BA cancelled our flight + reimbursement for hotel

Grumpy_chap

Westin said:

Whilst Mallorca can be expensive, I would expect a cheaper overnight accommodation to have been available. In case of flight cancellation the airline is not obligated to keep you in the same hotel, or star standard. 

It might also depend on the room cost within the package and the standard of accommodation.

When we were looking, BA Holidays do have some more pricey hotels in their collection.  Does a package holiday have to offer the same / similar level of hotel for the extension?
Even if they do, BA Holidays might have rooms available in that venue at no cost to BA (prior block booking or delayed traveller not now arriving that day).

flaneurs_lobster

900 EUR? What I've just spent on 2 weeks self-catering in Greece, including flights (albeit for 1).

Could (just about) get a room at The Savoy for that, but doesn't include breakfast.

Grumpy_chap

flaneurs_lobster said:

900 EUR? What I've just spent on 2 weeks self-catering in Greece, including flights (albeit for 1).

Could (just about) get a room at The Savoy for that, but doesn't include breakfast.

The OP has not confirmed that it was only two people in one room for the EURO 900.  I believe that it is.

I think the standard of the hotel in the package is an important factor in what is reasonable for the costs associated with that extra night resulting from the flight delay / cancellation.

If I was staying at The Savoy and required an additional night of accommodation, I might not find a nearby Travelodge appropriate.

bagand96

Grumpy_chap said:

When we were looking, BA Holidays do have some more pricey hotels in their collection.  Does a package holiday have to offer the same / similar level of hotel for the extension?

There's nothing in the PTR's that specifically states it would have to be the same hotel.

There's an argument for the same standard (official rating) if it's considered an extension of the package. Altough short notice cancellations can be difficult and the PTR's do have some exclusions when it's a supplier issue outside of the Package Organiser's control

I was recently looking at reviews of a hotel abroad being nosey. There were numerous new reviews giving 1*. On reading it turned out Jet2 had cancelled a flight and this (mediocre) hotel is where they accommodated people. Some were clearly unimpressed at their treatment  having enjoyed 5* holidays!

Assume the OP had a very good standard of hotel. Either way deciding to spend €900 on one night without reference to the airline or Tour operator was bold. The BA Holidays 24-hour helpline was helpful and efficient the one occasion I needed it. 

jimi_man

Grumpy_chap said:

Westin said:

Whilst Mallorca can be expensive, I would expect a cheaper overnight accommodation to have been available. In case of flight cancellation the airline is not obligated to keep you in the same hotel, or star standard. 

It might also depend on the room cost within the package and the standard of accommodation.

When we were looking, BA Holidays do have some more pricey hotels in their collection.  Does a package holiday have to offer the same / similar level of hotel for the extension?
Even if they do, BA Holidays might have rooms available in that venue at no cost to BA (prior block booking or delayed traveller not now arriving that day).

Yes and no. The idea is when booking a package holiday, that you give BA holidays the opportunity to redress the situation. And in fairness they are pretty good at that and ninety nine times out of a hundred they will book you another night at your existing hotel. However if you don’t do that and just book somewhere on your own and claim it back from the airline (a different company) then BA will usually pay that up to a general maximum of £250. They will sometimes pay more but you’d have to show them that there were no rooms available for under that. 

The key is, if you book a package then get the package provider to sort it out. 

sunnysideup43

bagand96 said:

You seriously just splashed out nearly €900 on a hotel room for one night on the assumption of being reimbursed, without talking to your airline or your operator?! (Yes same brand, but technically different companies)

As has been said already both EC261 and the PTR's overlap here. Although I'm not sure either specifically state you're entitled to stay in the same accommodation at any cost. Good luck! 

Obviously what we paid for the hotel was much less because we had a package with BA so they negotiate prices. This price, which we did question at the time, was what the hotel were charging.  No, we didn't ask BA. Why should we? It was their fault. We're nearly 70, why should we be put through the stress of trying to find accommodation for the night, pack up our stuff yet again, have to order a taxi to a new place because of their decision to cancel?  Far better in our opinion to stay put and taking into consideration that we never had any issue when this happened before. 

flaneurs_lobster

sunnysideup43 said:

bagand96 said:

You seriously just splashed out nearly €900 on a hotel room for one night on the assumption of being reimbursed, without talking to your airline or your operator?! (Yes same brand, but technically different companies)

As has been said already both EC261 and the PTR's overlap here. Although I'm not sure either specifically state you're entitled to stay in the same accommodation at any cost. Good luck! 

Obviously what we paid for the hotel was much less because we had a package with BA so they negotiate prices. This price, which we did question at the time, was what the hotel were charging.  No, we didn't ask BA. Why should we? It was their fault. We're nearly 70, why should we be put through the stress of trying to find accommodation for the night, pack up our stuff yet again, have to order a taxi to a new place because of their decision to cancel?  Far better in our opinion to stay put and taking into consideration that we never had any issue when this happened before. 

In terms of convenience and previous experience then of course just stay put and pay.

The inconvenience and stress (and probable cost and disappointment) will however only be deferred to the point where you try to claim this expense back. 

Grumpy_chap

sunnysideup43 said:

Obviously what we paid for the hotel was much less because we had a package with BA so they negotiate prices. This price, which we did question at the time, was what the hotel were charging.  No, we didn't ask BA. Why should we? It was their fault. We're nearly 70, why should we be put through the stress of trying to find accommodation for the night, pack up our stuff yet again, have to order a taxi to a new place because of their decision to cancel?  Far better in our opinion to stay put and taking into consideration that we never had any issue when this happened before. 

You are referring to two different businesses within the BA group:

BA - the airline who cancelled the flight
BA Holidays - through whom you booked your package holiday.

As for why you should contact BA Holidays, well, I have a BA Holidays booking right now and on the e-ticket it provides information:
 - Thank you for booking
 - Itinerary
 - Accommodation details
 - Flight details
 - Baggage allowances
 - Disability assistance
 - Payment information
 - Customer services information

Under that last section is a clear note "if you require assistance during your trip, please contact our 24-hour Duty Office on ****"

I have had to use that in the past when travelling with BA Holidays and they were very effective in resolving the matter.

You have paid for a package holiday so benefit from the rights afforded under that form of travel.  If you had phoned them, they would have sorted out your accommodation, any transfers required, etc. 

Probably less stress than your approach of making a booking the extra night direct.
Booking direct also means you did not mitigate your losses and did not offer BA Holidays the opportunity to resolve the matter taking advantage of their competitive rates that they can leverage.  
I would also highly expect that, had they been given the opportunity, BA Holidays would have simply extended your accommodation in the same room that you already had in any case.

silvercar

£200 per room per night is the standard that BA (flight company) pay up without argument when the delay is down to them.

BA Holidays, would probably have arranged the extension to your existing stay for you by liaising direct with the hotel. Unfortunately, you didn’t give them an opportunity to do so, but it’s worth pursuing them directly on this. 

eskbanker

sunnysideup43 said:

No, we didn't ask BA. Why should we? It was their fault. We're nearly 70...

Why do you believe your age to be relevant - did you have special assistance booked perhaps?

sunnysideup43 said:
...why should we be put through the stress of trying to find accommodation for the night...

That's the whole point - it was BA's responsibility to do that for you.  You could argue that the airline should have proactively done so, but by failing to contact the package provider you denied them the opportunity to make arrangements in the most appropriate manner.

sunnysideup43 said:
...pack up our stuff yet again...

You said that you were unaware of the flight cancellation "until we returned to the hotel around 3pm as we were out", on the day you were checking out, so surely you'd already have been packed up ready for departure by then, or had you made late checkout arrangements?

sunnysideup43 said:
Far better in our opinion to stay put and taking into consideration that we never had any issue when this happened before. 

Unfortunately their obligations are governed by laws and policies, rather than customer opinions.  Within reason they might be amenable to offering a bit more for a hotel, but I fear your hopes of recovering the astronomical cost you incurred are unlikely to be fulfilled, especially if not making any attempt to shop around via a quick online search.