then went back to the originally booked hotel where I spent over 6 hours in the reception of the hotel, trying to sort this mess. Finally, Hotels.com had found us a hotel from Thursday (this was actually a Wednesday), so, where were to sleep the Wednesday night ???

It was an absolute nightmare and I've complained to the CEO of HOtels.com and still awaiting a response. Hotels.com did however issue us with £150 as a goodwill gesture, but no apology. It cost us £127 in food, chaser telephone calls, taxis etc.

What are my options ? I believe that the only way is complaining to Hotels.com...

Thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.

If you suffer from sleep deprivation epilepsy, was arriving at 1am with a young child a good idea?

littlereddevil

What has that to do with hotels.com?

skippyste

I think if you read the T&C's you'll find a clause somewhere regarding overbooking of hotels and they are allowed to transfer you to another. That will be both the hotel and the agent contracts. The fact they got you to another room and £150 goodwill (essentially a refund of a night) probably does cover it. The hotel was probably palming it's overbooking policy onto hotels.com though...

If you feel the room was not of comparable value then certainly take it further and request additional compensation for this though but I have a feeling your complaint has gone as far as it will!

PolishBigSpender

If Hotels.com are anything like booking.com, then the original hotel themselves are responsible for the overbooking. I agree that the hotel is probably to blame, not the website.

jpsartre

Send them copies of all receipts for expenses you incurred and ask to be reimbursed. That's what I would do anyway.

martindow

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

If Hotels.com are anything like booking.com, then the original hotel themselves are responsible for the overbooking. I agree that the hotel is probably to blame, not the website.

Yes, but that is hotels.com's problem as the OP dealt with them. I agree with others that the OP needs to balance their health against the stress.

Are you on holiday now? If so I think I would try to enjoy the holiday which is not what you envisaged, but make the best of it. Changes can be unsettling but they don't need to ruin the holiday.

Note the expenses and a diary of the problems and chase it up when you get back.