MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry warns holidaymakers this summer to know their consumer rights if their flight or hotel is overbooked
Did you know that hotels and airlines frequently overbook? That means they make more reservations per flight or night’s accommodation than they can actually offer.
This happens for several reasons, such as assuming a number of no-shows and confusion with third-party booking services.
What happens when you turn up to the airport and don’t have a seat? Or you arrive at your destination and your hotel doesn’t have the room you’ve paid for? Here’s how to handle the situation.
Book travel insurance before you go
While your consumer rights mean airlines and hotels should sort their overbooking error, the first thing you ought to do is pre-empt an issue. Travel insurance can help with covering out-of-pocket costs you might incur, as well as handle legal assistance. This can save you a LOT of money.
Always compare your travel insurance package before you buy – and make sure you have it in place as soon as you book your holiday, to make sure your cover is valid for the duration of your trip (including if your outbound flight is overbooked or delayed).
Always arrive in good time at the airport
Your rights are significantly stronger if you’re on an overbooked flight if you get to the airport in good time and check in on time. Firstly, this will reduce your chance of being bumped off the flight – airlines tend to bump latecomers or those who have not checked in close to closing time.
Secondly, it will give you more flexibility to negotiate. You might be told the flight is overbooked when you check in, and you might even want to ask if this is the case.
Volunteering to bump to another flight can result in upgrades and financial compensation. Of course, this isn’t always suitable depending on your flight options, your circumstances, and if you’re travelling alone or with people. Solo travellers are more likely to be able to negotiate being compensated and/or upgraded on flights as a single seat is easier to sort than several.
If you miss check-in
If you don’t check in on time, you have limited rights to compensation. Airlines are not obliged to provide compensation or alternative flights.
The exception is if you are on a multi-stop trip and you miss a connecting flight due to delays or cancellations. When this happens, the airline must book you on the next available flight – this may be with another airline. If you have to stay overnight to connect, they need to provide accommodation and reasonable food and drink, as well as standard delay compensation.
Compensation for overbooking
If you’re told your flight is overbooked, there are two scenarios you might face. The first is a general call-out at the gate for volunteers to bump themselves from the flight onto another one.
This often comes with a financial incentive, access to lounges, food and drink vouchers, and even upgrades on the flight you end up on. You can also choose to have your flight refunded in full, alongside financial compensation. Volunteering is a favourable option if you’re not in a hurry and don’t have a connecting flight to catch.
The second is being denied boarding when you don’t have a choice. You’re entitled to compensation as long as you checked in on time, and must be reallocated to an alternative flight.
Compensation amounts vary by flight distance and how much your alternative flight will delay you to your destination. For example, a short-haul flight under 1500km that arrives under two hours later than your original arrival time is £110, but £220 if over two hours. You could claim up to £520 if you’re on a long-haul over 3500km and delayed by more than four hours. The CAA has a full list of claim rates.
Compensation includes more than cash
If you choose to be rerouted on the day, rather than rebooking your alternative flight for another date, the airline must look after you in other ways, too.
You need to be able to have a ‘reasonable amount of food and drink’, which usually comes in the form of vouchers. They must also provide accommodation if you’re re-routed the next day – and accommodation to and from (or your home, if you choose to go back and return the next day).
If you make phone calls regarding your delay, they must also compensate you for the cost of these calls. This falls under their requirement to provide a means for you to communicate – so, if your mobile phone doesn’t work abroad or you are concerned about reclaiming excessive call charges, ask for a landline to use.
Outbound vs return refunds
Your refund entitlement to being bumped from a flight depends on your journey. If you are delayed on your way out to your holiday destination, you’re entitled to a full refund of both the outbound and return flight.
If you’re on a multi-leg journey, and decide to get a refund rather than re-route, the airline has to provide a return flight to your starting point.
When you’re on the return leg of your holiday, you’ll receive a refund for that portion if you booked a round trip, or just that ticket if you booked two single flights (or a single flight as part of a multi-stop trip).
Hotel overbooking rights
So, what happens if you’ve arrived at your destination only to find the hotel has overbooked you? Your rights will vary by country, which is another reason to have good travel insurance cover before you go. However, there are some things you can ask for when you discover your hotel has overbooked you.
First, find out if they have sister hotels in the local area. Many hotels are in partnerships with others, particularly if they’re part of a rewards scheme or are a franchise owned by a single larger corporation.
They should assist you with rebooking at the sister hotel if it is suitable, and you should request a room upgrade as a goodwill gesture (but they aren’t obliged to give it). If they can only offer you a room that is of lower value than you booked, make sure you get evidence of this as you will need to claim the difference back either from your credit card provider, bank, or travel insurance.
If there are no sister hotels that are suitable, you can look for your own alternative and insist on an immediate full refund from the hotel. Should this mean that you need to pay more than your original booking, get evidence of this for your insurance company to claim the difference. You’ll need to show that equivalent hotels were not available, so things like screenshots of availability will help your claim.
Package holiday rights
If you’ve booked a package holiday with flights and hotels, the rules are slightly different under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. You are entitled to claim, through the package insurance (or your own), redress for the portion of the holiday that was not as advertised.
For example, if your flight was fine but your hotel was overbooked, you can claim for the hotel disruption. You’re entitled to claim for:
- the difference in value of the hotel you booked versus the one you received
- loss of enjoyment – the distress of things going wrong
- expenses incurred out of pocket, such as finding alternative accommodation
When making a complaint, you will need to demonstrate the breach of contract in your complaint. This is as simple as stating that the hotel did not provide the room advertised, for example.
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