Overbooked Chaos: Sleepless Night for Travelodge Guest!

Travelodge appears to engage in overbooking practices, leading to additional expenses and distress for guests, which can be particularly risky for those who are vulnerable.

At the age of 77, I had paid in advance for a room in Oxford. At 10pm, the hotel manager phoned to confirm my arrival, to which I responded affirmatively, stating I would be there in less than an hour.

Upon my arrival at the hotel, I was told that my room had been overbooked. This was also the case for five other guests who had pre-paid, including four young women.

I was then relocated to another Travelodge located at a service station 21 miles away. I had no choice but to take a taxi, and I arrived at this isolated site at 2am, only to find it closed and deserted. It took considerable time before someone answered the hotel’s entry phone and let me in.

The following day, I was forced to change my return train booking from Swindon instead of Oxford. In response, Travelodge claimed that such overbookings are uncommon, a claim contradicted by numerous online discussions indicating otherwise.

Efforts to be reimbursed for the £63 spent on taxi and train fares were successful, and I was refunded the £118 room charge. However, I received no compensation for the turmoil experienced.

MAG, London

The Oxford hotel had been chosen for its convenience to an event you were attending that evening.

As a lone woman, you faced the anxiety of being in a remote and unfamiliar location, and the ordeal cost you three hours of your night due to Travelodge’s actions.

It’s puzzling why the manager didn’t inform you about the overbooking during his phone call just one hour before your attempted check-in.

Travelodge mentioned that its terms and conditions allow for the possibility of relocating guests to another hotel occasionally, but it insists it usually avoids relocating single female guests.

The question remains: why then were you relocated?

The explanation shifted when I probed further. Now, Travelodge claims a “maintenance issue” made your room unavailable, not overbooking. This information was not disclosed during the initial call or upon your arrival, and Travelodge did not address why.

However, they did eventually acknowledge the distress caused and offered a voucher for a one-night stay, giving you a chance to experience their service again.

JF from Leeds had a similar issue at a Travelodge in Cardiff city center. He was informed along with five other guests that several rooms were “trashed” by prior occupants and that they would need to wait for relocation.

“It felt like we were being deceived and that the actual issue was overbooking,” he stated. “The cleaning staff would have known from the morning that the rooms were unusable.”

Eventually, like MAG, he was sent to a distant Travelodge. Unlike MAG, he initially did not receive a refund.

Upon further questioning, Travelodge then attributed the room unavailability to a “water leakage” that affected three rooms. They apologized for any confusion over the term “trashed” and for not informing JF sooner. They later apologized, refunded him fully, and provided a voucher.

MAG and JF were more fortunate than a certain TA from London, who found himself on a Brighton street in the early hours, along with other hotel guests, due to an unresolvable fire alarm. After attending a family funeral, he checked into his £227 room at midnight.

Four hours later, the fire alarm forced an evacuation. “Most guests were in their nightclothes,” he recounted. “Thirty minutes later, we were informed it was a false alarm, but no one could shut it off, so we had to wait outside for a technician.

“After another hour, some guests went to the beach with towels while others stayed in the noisy reception, causing distress to a teenager who started feeling ill.”

After two and a half hours outside, TA collected his belongings and caught a train at dawn. He spent less than four hours in his bed. His initial request for a refund was met with a mere £60 gesture of apology.

Following further complaints, Travelodge compensated an additional £11.99 for the breakfast he missed and considered it a “fair resolution”.

After escalating his complaint, TA was compensated an additional £49, still less than the cost for those few hours of accommodation.

He finally received a full refund and the typical voucher for a future stay after my intervention.

“At Travelodge, the safety and well-being of our guests are always a top priority,” the company states, without confirming whether other affected guests would be compensated.