Poor policy, ungracious compensation
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 1/9/07
We had confirmed reservations and called enroute to be sure they knew we were coming. We arrived at 5pm to learn they were overbooked and could not accomodate us. The entire city was booked apparently. They referred us to a dive hotel about 20 minutes away by car, and worlds away culturally. We complained to Renaissance and the reservationist suggested another hotel. It was just as bad or worse.
We opted to sleep in our sport wagon--the dive hotels were that bad! It actually was probably not right decision, as we hardly slept at all before embarking on a long day of travel. But we couldn't imagine sleeping in the rooms we were shown--dark, smelly, worn out, and the noisy surrounding area would have necessitated ear plugs to sleep.
My point is that the hotel justified their overbooking policy, using the airlines as an example. Well, we said what you would have said. You can NOT compare the two situations. The airlines offer fliers a choice and they compensate with vouchers, and they still get you to your destination, in the same if not better flight accomodation. People who CHOOSE this option are not usually inconvenienced, but choose to spend a longer layover here rather than there in many instances.
After we returned home, the experience still aggravated me. I spoke with a manager who refused to see my point, but offered a one night stay. Well, even if I visited Vancouver often, which I don't, I would hardly feek compensated. I would like to see a policy change. My guess is they offer the lowest rates in the area because they overbook and therefore run closer to capacity than the other hotels. Travelers should not be treated so carelessly by a hotel wanting a respectable reputation among discrimminating travelers.
C. Borger