Mumbai: Hotel cancels booking on pretext of 'upgrade'

Akshay Kapoor, his wife and parents in Mumbai. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

Imagine looking forward to a trip after booking the tickets and planning the whole vacation, only to be told by the hotel at the last minute, that, 'Your booking has been cancelled as per your request'. Akshay Kapoor, a 37-year-old resident of Safdarjung Enclave in Delhi, got this jolt before his trip to Mumbai. He has claimed that he was fooled by OYO Rooms, a leading hospitality company that offers hotels at budgeted rates, on the pretext of his reservation being upgraded. While he did not pay and hence did not lose any money, he underwent mental agony in the process. The family had to desperately find another hotel and managed to book it.

Akshay, who works with a shipping consultancy firm, had booked the OYO Townhouse in Andheri East, on March 28. The booking was for two rooms for four people - Akshay, his wife, mother and father (both retired) - for the period April 16 - 21. Although he hadn't paid the hotel since OYO offers a pay at the hotel facility, Akshay had booked tickets from Delhi to Mumbai, and planned the sightseeing.

The 'cancellation'

However, on April 15, Akshay received an email from OYO, stating, 'Your booking at OYO Townhouse 058 JB Nagar, Andheri East has been cancelled as per your request.' Akshay was surprised, he had not cancelled his booking. Then OYO sent him a message, saying 'Your OYO Room has been upgraded to a nearby property, OYO 1453 Hotel Daisy Residency.'

"Without my consent, OYO shifted my booking to another hotel, which I found from a quick Google search, was a 2-star property at an inconvenient location. It also had several bad reviews online. I later decided not to stay at OYO," said Akshay.

When he called the OYO customer care to complain, a representative, informed him that the OYO Townhouse had been cancelled as per his request. When Akshay refuted this statement vehemently, the representative got back to him. "I was told that since I had requested my check-in time as between 3pm and 6pm on the OYO app, the hotel's system cancelled the booking due to the modification. This was a pathetic excuse as I had booked close to three weeks in advance," said Akshay.

Trip turns sour

What was to be an enjoyable trip to Mumbai for the Kapoor family turned into a mess. "We were forced to search for an alternative hotel, thanks to OYO. We will now have to change our sightseeing plans too," said Ashok Kapoor, Akshay's father.

Hotel speak

"We are looking into the matter and apologise for the customer's experience. While this is an anomaly and something that is clearly not acceptable, we are committed to taking corrective measures to ensure no guest undergoes such an experience," said an OYO spokesperson.

Also Read: Beware of your next online hotel booking, it may be a killjoy

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