[Misc] Hotel non-refund

[Horses Arse]

We had a hotel booked the night before Marseille on our way to the game.

The hotel was booked and paid for in full, in advance, on Accor's website.

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that there were no rooms available, and they had been given to other people. We were told we had to find another hotel.

It took quite some time and a fair bit more money on a taxi and a new hotel booking in order that we had somewhere to sleep that night.

I assumed it would be an easy exercise to get a refund, at the very least, from Accor for our initial booking. I was wrong.

Accor themselves are refusing to refund me. Instead they are saying it's up to the hotel. I didn't book with the hotel, I didn't pay the hotel, I have no relationship with the hotel directly and have hand communications with them at all.

Their last email said:

Thank you for your return,​

​

We have been asked to respond to your request regarding your reservation XXXXXXXXX for a stay from 04 Oct 2023 to 05 Oct 2023.​

​

Following your initial discussions with our services, your file has been reviewed by our expert team. The conclusion of our investigation unfortunately does not allow us to provide you with a response different from the one you received previously​

​

Since the refund can only be made by the hotel, therfore if you have not received any reply please do not hesitate to contact us again.​

​

We remain at your service should you require any further assistance.​

​

Am I going mad - are they being reasonable here?

What was the response that they provided initially, which they refer to above?

Have they, or the hotel, provided a reason for failing to honour the agreement? Seems utterly bizarre that you can be left high and dry on a whim like that. To refuse a refund (at the very least) is fraudulent, can't be excused as anything else.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It depends entirely on the reason given by the hotel for selling your room to someone else, having first sold it to you. Unless I’ve missed it, this is the fundamental issue, and I see no reference to it here.

You had a contract with someone. It’s not clear to me if that was with Accor or the individual hotel. But someone has promised to provide you with a service on condition that certain obligations are met eg paying in full in advance, perhaps arriving by a certain time, confirming the booking, whatever, I don’t know. The question is this — did you fulfill your obligations? If you did, Accor and/or the hotel are in breach of contract, and acting unlawfully.

Their email back to you sounds like detail-free, neutral, corporate bullshit. I would pick up the phone and get to the bottom of this. Make sure you record the call.

I doubt Accor are in breach of the contract regarding the actual hotel room not being available. Many hotel chains overbook, in a similar way to what airlines do. They will have small print to cover them for this. I have had this issue before. Where my situation differed was the hotel chain found me another room within their chain and provided taxis etc.

 

[Papak]

That's the thing - if I'd gone to an intermediary I'd expect it to be trickier to resolve.

Accor is the owner of the hotel - they have numerous chains under their umbrella.

Accor hotels are franchised (at least Mercure are in the UK).

Which brand did book with?

https://group.accor.com/en/hotel-development/develop-a-hotel-or-a-residence/why-accor

We operate 2,300+ hotels under direct management contract and an additional 3,000+ hotels under franchise contract. Our global stature and footprint provide owners with real benefits:

 

[The Wookiee]

We had a hotel booked the night before Marseille on our way to the game.

The hotel was booked and paid for in full, in advance, on Accor's website.

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that there were no rooms available, and they had been given to other people. We were told we had to find another hotel.

It took quite some time and a fair bit more money on a taxi and a new hotel booking in order that we had somewhere to sleep that night.

I assumed it would be an easy exercise to get a refund, at the very least, from Accor for our initial booking. I was wrong.

Accor themselves are refusing to refund me. Instead they are saying it's up to the hotel. I didn't book with the hotel, I didn't pay the hotel, I have no relationship with the hotel directly and have hand communications with them at all.

Their last email said:

Thank you for your return,​

​

We have been asked to respond to your request regarding your reservation XXXXXXXXX for a stay from 04 Oct 2023 to 05 Oct 2023.​

​

Following your initial discussions with our services, your file has been reviewed by our expert team. The conclusion of our investigation unfortunately does not allow us to provide you with a response different from the one you received previously​

​

Since the refund can only be made by the hotel, therfore if you have not received any reply please do not hesitate to contact us again.​

​

We remain at your service should you require any further assistance.​

​

Am I going mad - are they being reasonable here?

So if Accor are saying it’s the hotel you need speak to about the refund - what have the hotel said ?

 

[Papak]

So if Accor are saying it’s the hotel you need speak to about the refund - what have the hotel said ?

You would think they would have refunded on the spot if there was no room and Bozza was turned away - clearly not though otherwise we wouldn't be reading this thread.

Strange indeed.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

We had a hotel booked the night before Marseille on our way to the game.

The hotel was booked and paid for in full, in advance, on Accor's website.

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that there were no rooms available, and they had been given to other people. We were told we had to find another hotel.

It took quite some time and a fair bit more money on a taxi and a new hotel booking in order that we had somewhere to sleep that night.

I assumed it would be an easy exercise to get a refund, at the very least, from Accor for our initial booking. I was wrong.

Accor themselves are refusing to refund me. Instead they are saying it's up to the hotel. I didn't book with the hotel, I didn't pay the hotel, I have no relationship with the hotel directly and have hand communications with them at all.

Their last email said:

Thank you for your return,​

​

We have been asked to respond to your request regarding your reservation XXXXXXXXX for a stay from 04 Oct 2023 to 05 Oct 2023.​

​

Following your initial discussions with our services, your file has been reviewed by our expert team. The conclusion of our investigation unfortunately does not allow us to provide you with a response different from the one you received previously​

​

Since the refund can only be made by the hotel, therfore if you have not received any reply please do not hesitate to contact us again.​

​

We remain at your service should you require any further assistance.​

​

Am I going mad - are they being reasonable here?

Assuming it was booked on a credit card, your card provider should hopefully be able to help as it seems to be a clear case of the non provision of services that you have paid for, irrespective of it being Accor or the hotel.

Out of interest, did the hotel give a reason why you didn’t get a room eg did it not receive the booking from Accor or did it gamble that as it was late, it would re sell your room on the wrong assumption you wouldn’t turn up?

 

[Guinness Boy]

Firstly, this is outrageous and you should definitely get a refund if there was any justice. Was this in France or Switzerland? I ask because….

I'm still trying to forget being shafted by Hertz In Italy.
Never use them!

My regular middle aged men’s walking group had terrible grief from Sixt in Switzerland. We hired a van, which we returned in exactly the same condition. They refused to pay back the deposit for some imaginary damage on the roof and then the guy in our party whose name it was in started getting letters and emails asking for large sums of money from their Swiss operation. They’ve only just stopped it after lawyers were involved.

I don’t want to characterise a whole nation, but Sixt Switzerland were arrogant, aggressive and unwavering

 

[HeaviestTed]

Did you pay with Credit card as this will allow you to claim through the credit card company

CC easiest but even debit cards you can ask your bank for a refund and they might refund it.

We paid by debit card and natwest had a process which was the same as credit card and they refunded us.

 

[HeaviestTed]

Sometimes my IPad autocorrect has a mind of its own.

I’m convinced the keyboard developers just added code to troll us constantly

 

[LANGDON SEAGULL]

Sebastien.Bazin@accor.com

Apparently he's the CEO. He won't reply but will have an 'executive' customer care team.

Very much this. I had trouble getting refunds from easyJet during Covid so I emailed the owner a couple of times - refund was soon in my account

 

[Jim in the West]

I haven’t got much to add, other than it’s possible/probable that the hotel in question isn’t actually owned by Accor (ie, it’s franchised). And, to complicate things further, if it IS a franchised hotel, it will probably be operated by another company (ie, not the owner). You may be able to find the info on the web - although obviously you shouldn’t need to.
One other point - try communicating in French….it *may* make a difference!!

 

[Since1982]

Even if it is a franchised hotel this for me represents some of the worst of corporate behaviour. When you buy something as relatively simple as a hotel room you shouldn't have to trawl through T&C's to work out who is liable should something go wrong. Any business with a modicum of interest in the customer would refund, possibly compensate and then sort out its own issues behind the scenes.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I have used Accor hundreds of times over the years without any problem, staying in everything from Ibis Budget through to 5* Sofitel and never experienced anything like this. It is disappointing they were not more helpful, when they cocked up and have been so slow to put things right.

Did you have the opportunity to check in online? This is quite common for hotels now and saves some messing around in reception. I would imagine it is much harder to turn you away in these circumstances.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

To answer some of the questions (I was one of the people in @Bozza group.

The hotel was F1 and was in France.

We arrived at close to 11.30 and the guy on the front desk spoke little English.

I think he spent about 15 minutes ringing other hotels, at least he was on the phone all the time we were there.

Via a guest who spoke some English it would appear that their booking system has been down for a few days when we arrived and they were booking everyone in handwritten on paper, hence they had no information on our 3 bookings and had filled th hotel before we arrived.

 

[Bozza]

I have used Accor hundreds of times over the years without any problem, staying in everything from Ibis Budget through to 5* Sofitel and never experienced anything like this. It is disappointing they were not more helpful, when they cocked up and have been so slow to put things right.

Did you have the opportunity to check in online? This is quite common for hotels now and saves some messing around in reception. I would imagine it is much harder to turn you away in these circumstances.

Yep...

Dear MR MCKAY ,

Your online check-in has been successfully processed.

Please find your booking details below.

Kind regards,
ALL – Accor Live Limitless Customer Service

 

[Bodian]

Yep...

Dear MR MCKAY ,

Your online check-in has been successfully processed.

Please find your booking details below.

Kind regards,
ALL – Accor Live Limitless Customer Service

Well - there's your problem. They surely should have booked the room to a Mr Bozza, and then you would have been fine!

 

[AstroSloth]

We had a hotel booked the night before Marseille on our way to the game.

The hotel was booked and paid for in full, in advance, on Accor's website.

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that there were no rooms available, and they had been given to other people. We were told we had to find another hotel.

It took quite some time and a fair bit more money on a taxi and a new hotel booking in order that we had somewhere to sleep that night.

I assumed it would be an easy exercise to get a refund, at the very least, from Accor for our initial booking. I was wrong.

Accor themselves are refusing to refund me. Instead they are saying it's up to the hotel. I didn't book with the hotel, I didn't pay the hotel, I have no relationship with the hotel directly and have hand communications with them at all.

Their last email said:

Thank you for your return,​

​

We have been asked to respond to your request regarding your reservation XXXXXXXXX for a stay from 04 Oct 2023 to 05 Oct 2023.​

​

Following your initial discussions with our services, your file has been reviewed by our expert team. The conclusion of our investigation unfortunately does not allow us to provide you with a response different from the one you received previously​

​

Since the refund can only be made by the hotel, therfore if you have not received any reply please do not hesitate to contact us again.​

​

We remain at your service should you require any further assistance.​

​

Am I going mad - are they being reasonable here?

We had a hotel booked the night before Marseille on our way to the game.

The hotel was booked and paid for in full, in advance, on Accor's website.

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that there were no rooms available, and they had been given to other people. We were told we had to find another hotel.

It took quite some time and a fair bit more money on a taxi and a new hotel booking in order that we had somewhere to sleep that night.

I assumed it would be an easy exercise to get a refund, at the very least, from Accor for our initial booking. I was wrong.

Accor themselves are refusing to refund me. Instead they are saying it's up to the hotel. I didn't book with the hotel, I didn't pay the hotel, I have no relationship with the hotel directly and have hand communications with them at all.

Their last email said:

Thank you for your return,​

​

We have been asked to respond to your request regarding your reservation XXXXXXXXX for a stay from 04 Oct 2023 to 05 Oct 2023.​

​

Following your initial discussions with our services, your file has been reviewed by our expert team. The conclusion of our investigation unfortunately does not allow us to provide you with a response different from the one you received previously​

​

Since the refund can only be made by the hotel, therfore if you have not received any reply please do not hesitate to contact us again.​

​

We remain at your service should you require any further assistance.​

​

Am I going mad - are they being reasonable here?

Start saying that you will be making complaints about this on social media, talk about the press, submitting a formal complaint and they'll start getting it processed a lot quicker.

I had something similar with booking.com and managed to get my refund, plus they paid the difference between my original accommodation and the one I had to book as an emergency on the day.

 

[Clive Walker]

You’ve done the right thing by speaking to the hotel first. Speak to your issuer now as ask them to raise a chargeback.

 

[AstroSloth]

We had a hotel booked the night before Marseille on our way to the game.

The hotel was booked and paid for in full, in advance, on Accor's website.

When we arrived at the hotel we were told that there were no rooms available, and they had been given to other people. We were told we had to find another hotel.

It took quite some time and a fair bit more money on a taxi and a new hotel booking in order that we had somewhere to sleep that night.

I assumed it would be an easy exercise to get a refund, at the very least, from Accor for our initial booking. I was wrong.

Accor themselves are refusing to refund me. Instead they are saying it's up to the hotel. I didn't book with the hotel, I didn't pay the hotel, I have no relationship with the hotel directly and have hand communications with them at all.

Their last email said:

Thank you for your return,​

​

We have been asked to respond to your request regarding your reservation XXXXXXXXX for a stay from 04 Oct 2023 to 05 Oct 2023.​

​

Following your initial discussions with our services, your file has been reviewed by our expert team. The conclusion of our investigation unfortunately does not allow us to provide you with a response different from the one you received previously​

​

Since the refund can only be made by the hotel, therfore if you have not received any reply please do not hesitate to contact us again.​

​

We remain at your service should you require any further assistance.​

​

Am I going mad - are they being reasonable here?

Find the address of the head office or try and find a corporate email. Nothing gets something sorted quicker than a forwarded email from above.

I'm incredibly mischievous when I get ripped off.

Just got £80 compensation from British Gas. Next week BT which will run into hundreds (long story) but it's not in doubt.

Absolutely what @clapham_gull has said.

Here's the email address for the CFO of Accor apparently Sophie.Stabile@accor.com

 

[Papak]

To answer some of the questions (I was one of the people in @Bozza group.

The hotel was F1 and was in France.

We arrived at close to 11.30 and the guy on the front desk spoke little English.

I think he spent about 15 minutes ringing other hotels, at least he was on the phone all the time we were there.

Via a guest who spoke some English it would appear that their booking system has been down for a few days when we arrived and they were booking everyone in handwritten on paper, hence they had no information on our 3 bookings and had filled th hotel before we arrived.

It sounds like they did you a favour...