Why does this happen?

[vacationbound]

I often check Trip Adviser for peoples comments on trips to PDC and surrounding areas, and my question is: how do so many resorts/ hotels get over booked with so much frequency?
In all my years of staying at hotels in the states, I have never encountered staying at a hotel, and upon arrival being told that there are no rooms even though I had a reservation.
My only trip last year to Playacar (Viva Wyndham Azteca)...upon my arrival there, they were over booked for the first night there, and they set us up at the Maya and were told..."If we liked it at the Maya we could stay, or come back the following day to the Azteca".
I don't know about most of you, but when you book a vacation two months in advance, spend the day traveling w/ two kids, and have to deal w/ a situation like this, it's not the way you want to start a vacation.

[laurab]

I think this happens mostly with All Inclusive resorts, where guests are "numbers" rather than people on vacation.
When I go on holiday, especially now that I have a small child, I tend to go to small hotels and always contact them and make sure I have a written confirmation and a name reference. Or I travel in low season, if possible.
We never over book, and sorry we don't take kids !!!!

[Blondie1972]

I've had this happen too~ VERY frustrating. I actually stood my ground and flat out refused to be 'bumped' to another hotel (very politely though). Explained what an inconvenience it was as we were meeting friends at tyhe very resort we'd be bumped from, etc. Somehow, a room was found for us

[vacationbound]

Originally Posted by laurab

I think this happens mostly with All Inclusive resorts, where guests are "numbers" rather than people on vacation.
When I go on holiday, especially now that I have a small child, I tend to go to small hotels and always contact them and make sure I have a written confirmation and a name reference. Or I travel in low season, if possible.
We never over book, and sorry we don't take kids !!!!

Bottom line: hotel "X" has 200 rooms...don't say you have room when you just booked 201.
I've travelled many times for business, and with the family....most times staying at large hotels...why hasn't this happened proir to my trip to Mexico?
I always have documentation with me in all cases...but if there's no room, there's no room.

[PsychMom]

Originally Posted by vacationbound

I often check Trip Adviser for peoples comments on trips to PDC and surrounding areas, and my question is: how do so many resorts/ hotels get over booked with so much frequency?
In all my years of staying at hotels in the states, I have never encountered staying at a hotel, and upon arrival being told that there are no rooms even though I had a reservation.
My only trip last year to Playacar (Viva Wyndham Azteca)...upon my arrival there, they were over booked for the first night there, and they set us up at the Maya and were told..."If we liked it at the Maya we could stay, or come back the following day to the Azteca".
I don't know about most of you, but when you book a vacation two months in advance, spend the day traveling w/ two kids, and have to deal w/ a situation like this, it's not the way you want to start a vacation.

Since I have a reservation for Viva Wyndham Azteca for March 31, your post caught my eye. YIKES! I've never been bumped before and hope this won't be my first year to experience this frustration! I'll be sure to send an email to the hotel a few days prior to our arrival just to keep my name in their heads, and to get something in writing indicating that I'm expected, etc. Thanks for bringing this topic up for discussion. Dawn

[ryberg]

Originally Posted by laurab

I think this happens mostly with All Inclusive resorts, where guests are "numbers" rather than people on vacation.

Originally Posted by vacationbound

Bottom line: hotel "X" has 200 rooms...don't say you have room when you just booked 201.
I've travelled many times for business, and with the family....most times staying at large hotels...why hasn't this happened proir to my trip to Mexico?
I always have documentation with me in all cases...but if there's no room, there's no room.

Well but that may be easier said than done when you're hotel has 200 rooms, which almost certainly means you're basically outsourcing all your bookings to tour operators, multiple tour operators, who have allotments (full control over a given number/type of rooms) and people may be missing a day here or there or whatever. It may also be intentional in cases where you've got multiple properties, as they know they can shift people around from one to another.

I'm not defending this practice, mind you! I'm just saying I think those are the reasons it happens at larger resorts much more frequently, and that it's probably not so simple as not booking room 201, like you say.

Steve

[Buns]

I work for a large resort here in Phoenix, and I've worked for Hilton for a number of years prior...I could write a whole BOOK on the how and why of overbooking....but I won't.
Please don't think that I approve of this practice...I don't. But I do understand it. I understand the Why and the How of it all.
I think the easiest way for me to explain it would be to compare it to the airlines. Let say the flight you booked has 200 seats on that plane. The airline may sell up to 230 tickets for that flight. Why? Because ON AVERAGE about 30 people will not show up / cancel / miss this flight...etc. So, they sell additional tickets to make sure that that flight is full. SOMETIMES...not all of those 30 people that they were counting on to no-show, don't. Sometimes you have 205 people (or 207, or 215...) show up to get on that flight. That's when you have chaos.
The same "type" of thing is true for hotels...whether it is a large all-inclusive resort in Mexico with 200+ rooms, or a small beachfront hotel, or a Hilton in New York City... pretty much every hotel will play this game, just using different numbers that work for that particular hotel.

[vacationbound]

Originally Posted by Buns

I work for a large resort here in Phoenix, and I've worked for Hilton for a number of years prior...I could write a whole BOOK on the how and why of overbooking....but I won't.
Please don't think that I approve of this practice...I don't. But I do understand it. I understand the Why and the How of it all.
I think the easiest way for me to explain it would be to compare it to the airlines. Let say the flight you booked has 200 seats on that plane. The airline may sell up to 230 tickets for that flight. Why? Because ON AVERAGE about 30 people will not show up / cancel / miss this flight...etc. So, they sell additional tickets to make sure that that flight is full. SOMETIMES...not all of those 30 people that they were counting on to no-show, don't. Sometimes you have 205 people (or 207, or 215...) show up to get on that flight. That's when you have chaos.
The same "type" of thing is true for hotels...whether it is a large all-inclusive resort in Mexico with 200+ rooms, or a small beachfront hotel, or a Hilton in New York City... pretty much every hotel will play this game, just using different numbers that work for that particular hotel.

So I guess I've just been lucky all these years?
As for plane travel, you usually choose your seat...I know I've checked seats after I booked, and the seats that I selected were no longer available.
As for over booking to prevent having empty seats/ rooms...that's the cost of doing business...no different than being in retail and ordering "X" amount of an item...order too much and it gets stuck on the shelfs....order too little and piss away sales....that's what good management is about, no?

[Juanito]

OK, dumb question.....

I had said that I am not going the AI route any more. But with kids, it's pretty tempting.

If you are bumped due to overbooking, does the resort offer you some kind of incentive to "go away quietly"? Will they offer you a free excursion, or a free stay at a later date? A room upgrade at the place they want to send you to?

[Buns]

Originally Posted by vacationbound

So I guess I've just been lucky all these years?

Yes and No. As for working with Hilton in the past...lets say the hotel is oversold, and you are A) a Hilton HHonors member or B) you are staying with a company that has a corporate rate with hotel or C) you are a repeat guest or any number of other criteria...we (the hotel) may choose NOT to "walk" you based on one of these criteria.
Also, remember...this is only a concern if the hotel is sold out! Even here in Phoenix, we have high season (Jan-Mar/Apr) and low season (summer). The chances of ANY hotel being sold out in the summer months here is slim to none, so this scenario probably won't even happen during that time. But in March...you bet it happens! We (the hotel) just change our strategies (how many rooms we are willing to overbook by) for our high-demand periods. It's a constant game we play, and we don't always win. Sometimes we do end up "walking" guests to another property.
When this happens...Hilton policy...along with most other "name-brand" hotels, is that we PAY for your room at the other hotel AND we provide transportation if needed AND we pay for a long-distance phone call. On top of that, depending on the situation, there is a number of other things we can do for that guest, as well.

Originally Posted by vacationbound

As for plane travel, you usually choose your seat...I know I've checked seats after I booked, and the seats that I selected were no longer available.

Even still...ever been sitting in your assigned seat...the EXACT seat number on your little stub...and someone walks over to you and says "Hey! This is my seat!" And they, too, have the little stub with your seat number on it? It's happened to me...several times.
Usually, if a flight gets overbooked and they don't have enough seats, they'll try to A) offer later flights to whomever gives up there seat or B) offer free drinks on the next flight or C) offer a free round-trip airfare ticket to give up your seat (this is where I ALWAYS volunteer my seat.)

I'm not trying to say that this is Normal or even acceptable...it's just the way it is! Chances of it happening to YOU are VERY slim...but it's a possibility, especially if you are traveling during a high-demand period. Such as, let's say February or March to PDC. If you are traveling to PDC in, say, July or August...this is probably not going to be a concern.

[AbrahamSimpson]

Originally Posted by Juanito

OK, dumb question.....

I had said that I am not going the AI route any more. But with kids, it's pretty tempting.

If you are bumped due to overbooking, does the resort offer you some kind of incentive to "go away quietly"? Will they offer you a free excursion, or a free stay at a later date? A room upgrade at the place they want to send you to?

Depends on the resort chain, but free weeks of stay at a later date are often given to guests bumped to a hotel in the chain other than that which was originally booked. They almost always black out certain weeks...Christmas/New Year, Easter, etc.

It's not necessarily a bad risk to take, imho, especially with chains whose hotels are all in good areas or are very similar in amenities and whatnot. The Rius and Iberostars would be good examples of this. Not a bad way to wind up with a free vacation down the road.

[Buns]

Originally Posted by Juanito

OK, dumb question.....

I had said that I am not going the AI route any more. But with kids, it's pretty tempting.

If you are bumped due to overbooking, does the resort offer you some kind of incentive to "go away quietly"? Will they offer you a free excursion, or a free stay at a later date? A room upgrade at the place they want to send you to?

I can't say for sure, since I obviously don't work for this resort...but chances are...they'll be prepared to offer you something, including accommodations elsewhere. I can't BELIEVE that they would just say "Oh, Mr. Jones. So sorry, we no have room for you here. Good luck! See you later, Man!"

I'm SURE they will do their best to help you in any way they can. And who knows...maybe they WILL offer you a free stay for the future!

[Buns]

Originally Posted by AbrahamSimpson

Depends on the resort chain, but free weeks of stay at a later date are often given to guests bumped to a hotel in the chain other than that which was originally booked. They almost always black out certain weeks...Christmas/New Year, Easter, etc.

It's not necessarily a bad risk to take, imho, especially with chains whose hotels are all in good areas or are very similar in amenities and whatnot. The Rius and Iberostars would be good examples of this. Not a bad way to wind up with a free vacation down the road.

This is a good point, too. If you get bumped from one of the Iberostar properties, you'd better believe that they are going to put you up in another Iberostar property BEFORE anywhere else...as long as there are rooms!

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by Buns

I work for a large resort here in Phoenix, and I've worked for Hilton for a number of years prior...I could write a whole BOOK on the how and why of overbooking....but I won't.
Please don't think that I approve of this practice...I don't. But I do understand it. I understand the Why and the How of it all.
I think the easiest way for me to explain it would be to compare it to the airlines. Let say the flight you booked has 200 seats on that plane. The airline may sell up to 230 tickets for that flight. Why? Because ON AVERAGE about 30 people will not show up / cancel / miss this flight...etc. So, they sell additional tickets to make sure that that flight is full. SOMETIMES...not all of those 30 people that they were counting on to no-show, don't. Sometimes you have 205 people (or 207, or 215...) show up to get on that flight. That's when you have chaos.
The same "type" of thing is true for hotels...whether it is a large all-inclusive resort in Mexico with 200+ rooms, or a small beachfront hotel, or a Hilton in New York City... pretty much every hotel will play this game, just using different numbers that work for that particular hotel.

Oh thank you for typing this all out! I also know how and why this happens and agree with everything you said...just happy you got to it first! Before I read your response I was biting my lip at some of the incorrect assumptions (that it happens at AI's and not smaller hotels - just to start with)!

[Buns]

Originally Posted by Shammy

Oh thank you for typing this all out! I also know how and why this happens and agree with everything you said...just happy you got to it first! Before I read your response I was biting my lip at some of the incorrect assumptions (that it happens at AI's and not smaller hotels - just to start with)!

HA! thanks...I actually DID think about typing a huge long response earlier today, but thought better of it! I tried to Summarize...and yet I was still long-winded!