The Mystery of Vanishing Hotel Reservations
Booking on travel sites like Expedia should guarantee a room, but guests sometimes end up bumped
By Scott McCartney
July 8, 2015 1:21 p.m. ET
Michael Kotula and his wife booked a hotel room through Expedia eight months in advance of their daughter’s University of Delaware graduation in late May. They reconfirmed directly with the hotel two months before the big event.
Two days before check-in, Expedia told them in an email the hotel was canceling. And when they called the Hilton Wilmington/Christiana in Newark, Del., to complain, Mr. Kotula was told reservations made through travel agencies like Expedia weren’t as secure as booking directly with the hotel.
“I wish I had known before that my reservations with Expedia were built on quicksand,” Mr. Kotula says.
Reservations made by authorized agencies are legally just as secure as bookings made directly with airlines, car-rental firms or hotels, according to hotel executives and industry analysts. But since hotels have to pay commissions for agency bookings, they try to push customers to book directly.
And many travelers harbor doubts about the security of using a middleman, and use online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz for comparison shopping and then book directly.
Expedia says the hotel was wrong to tell Mr. Kotula there was a difference. “They’re looking for someone to blame,” says Adam Anderson, Expedia’s managing director of industry relations. But Hilton says in a statement that direct booking reservations may be favored when guests are relocated because “it is easier for the hotel to communicate directly to the guest if they had booked directly through Hilton.”
Brad Wenger, general manager of the Hilton Wilmington, referred questions about the handling of the reservation to Hilton. Andrew Flack, Hilton’s vice president of global marketing, referred questions about Mr. Kotula’s reservation to the hotel.
The bottom line: Airlines, resorts, cruises, hotels and car-rental firms can dump you for a better offer, regardless of how your booking was made.
In the airline business, overbooking is regulated by the Transportation Department, which requires airlines to pay cash compensation to passengers involuntarily bumped from flights.
The penalties were doubled in 2011 to lessen the incentive for airlines to bump a low-fare customer when a high-fare passenger shows up at the last minute. But hotels don’t face that kind of regulation.
“Hotels do their best to meet their guests’ needs, and unlike other industries, hotels are very lenient when guests fail to honor their reservations, leaving them with empty rooms,” the American Hotel & Lodging Association said in a statement.
While there are no data on hotel bumping rates, hotel occupancy has been climbing, meaning more nights when hotels sell out. Since many still allow cancellation of reservations up to 6 p.m. on the day of arrival, hotels overbook, knowing some guests won’t show. As the economy improves, there’s concern the practice of double-booking may be increasing, says Paul Ruden, executive vice president at the American Society of Travel Agents.
Mr. Kotula, a Uniondale, N.Y., lawyer, and his wife, Stephanie Johnson, knew they needed to book a graduation-weekend hotel room far in advance. They had previously stayed at the Hilton near campus and liked it.
Ms. Johnson booked a room on Sept. 26 for the graduation at about $250, a premium rate for that hotel. She called the hotel directly in March to reconfirm and was told the reservation was in order. Then two days before check-in, Expedia sent an email saying, “unfortunately the hotel is unable to accept your reservation” and that they should call to arrange new accommodations.
Calling took several hours. Mr. Kotula, a gold-level member of Expedia’s loyalty program who previously booked trips through the agency with no problems, says he waited an hour to talk to a representative. He got no explanation of what had happened. He asked to speak to a supervisor, was put on hold, then disconnected.
They called the hotel but were offered no explanation and told the manager would call them back, which never happened. “In a moment of candor, the hotel told us that our reservation is less secure when we book a reservation through a third-party payer like Expedia,” Mr. Kotula says of a conversation with a hotel Clerk.
Hilton’s Mr. Flack says the company’s policy is to relocate overbooked guests to a comparable hotel and pay for the first night of the stay plus transportation to and from the alternate hotel.
“All relocation decisions are made at the discretion of the hotel,” he says. Expedia rebooked the couple to a lesser-quality hotel farther from campus.
Expedia says it received a “relocation request” from the Hilton two days before May 29 check-in and immediately notified the family. Expedia’s Mr. Anderson says the hotel told Expedia it chose to cancel some reservations because it wanted to lengthen the stay of a group. Mr. Wenger, the hotel’s general manager, confirmed there “was a large group staying that period that grew in size.”
When overbooked, hotels make the decision on which customers get “walked,” the industry term for moving clients to other hotels. Industry experts say guests get selected for bumping based on how long they plan to stay, which rate they pay, whether they are important clients or part of a group, and what time they arrive to check in.
“We are reinforcing our policies around overbooking with the hotel,” Hilton’s Mr. Flack says.
Photo: Michael Sloan
Robert Rippee of Las Vegas also had problems calling Expedia customer service. On a New York business trip, he opted to book an apartment through Expedia. It looked good in online photos and the $400-a-night price seemed a relative bargain in pricey Manhattan.
The address turned out to belong to a dry-cleaning shop. He called the contact number on his reservation and the landlord gave him another address. That was an apartment with tape over the door locks with no resemblance to the photos on Expedia. Mr. Rippee left a note saying the apartment wasn't what he booked and was unacceptable. He booked a room at the Lexington Hotel and then tried to call Expedia.
Mr. Rippee says he spent an hour on hold, and then selected an option to have Expedia call him back. An hour later, Expedia called but the agent told him there was nothing Expedia could do—it was only the agent and he had to go to the landlord for a refund. He asked to speak to a supervisor, was placed on hold, then disconnected. “This cycle repeated three times during the night,” he says. Another go-round with the company the next day proved similarly fruitless.
Mr. Rippee, a consultant in business development and technology and former hotel marketing executive, filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission. He then received an email from Expedia refunding the $1,100 he paid for two nights at the Lexington Hotel. Expedia confirmed this sequence of events.
Expedia says its call centers are operating at maximum capacity with the peak summer travel season.
As a result, “you will certainly find vocal customers who are frustrated with the experience,” a spokesman says regarding Mr. Rippee’s experience. The company is investigating reports of dropped calls and long wait times.
And the phantom apartment? Expedia says it investigated and found “discrepancies” between its listing and the apartment. “Expedia has removed the apartment and other properties associated with this owner from its sites,” the company says.
Two days before check-in, Expedia told them in an email the hotel was canceling. And when they called the Hilton Wilmington/Christiana in Newark, Del., to complain, Mr. Kotula was told reservations made through travel agencies like Expedia weren’t as secure as booking directly with the hotel.
“I wish I had known before that my reservations with Expedia were built on quicksand,” Mr. Kotula says.
Reservations made by authorized agencies are legally just as secure as bookings made directly with airlines, car-rental firms or hotels, according to hotel executives and industry analysts. But since hotels have to pay commissions for agency bookings, they try to push customers to book directly.
And many travelers harbor doubts about the security of using a middleman, and use online travel agencies like Expedia and Orbitz for comparison shopping and then book directly.
Expedia says the hotel was wrong to tell Mr. Kotula there was a difference. “They’re looking for someone to blame,” says Adam Anderson, Expedia’s managing director of industry relations. But Hilton says in a statement that direct booking reservations may be favored when guests are relocated because “it is easier for the hotel to communicate directly to the guest if they had booked directly through Hilton.”
Brad Wenger, general manager of the Hilton Wilmington, referred questions about the handling of the reservation to Hilton. Andrew Flack, Hilton’s vice president of global marketing, referred questions about Mr. Kotula’s reservation to the hotel.
The bottom line: Airlines, resorts, cruises, hotels and car-rental firms can dump you for a better offer, regardless of how your booking was made.
In the airline business, overbooking is regulated by the Transportation Department, which requires airlines to pay cash compensation to passengers involuntarily bumped from flights.
The penalties were doubled in 2011 to lessen the incentive for airlines to bump a low-fare customer when a high-fare passenger shows up at the last minute. But hotels don’t face that kind of regulation.
“Hotels do their best to meet their guests’ needs, and unlike other industries, hotels are very lenient when guests fail to honor their reservations, leaving them with empty rooms,” the American Hotel & Lodging Association said in a statement.
While there are no data on hotel bumping rates, hotel occupancy has been climbing, meaning more nights when hotels sell out. Since many still allow cancellation of reservations up to 6 p.m. on the day of arrival, hotels overbook, knowing some guests won’t show. As the economy improves, there’s concern the practice of double-booking may be increasing, says Paul Ruden, executive vice president at the American Society of Travel Agents.
Mr. Kotula, a Uniondale, N.Y., lawyer, and his wife, Stephanie Johnson, knew they needed to book a graduation-weekend hotel room far in advance. They had previously stayed at the Hilton near campus and liked it.
Ms. Johnson booked a room on Sept. 26 for the graduation at about $250, a premium rate for that hotel. She called the hotel directly in March to reconfirm and was told the reservation was in order. Then two days before check-in, Expedia sent an email saying, “unfortunately the hotel is unable to accept your reservation” and that they should call to arrange new accommodations.
Calling took several hours. Mr. Kotula, a gold-level member of Expedia’s loyalty program who previously booked trips through the agency with no problems, says he waited an hour to talk to a representative. He got no explanation of what had happened. He asked to speak to a supervisor, was put on hold, then disconnected.
They called the hotel but were offered no explanation and told the manager would call them back, which never happened. “In a moment of candor, the hotel told us that our reservation is less secure when we book a reservation through a third-party payer like Expedia,” Mr. Kotula says of a conversation with a hotel Clerk.
Hilton’s Mr. Flack says the company’s policy is to relocate overbooked guests to a comparable hotel and pay for the first night of the stay plus transportation to and from the alternate hotel.
“All relocation decisions are made at the discretion of the hotel,” he says. Expedia rebooked the couple to a lesser-quality hotel farther from campus.
Expedia says it received a “relocation request” from the Hilton two days before May 29 check-in and immediately notified the family. Expedia’s Mr. Anderson says the hotel told Expedia it chose to cancel some reservations because it wanted to lengthen the stay of a group. Mr. Wenger, the hotel’s general manager, confirmed there “was a large group staying that period that grew in size.”
When overbooked, hotels make the decision on which customers get “walked,” the industry term for moving clients to other hotels. Industry experts say guests get selected for bumping based on how long they plan to stay, which rate they pay, whether they are important clients or part of a group, and what time they arrive to check in.
“We are reinforcing our policies around overbooking with the hotel,” Hilton’s Mr. Flack says.
Robert Rippee of Las Vegas also had problems calling Expedia customer service. On a New York business trip, he opted to book an apartment through Expedia. It looked good in online photos and the $400-a-night price seemed a relative bargain in pricey Manhattan.
The address turned out to belong to a dry-cleaning shop. He called the contact number on his reservation and the landlord gave him another address. That was an apartment with tape over the door locks with no resemblance to the photos on Expedia. Mr. Rippee left a note saying the apartment wasn't what he booked and was unacceptable. He booked a room at the Lexington Hotel and then tried to call Expedia.
Mr. Rippee says he spent an hour on hold, and then selected an option to have Expedia call him back. An hour later, Expedia called but the agent told him there was nothing Expedia could do—it was only the agent and he had to go to the landlord for a refund. He asked to speak to a supervisor, was placed on hold, then disconnected. “This cycle repeated three times during the night,” he says. Another go-round with the company the next day proved similarly fruitless.
Mr. Rippee, a consultant in business development and technology and former hotel marketing executive, filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission. He then received an email from Expedia refunding the $1,100 he paid for two nights at the Lexington Hotel. Expedia confirmed this sequence of events.
Expedia says its call centers are operating at maximum capacity with the peak summer travel season.
As a result, “you will certainly find vocal customers who are frustrated with the experience,” a spokesman says regarding Mr. Rippee’s experience. The company is investigating reports of dropped calls and long wait times.
And the phantom apartment? Expedia says it investigated and found “discrepancies” between its listing and the apartment. “Expedia has removed the apartment and other properties associated with this owner from its sites,” the company says.
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