Some London hotels appear to have been quick to take advantage of the traffic chaos and the people who were stranded yesterday. In some cases the cost of a room was doubled and they refused to waive cancellation charges on booked accomodation.

Absolutley disgusting behaviour.....:mad:

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,10295-1686563,00.html

That is disgraceful. I'm appalled that anyone could do such a thing.

As stated in that article, the problem lies with the hotels yield management systems.

Basically, they use computer systems to generate room rates based on a maximum and minimum price as to what will raise most income. These rates are based on past data and competition surveys and on the likely hood of rooms being sold at certain rates. It is very elaborate and the systems cost thousands.

It knows what the expected number of sales should be at any one time. If more rooms than expected have been sold at a certain time then the rate offered will increase; similarly, though, if the rooms sold are less than expected the rate will lower.

Where the problem lies is the difference between the maximum rate and the minimum rate. So, for instance, if the rack rate of a bedroom is £150 the hotel may sell that room at anything from £50 upward depending on how far in advance you book, how many rooms the hotel has booked.

It will offer out so many rooms at £50 to certain organisations until they are sold and then will step up to the next level and sell at say £75 until that allocation is sold on so on. When it gets down to the last few rooms, and demand on them is high, it will sell at £150.

Obviously, those people who managed to book at £50 are happy because they think they had a bargain. As Joe Bloggs in the street you would probably rarely get the discounted rate if you booked direct with the hotel unless you used one of their schemes, eg internet bookings. If you booked third party, though, through a travel agency who had agreement with that hotel you may stand a chance of getting in on the allocation.

And combined in with all that are special rates that are given for certain company corporate rates, travel agency rates, loyalty card holders etc etc etc.

What was happening yesterday was that Thursday is traditionally the quiestest of midweek days for the industry so rooms that would otherwise have been available in one of the cheaper segments had suddenley stopped being available because of demand and the yield computer systems which set the price suddenley upped the rate and people were grabbing amongst the confusion whatever rooms they could.

What would have been wrong is if the normal advertised rack rate of a hotel was £150 and yesterday the hotels suddenley dropped this rate and sold at £300, that would have been totally wrong and I would totally agree disgusting behaviour.

If, however, all that happened was what would have ocurred on a normal business day, this is not profiteering in the slightest.

they are a bunch of wa*****.

typical capitalist uncaring idiots.

society stands up and help each over. Big hotel chains try to exact as much money out of it as possible.

"Vow to shame any owners caught profiteering"

In todays 'Guardian':

http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1524664,00.html

I did hear that Holiday Inn (could have been Hilton, though I doubt it) halved their room rates in the immediete aftermath, to help those people who were stranded.

Good on them!

:clap: :clap: :clap:

Do they give the email addresses of said hotels so we can email en-masse to voice disapproval? Inundating their system :twisted: