Fabulous article by Joe Sharkey in the New York Times earlier this week about how the Waldorf-Astoria had to walk guests, who had confirmed room reservations because a VIP guest arrived from abroad in an emergency.
While walking guests to nearby hotels is a nothing new, especially during peak times when rooms oversell to ensure the highest occupancy rate, it can backfire. In the case of the Waldorf-Astoria, the guests who were bumped were looking forward to staying at that particular hotel as part their NYC experience… and the hotel very simply chose not deliver on that promise.
The article as it was written gives me the impression that the hotel did not handle these guests correctly, and decided who to ”walk” based on what they booked in rate. While that’s probably the best approach in terms of revenue, oddly enough the Waldorf-Astoria did not consider guest loyalty when bumping travelers, something that a hotel of such high caliber would normally consider (unless that’s not true… thoughts anyone??)
Meanwhile, as the hotel believed it can earn more money by walking guests who had apparently booked at a discounted rate to accommodate last minute high-rate travelers, this article in the NY Times most certainly backfired that approach… Guests expect to be treated the same when they check-in whether or not they pay #150 or $400 or $800. In such tough economic times, luxury hotels should keep in mind that while they may afford to walk lower paying guests to earn more revenue for the night, I am not sure they can afford such bad PR.