When reservations are not honored

granddi · ‎03-16-2010

The United Airline overbooking got me thinking about times when reservations are not honored even when pre-paid.

How many of you have had hotel reservations only to be told they cannot be honored? We have been told sorry we don't have non-smoking or king bed as requested. One time we arrived late at hotel due to plane delay only to be told no room! They sent us to a nearby hotel but not the same.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

Usually with a hotel, prepaying with a credit card guarantees your reservation. They know they're going to get paid so why shouldn't they hold your room?

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

granddi · ‎03-16-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
Usually with a hotel, prepaying with a credit card guarantees your reservation. They know they're going to get paid so why shouldn't they hold your room?

That is what I was saying. We arrived in Phoenix at the CamelBack. Our plane was delayed by several hours due to weather. Yes the room was guaranteed. The clerk politely said that they did not have a room. I said no rooms at all? Not the bridal suite, not the presidential suite, not the room you reserve for an emergency--Not one single room in this entire hotel. Poor desk clerk had to do a dirty deed for sure.

So now it is 1am and they send us down the street to a very nice hotel. Funny thing, at 6am the phone rings and they have our room ready!

Like I said, that guy being removed from the United flight got me thinking that reservations don't necessarily guarantee what you think. Even if paid in advance.....

Southwest Airlines cancelled a flight due to weather. I get it. Weather does happen. It was midnight in Dallas. We were put on the 6am flight the next day. We were shown a small area of the terminal that we could stay the night or make our own way to other accommodations. We were given $100 airline credit. I don't think we were mistreated and I sure didn't want a plane to fly in unsafe conditions.

Nicecupoftea · ‎03-09-2010

What they did to that passenger is pure evil! We should boycott this airline. He booked and paid and got onboard. He did not volunteer to get off.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
Usually with a hotel, prepaying with a credit card guarantees your reservation. They know they're going to get paid so why shouldn't they hold your room?

Quite a few years ago, I reserved and prepaid for a room in Las Vegas for five nights. The great offer I got was available if I prepaid.

Our plane was delayed and then when we landed, the airline would not let us off and we sat on the tarmac for hours.

There was a sick man in the back of the plane. They had paramedics in those white hazmat suits enter through a back door and tend to him. He was tested for some disease and we had to all wait for the results. He didn't have what they thought he did, thankfully, they let us deplane.

We got to our hotel after 1am. They did not hold a room for us in the catagory I had paid for and we got downgraded to a basic room. They told me to check with them the next day and they would move me into the correct room catagory.

The next morning, I checked with the front desk clerk about getting moved and he verified that they now had a room available. I explained that I paid for a bigger room and got downgraded and I was disappointed that I didn't get what I paid for the night before. He left his seat and went into the back. When he came back he said he got permission to upgrade us to a suite.

That was some suite. It had two bathrooms that were each bigger than my living room. I lived in the kingdom for the rest if the week.

It seems that no one holds anything for anyone anymore. A guaranteed reservation means nothing. Good Customer service is still out there if you are polite when you state your disappointment. You should ask and receive something for your trouble when things don't go as expected.

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
Usually with a hotel, prepaying with a credit card guarantees your reservation. They know they're going to get paid so why shouldn't they hold your room?

@Kachina624 It probably varies by "brand".......but a rooms manager will get a bonus of some type for a complete sell-out. It's common for a "late arrival" to get stuck looking over the parking lot, but will be moved the next day. Stinky, but it's done a lot (!)

♥Surface of the Sun♥

LindaSal · ‎05-15-2014

The airlines are getting ridiculous. They squeeze more and more seats on the plane, they charge you outrageous amounts and charge you again if you have to change your flight. Can they make it any more uncomfortable????? I've experienced having "no seat" # on my boarding pass and I always book my flights well in advance. May be the people who book late and are probably paying less than me should be the ones with no seat! No customer service anymore If I didn't love to go places I would never fly!

PINKdogWOOD · ‎05-13-2010

This act by so-called air marshalls was hideous. Passengers planned trips, bought seats on the plane, did everything they were supposed to do ie baggage check, pat down, and were told they were able to move forward, board the plane.

Then all of a sudden 4 pilots show up and say they need to get on this same plane, toss 4 paid settled in customers, point to them and say you're out of here, get off the plane b/c we need the seats. Are you kidding me? The ultimative is get the h*ll off or we'll remove you. How dare you TOUCH ME, DRAG ME out of my buckled in seat body, DRAG ME down the aisle on my backside to TOSS ME OFF the plane? How freaking dare you!!!

Suppose this person has a back back, any kind of health issue that he must be protective of and United staff has the NERVE to think this action is OKAY to DRAG any passenger down the aisle because now all of a sudden 4 pilots think they absolutely must toss people off any plane because they over booked it?

I hope this gentleman sues United for EVERY DIME they have.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

@LindaSal wrote:
The airlines are getting ridiculous. They squeeze more and more seats on the plane, they charge you outrageous amounts and charge you again if you have to change your flight. Can they make it any more uncomfortable????? I've experienced having "no seat" # on my boarding pass and I always book my flights well in advance. May be the people who book late and are probably paying less than me should be the ones with no seat! No customer service anymore If I didn't love to go places I would never fly!

@lindsay The thing that galls me is that the airlines insist on serving alcohol, unwilling to forego the nice profit they make off it. Then the rest of us and the crew have to put up with obnoxious drunks, even to the extent of having to make unscheduled stops because they're disruptive. All the while they complain that people don't behave after they cram them into small seats, don't serve any food and keep the liquor flowing.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

granddi · ‎03-16-2010

@PINKdogWOOD wrote:
This act by so-called air marshalls was hideous. Passengers planned trips, bought seats on the plane, did everything they were supposed to do ie baggage check, pat down, and were told they were able to move forward, board the plane.

Then all of a sudden 4 pilots show up and say they need to get on this same plane, toss 4 paid settled in customers, point to them and say you're out of here, get off the plane b/c we need the seats. Are you kidding me? The ultimative is get the h*ll off or we'll remove you. How dare you TOUCH ME, DRAG ME out of my buckled in seat body, DRAG ME down the aisle on my backside to TOSS ME OFF the plane? How freaking dare you!!!

Suppose this person has a back back, any kind of health issue that he must be protective of and United staff has the NERVE to think this action is OKAY to DRAG any passenger down the aisle because now all of a sudden 4 pilots think they absolutely must toss people off any plane because they over booked it?

I hope this gentleman sues United for EVERY DIME they have.

I have seen no explanation as to how the passengers were selected for removal?